Storing Grain in the Land: The Gestation, Delineation Framework, and Case of the Two Zones Policy in China

Abstract

Cultivated land (CL) protection is an overarching strategic concern for stabilizing the agricultural foundation and for achieving the sustainable development of the national economy and society. Faced with the challenges of the dual drives of complex domestic and international situations, China’s CL protection system has coupled the quantity and quality dimensions and focused on a dynamic balancing system and permanent basic farmland (PBF) policy. However, it has had difficulty meeting the objectives of sustainable agricultural development and is undergoing upgrades. Accordingly, the Chinese government has issued a CL protection policy that includes adjusting the planting structure, optimizing the agricultural layout, and adding the three dimensions of quantity, quality, and planting structure, namely “Delimitation of the Grain Production Functional Zone and the Important Agricultural Product Production-Protection Zone” (the “two zones” policy). With regard to the ambiguous understanding of the two zones policy, this study aims to explore the following issues: (1) How was the two zones policy conceived? (2) What mechanism does it use to make up for the deficiencies of the previous policy? (3) How does it integrate the three dimensions of quantity, quality, and planting structure? (4) How to reasonably delimit the two zones. To solve these problems, this paper first reviews the evolution of China’s CL protection policies and explains the incubation process of the two zones policy and its connotation and mechanism. Then, a delineation framework process is proposed and the approaches of executing the two zones policy on a regional scale are discussed. Furthermore, a real delimitation was conducted in Qianguo County to validate the framework. The evidence shows that customizing CL use according to regional resource potential differentiation and forming a CL protection policy with the three dimensions of quantity, quality, and structure are effective in improving the productive potential of CL and promoting the adjustment of the planting structure. Furthermore, the framework and case study findings of the delimitation provide a theoretical reference and practical foundation to translate macro policy into micro management.