This is an international collaborative project between the Institute of China Land Surveying and Planning and the American Lincoln Land Policy Research Center. Taking the target system of Chinese farmland preservation as the subject investigated, we try to find an optimal answer to the conflict between farmland preservation and economic development in rapid urbanized regions through analysis on influencing factors of grain production, farmland preservation (including farmland system, agricultural policy, fiscal policy and town development conditions etc.) and optimal policy of farmland preservation in the pilot region.

Through this research, China’s macroscopical situation has been analyzed, and typical cases sampled were compared, and deep discussion has been held with American experts. Finally, it has been presented for sub-reports titled “Research for Opportunities and Countermeasures to Impact on Farmland Preservation in Coastal Developed Areas-taking Pinghu city, Zhejiang province as an example”, and “Situation in Farmland Variation of Main grain production of Middle Regions and Optimal Policy of Farmland Preservation-taking Jingzhou city, Hubei province as an example”, together with general report tilted “Optimal Policies of Farmland Preservation in China’s Rapid Urbanized Region”.

The key items and conclusions of this project are: 1.Discussion has been held on internal relations between future grain security, social stability, farmer income growth and sustainable development. Further analysis and adjustments have been made to target of farmland preservation, and the three grades frame of China’s farmland preservation has been built. 2.The conclusion has been advanced by analyzing the reasons for recent grain output variation, that is, the present grain security safeguard shall still focus on protection of cultivated land quantity; 3.An analysis has been made on factors influencing farmland preservation, which include land policy, economic development (industrialization and urbanization), operation type of farmland, advances of agricultural science and technology, construction of agricultural product market and public fiscal policy etc. It is considered that rapid industrialization and urbanization together with public fiscal policy are the negative limiting factors of farmland preservation, the positive motivational ones for building of agricultural product market, land policy and advance of agricultural science and technology, and the neutral one for operation type of farmland; 4.The preliminary optimal policies of China’s farmland preservation have been suggested; 5.According to features of pilot regions, it is suggested to formulate the policy of farmland preservation in line with local conditions.

Instead of old trains of thoughts only talking about the land, farmland preservation is taken into consideration under a widened environment of social economy during the research. The farmland is regarded as a systems engineering. The great achievements can be made only in the condition of participation of various social resources and cooperation of each sector. The research is from a new angle with a broadened view. The beneficial exploration has also been made for research method and train of thoughts.