I. Cultivated land and population
India is located in the South Asian subcontinent, with a land area of 3.287 million square kilometers and a population of nearly 654.38+0.5 billion. The population density is 3 19 people /km2, which is 2.38 times that of China (134 people /km2). However, the land availability rate in India is much higher than that in China. Indian cultivated land is about 65.438+0.2 billion hectares, accounting for 45% of the country's land area, while China's cultivated land only accounts for 65.438+0.3.54% of the country's land area. According to the figures of the National Bureau of Statistics, the cultivated land area in China was 654.38+300.39 million hectares in 1996, and decreased to 654.38+27 million hectares in 2006, including general cultivated land158.26 million hectares and temporary cultivated land 212.56 million hectares. Because both countries are vast and populous countries, it is very difficult to count land and cultivated land resources, so it is quite difficult to be very accurate. Therefore, vaguely speaking, although the land area of China is much larger than that of India, the arable land available is basically the same as that of India. Then, because China has a larger population than India, the per capita arable land area is obviously smaller than India. The per capita arable land in China is 0. 1 hectare, while that in India is 0. 15 hectare. China and India are both big agricultural countries with large rural populations. Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the rural population in China is 7685 1 100 million, accounting for 59.47% of the total population. China Rural Statistical Yearbook shows that in 2003, China's rural registered population was 9375 1 100 million, accounting for 72.55% of the total population. In the process of reform and opening up, a large number of rural people go to cities to study and work, or set up township enterprises, which is divorced from agricultural production and their living conditions are basically urbanized. The rural population data of the National Bureau of Statistics is based on this basic fact. Among the rural population, this part of people who have been out of agricultural production for a long time has been subtracted. So the actual rural population is much lower than the registered population. Even so, the rural population in China is still higher than that in India. According to the data of FAO in 2002, the rural population of India is 553.28 million, accounting for 52.7% of the total population. According to the lower data of the National Bureau of Statistics, the rural population in China is 2152.3 million more than that in India. The rural population is larger than that of India, and the cultivated land area is basically the same. It can be seen that agricultural production in China faces more difficulties than that in India.
India's grain planting area is basically stable, with more than 90 million hectares in a few years and more than 654.38 billion hectares in many years, which has not changed much for decades. However, in recent decades, the grain planting area in China has a decreasing trend. It is gratifying that the number of poor people in China is far less than that in India, where the number of poor people is 320 million, while that in China is only over 30 million. However, according to experts in China, a large number of people in China are on the verge of poverty. When agricultural products can increase income, they are above the poverty line. When the market situation is not conducive to increasing agricultural products, these people may fall below the poverty line. Together with this marginalized population, China's figure is as high as more than 70 million.
China's GDP is much higher than India's, which was $65,438 +0.4082 trillion in 2003, while India's was only $0.558 trillion in the same period, and China's was 2.5 times that of India. China's GDP per capita is 1089.9 USD, India's is 53 1.6 USD, and India's is only 1/2 of China's.
Second, grain output.
There is a great difference in grain output between China and India. According to the National Bureau of Statistics and the FAO data cited by it, even when the grain output in China was relatively low in 2003, it was nearly twice as high as that in India. 430.7 million tons in China and 249 million tons in India. Of course, China has a larger population than India, so it should produce more. However, it should not be overlooked that China has produced such a high amount of grain under the condition that the cultivated land area is basically the same as that of India. Therefore, we can think that China's agricultural production technology is higher than India's, and at the same time, we should clearly see that India's low output shows that its productivity development still has great potential; China has a high output, so it is relatively difficult to continue to increase the output on the limited arable land.
In terms of varieties, the rice output in China in 2003 was 654.38+60.66 million tons, and that in India was1.54.38+0 million tons. China's wheat output is 86.48 million tons, and India's 69.32 million tons. The maize yield in China is1.1.58.3 million tons, and that in India is 0. 1.47 million tons. The soybean output in China is 0./kloc-0. 53.9 million tons, and that in India is 68 million tons. There is not much difference between rice and wheat in these two countries. Considering the large population in China, it is normal to produce more. The big gap is the corn yield, which is 10 times that of India in China. Followed by soybean production, China is 2.26 times that of India.
