"Because we could get a subsidy if we plant trees, most of the young people in the village went to work in big cities," said Lu. "Right now, almost no one is growing grain or vegetables in the village."

Currently farmland in China is very limited, accounting for a little over 10 percent of all land area in the country. Middle and low productive farmland makes up about 83.2 percent of that portion. Furthermore, about 40 percent of the farmland in arid and semi-arid areas is now deteriorating.

From 2000 to present, the farmland-to-forest policy has been the major cause of farmland reduction. For instance, about 339,300 hectares of farmland was converted into forest in 2006. At the same time, construction projects took over 258,500 hectares of farmland.

Shen Shouyu, a land law professor at Nanjing University, is worried about the situation. "The Chinese population is increasing rapidly each year and this puts high demands on food supplies," Shen said." The farmland is not enough for the growing population."

A report from Caijing magazine, a well-known magazine in the economic and financial field, quoted analysts as saying that the total annual grain demand of China is about 500 billion kg. If the output of one hectare of land is 4,500 kg, at least 111 million hectares of farmland is needed to maintain a balance between food demand and supply. However, among the current 122 million hectares, farmland with stable output only totals 107 million hectares.

Taking chances

China now faces a land crisis. Reduction of farmland must be kept within 1.8 million hectares a year and the amount of land used for construction needs to be kept under control. Yet development, especially in the eastern, central and western regions, is hungry for land. Basic infrastructure must be erected and each region has its proper ways to utilize farmland. The agricultural department has proposed to maintain 133 million hectares of farmland. At the same time, the forest department would like to plant 280 million more hectares of trees. Added to this, the road and transportation departments need over 233,300 hectares of land.

Fulfilling the needs of every department will be difficult.

"China is accelerating its industrial and urbanization development, thus requiring more land," Shen said. "The current land system can hardly rein in local government's impulse to occupy land. Therefore, the only way out seems to stop more farmland from being turned into forest."

But forestry expert Guo Xiaoming has other concerns. "By quantity, the project is indeed the biggest reason for the reduction of farmland," said Guo. "But the farmland being returned to forest is located in the most remote areas with the worst ecological environment. That farmland is the least suitable for growing grains and vegetables." Guo suggested that productive farmland in the eastern areas should be preserved, because "the output of one hectare land in eastern areas is two to three times that of other areas."

Guo pointed out that quality farmland, which is not in the range of the project, has been restored into forest. "Some farmers quit farming and went to work in cities for higher income. A lot of good farmland is ruined in this way," he said. "We are now worried that the large-scale transformation of farmland to forest will bring new problems."

The new policy has taken these problems into consideration. Li Yucai, Deputy Director of the State Forestry Administration, said the focus of the reforestation project will change. First, newly planted forests will be further protected but no more farmland will be converted. Second, more trees will be planted in grassless mountain areas instead of farmland.

In order to stabilize farmers' income, the State Council has decided to prolong the subsidies, costing the Central Government more than 200 billion yuan.

Li also stated that the temporary suspension of the project does not mean it has been terminated. Li said a new plan will be enacted after in-depth research and investigation.