In guidelines drawn up by the Ministry of Agriculture, China has also set targets on agricultural science and mechanization.
China must guarantee to maintain the basic farmland at a level of no less than 1.56 billion mu (about 104 million hectares) by 2020, said the guideline.
Annual water consumption for irrigation should not exceed 372 billion cubic meters, while the rate of use of irrigation water should rise to 55 per cent from the current level of 50 per cent.
One cubic metre of water only produces a kilogram of grain harvested in China, lower than the average of 1.2-1.4 kilograms in advanced countries, which the ministry of agriculture says is a huge waste of water.
The guideline asked farmers to reduce use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides by limiting waste and switching to organic alternatives.
Chemical fertiliser use hit 59 million tonnes in 2013. Manure and waste, agricultural films and crop straw resources should be managed properly, said Agricultural Minister Han Changfu.
China also aims to increase forest coverage rate to 23 per cent by 2020.Forest coverage totalled 195 million hectares, or 20.4 per cent of the country's total area, at the end of 2008.