In terms of per capita grain output, China is higher than India. After the 1980s, China's per capita grain output rose rapidly, with a per capita grain output of 326.7 kg in 1980, while that in India was only 2 16.2 kg in the same period. 1990, the per capita grain output in China rose to 393. 1 kg, an increase of 66.4 kg or 20.32% compared with 1980. In the same period, India also increased, with a per capita of 235.7 kg, an increase of 19.5 kg compared with 1980, with an increase of 9.02%. In 2003, the per capita grain output in China was 334.3 kg, which was lower than that in the 1990s. In the same period, India was 237.7 kg, which also decreased slightly. Generally speaking, China's per capita grain output is about 100 kg higher than that of India. In the late 1990s, China's per capita grain output exceeded 400 kg for four consecutive years, while India never reached 300 kg.
Analyzing the above figures, the huge difference in food supply between China and India is impressive. It is generally believed that the consumption of grain is basically a constant and has certain rigidity. It is unrealistic to increase or decrease too quickly. It is understandable to say that there is a certain gap in consumption between China and India due to the particularity of people, but it is difficult to understand that the gap is 100 kg. So do Indians have other ways to supply a lot of food besides food? The answer is no, the main foods other than grains should include meat, eggs, aquatic products, fruits, milk, vegetables and so on. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2003, the output of meat, eggs, aquatic products and fruits in China greatly exceeded that in India, and the milk output in India alone was more than twice that in China. According to some data, India is a big cattle-raising country. In 2003, the number of large-value cattle was as high as 226,654.38+0 million, so the milk output was high, but the beef output was only about 6,543.8+0.5 million tons. China beef production reached 6.304 million tons. Because China's pork production ranks first in the world, and the number of poultry farming is also very large, the feed used by pigs and poultry is mainly grain. So the aquaculture industry in China consumes a lot of food. While India mainly raises cattle, and cattle feed is less, so India's food consumption is much less than that of China.
Three. Grain import and export trade
In 2003, China's rice export volume was 2.344 million tons, while Indian export volume was 2.8 million tons in the same period. China exported wheat1813,300 tons, and India exported 5 million tons. China exports corn16.39 million tons, while India hardly exports it. China imported 20.47 million tons of soybeans, while India did not. China's net grain export is 77,300 tons, and India's net grain export is 7.8 million tons. In 2004, affected by the grain market price, China's exports further decreased and its imports further expanded, and its net grain imports reached19.3 million tons. India will still export 2.5 million tons of rice, although its rice stocks have decreased by 65,438+00%. Wheat stocks have dropped from 6.9 million tons to 5.5 million tons, and the export volume will still be 6.5438+0.0000 tons. It is estimated that India's net grain export will reach 3.5 million tons in 2004.
Fourth, some conclusions.
1. As far as the development potential of agriculture and food production is concerned, China and India have their own strengths. The output per unit area of grain production in India is currently low, and there is great potential for improvement. Due to inventory and financial pressure, India is not in a hurry to increase the total grain output, but is striving to expand exports while ensuring domestic consumption. In this regard, the state provides some preferential policies to encourage. The development of animal husbandry in India is restricted by food supply and concentrated in industries that consume less food. However, due to sufficient food supply, China still has great potential and market to continue to develop animal husbandry and expand the scale of grain transformation.
2. India can still export grain on a large scale under the condition of relatively low grain supply capacity and low grain inventory level, which is worth thinking and studying. India's understanding and practice of food security is unique.
3. As far as the poor population is concerned, although India is more than China, the rural population in China is 2160,000 more than India, which shows that the industrialization process in China is not less difficult than India. Moreover, due to the lack of arable land and per capita arable land in China, the national policy of strictly controlling population growth must not be shaken.
4. Before 1960s, India was a country with extreme food shortage, and was called a country of famine. After nearly half a century's efforts and development, agriculture has achieved great success, from grain shortage to becoming one of the world's major grain exporters. For such a populous agricultural country, this is indeed a remarkable achievement. China has also experienced a similar situation. China's rapid economic development in the process of reform and opening up is also based on agriculture. Without the stable development of agriculture, it is impossible for the whole national economy to develop rapidly and continuously. Of course, there is no doubt that China should focus on the beneficial experience of developed countries in the world and try to start at a higher level in its development. However, it is of great significance to study and learn from the development of countries like India, which have many similarities and similarities with China. In fact, the research and comparison made in this paper are only preliminary, and there are still many problems that need to be further discussed. (