According to official figures, China at the end of the 20th century had about 95 million hectares of cultivated land. Often, three or more crops are harvested from one cultivated area in two years, and in the Yangtze River Basin they have two crops each year. In areas of South China, many fields harvest three crops per year of major crops and up to five vegetable crops. Agriculture in China was formed due to its vast territory and diverse climatic conditions. On the territory of the country, more than 50 different field crops are grown, more than 80 types of garden crops and almost 60 types of garden crops.
Cattle, sheep, horses and goats are bred in the highlands of the western regions of China, as well as in the vast steppes of Tibet and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Watermelons and grapes are grown in the oases of the desert regions of Xinjiang. The cold northern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin produce highly mechanized cultivation of corn, wheat and soybeans. In northern China, where they experience chronic water shortages, drought tolerant crops such as corn, wheat and millet are cultivated. On the North China Plain, the cultivated lands bring in two crops of grain, oilseeds and tobacco a year.
Agriculture in China includes the most productive regions in terms of gross agricultural output: Sichuan province, the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the subtropical province of Guangdong. Here, the norm is to obtain several crops a year, irrigation is widely used and fertilizers are used. Sichuan, Hunan and Jiangsu are the largest rice producers in the country . In the provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong, most of the sugarcane is cultivated. And in the subtropical regions, China's agriculture produces, mainly for export, oranges, tangerines, pineapples and lychees.
Manpower in China's agriculture plays almost the most important role. As a result of the privatization program, the land was shared among the families in the communes and its cultivation is carried out on the basis of a family contract. At first, land was leased for 1-3 years, but then a long-term tenure system was introduced (50 years or more). The Chinese government made a number of adjustments to the purchase prices of grain and meat, this was a stimulating factor that helped to significantly increase labor productivity. By the end of the 20th century, China's agriculture produced about 500 million tons of cereals, including 185 million tons of rice. Among food crops, wheat ranks second in importance. And in the collection of corn (more than 100 million tons per year), the country ranks second after the United States in the world.
Describing the various types of agriculture in China, it should be noted that the country is one of the largest suppliers of many varieties of tea in the world. In addition, millet, oats, kaolin, rye, buckwheat are grown from root crops - yams and potatoes, from legumes - soy. An important place among industrial crops belongs to cotton. 40% of the area occupied by industrial crops is allocated for its cultivation. Flax, hemp and jute are also grown. Tobacco is harvested in the largest volumes in the world. Among the oilseeds, sesame, peanuts and sunflowers are leading. Sugar beets and sugarcane are grown. From fruit, pineapples, citrus fruits, bananas, apples, mangoes, pears and others are grown. Livestock in China used to occupy a secondary place, but now it has begun to develop at an accelerated pace. Also for the past 4000 years, sericulture has been practiced in China.
Despite the success of China's agriculture, it does not cope with the large population growth in the country. According to experts, in the 21st century, the need for imported grain will amount to 55 to 175 million tons annually.