BEIJING - More than 10 per cent of China's arable land is polluted, posing a threat to the country's food production, a Chinese newspaper reported Monday.
China Daily, citing the Ministry of Land and Resources, said the situation is worsening, with polluted water, excessive fertilizer, heavy metals and solid wastes contaminating the land.
The ministry said by the end of October, China's arable land area had shrunk to 121.8 million hectares, a loss of 306,800 hectares in the first 10 months of 2006.
China's three-decade economic boom has left its waterways and coastlines severely polluted by industrial and farm chemicals and domestic sewage. Its countryside is littered with garbage and construction waste and its cities suffocated by smog.
The newspaper reported the ministry said heavy metals alone contaminate 11 million tonnes of grain a year.
Land and Resources Minister Sun Wensheng was quoted saying China must make sure its arable land area does not fall below 120 million hectares.
"This is not only related to social and economic development but is also vital to the long-term interests of the country,'' he was quoted saying.
"China's economy keeps growing at a rapid rate and demand for resources is also mounting,'' he said.
