Innovation, Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability in China
The expansion of agricultural production in China has been remarkable, but at the expense of the sustainable use of its natural resources. To counter this, as well as to face problems due to rising labour costs and a rapidly ageing rural population, agricultural production must concentrate on a smaller number of more productive farms. It is in this light that this report reviews recent policy developments to assess whether they have been conducive to productivity growth and environmental sustainability. It finds that the conditions for structural change and innovation at the farm level in China could be further improved by securing the long-term stability of land rights as well as reducing transaction costs. Greater policy coherence with agri-environmental policy objectives could also be achieved through stricter enforcement of environmental regulations. Finally, the agricultural innovation system could play a greater role by placing the focus on public agricultural R&D in areas such as the environment and resource conservation, and in other areas which do not attract much private sector investment.
Overall assessment and recommendations
This chapter presents the framework used in the report to analyse the extent to which policies in China are supportive of innovation and structural change, and how they affect access to and use of natural resources for productivity growth and sustainability. It also gives an overview of the findings of the review on a wide range of policies in China, and develops specific recommendations in each of these policy areas.
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