How Should China Feed Itself?

Since the publication of Brown’s book, enormous interest in the issue has been generated among policymakers and scholars around the world. This surge in interest coincided with the sharp rises in world food prices in the year to June 1996 following on from harvest shortfalls in several grain-producing regions around the world. With the slowing of grain output growth since the mid-1980s, Chinese policymakers have been particularly concerned about food security. Brown’s dire prediction has aggravated their concern.