So it's urgent for them to start planning now. China's population also is expected to become more urbanized in the next 50 years. They will not rely on agriculture for their livelihood. China has one-fifth of the world's population, but only about 7 percent of the globe's arable land. Of that, only about 33 percent is believed to be productive, and the amount of arable land is declining because of soil erosion and the demands of a growing population.
Farms also face threats from industrial and agricultural pollution.
China's consumption of water already rivals that of the United States and continues to rise. Its total energy consumption is second only to the United States, and China is the second largest emitter of industrial carbon dioxide pollution. Given those variables, some analysts believe China will become much more dependent on food imports. But that scenario might change, depending on future technological advances and newly installed government conservation and environmental policies. Many rural people are under-employed.