Farmers abandoning rural life to work in the cities for more money

More than 46.6 percent of arable land in 16 provinces in southern parts of China - 21.5 million hectares - lies untilled in winter, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture. The land used to be planted with rice.

●    Rice-planting areas in southern provinces have shrunk considerably in recent years. On top of this, most rice varieties that can be harvested twice a year have been replaced by single- harvest rice, as farmers are not willing to spend time on the land and want to work in the cities for more money.
●    Of the national output of 546.4 million tons of grain in 2010, about 45.6 percent came from the 16 southern provinces.
●    The contribution from the 16 provinces marked a sharp decline from almost 60 percent in the 1980s.
●    The agricultural information office's Li estimated that rice output could grow by about 10 percent if local governments made full use of arable land.
●    Also, more drought- and cold-resistant varieties of crops, such as potatoes and Chinese cabbage, could be planted in winter in the central and southern regions to take advantage of local climate change, he said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2011-08/08/content_13068194.htm