China Investing in Arable Land
A country's need for arable land or agricultural land is one of the primary factors in its economic development and meets the necessities of its citizens. China's 1.4 billion population is dependent on its 12.6% arable which yields rice, wheat, potato, sugarcane, etc. Mainly the production of rice, wheat, and maize accounts for more than 90% of China's total food production.
In President Xi Jinping's vision, national food security has long been a top priority. However, over the past few years, there has been a 6% decline in these agricultural lands, mainly because of urbanization and industrialisation. China adopted several policies to overcome this decline like, the Farmland Red Line Policy, Increase - Decrease Linkage policy. They also began purchasing farmlands in other nations like Eastern Europe, South America, Southeast Asia and Africa, and highly invested in growing Banana, and rubber, also focused on tropical crops like palm oil, cassava, lumber, and soybean and also in fishing ventures.
The greatest investments involved are in Ukraine, Hungary, France, and most Eastern European nations. Under the motto of "Nation Food Security," China's leading business enterprises finance these areas and gradually apply the rural growth policy. Since these initiatives have brought China enormous revenues, the government is attempting to open them up so that more Chinese organizations can invest in them.
For the initial time, these lands are used for the trade margins but will end up in the scarcity of the resources available around them. These investments will surely impact global agricultural trade. However, the biggest geopolitical move in such deals is to use these farms for China's Belt Road Initiative, which would have an impact on the safety and security of the nations. These overseas investments in farmland can be the TROJAN HORSE for the nations that are blindly opening doors for China.