Yinlong Xu
Climate Change Lab, Institute of Environment and sustainable Development in Agriculture (IEDA), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)

In the past 5 decades, the averaged surface air temperature for whole China increased by 1.1℃, and meanwhile there has been a noticeable change in spatial distributions of precipitation in China. The droughts more frequently occurred and the drought damage is getting more and more severe in northern China, while in southern China the flooding disasters and the seasonal droughts have been both enhanced. The impacts of climate change on Chinese agriculture have obviously emerged in China, the frequency of agro-meteorological disasters has increased due to more occurrence of extreme weather/climate events, climate warming has resulted in the adjustments of cropping systems as well as the expansion of agricultural pests and diseases.
To initiate the study on China’s agricultural adaptation strategy, we firstly summarized the crucial problems for Chinese agriculture to climate change as:
• the challenge for food security;
• the enhanced agro-meteorological disasters;
• the controlling of agricultural diseases, pests and weeds;
• the serious grassland degradation and instable animal husbandry;
• and the poverty in rural and ecologically vulnerable regions.
Based on the above summarized problems, we proposed the major tasks for agricultural adaptation to climate change as:
• enhancing the construction of agricultural infrastructures;
• accelerating agricultural industrialization and modernization;
• strengthening water conservancy facility and developing water-saving agriculture;
• adjusting cropping systems and crop varieties layout;
• developing adaptation techniques for animal husbandry;
• establishing agricultural disaster early-warning systems and improving agricultural disasters insurance;
• and completing the adaptation technology check-list.
Then we further proposed the adaptation actions for the next decade corresponding to the major tasks for Chinese agriculture, including the synergy actions with water resources and forestry. The measures to ensure the success of the adaptation actions are also proposed, including monitoring, scientific research, legislation, adaptation planning, finance, raising the public awareness, capacity building, as well as the international collaboration.
Key words: climate change, agriculture, adaptation strategy