Abstract: Taking Shaanxi Province as the research object, this study designed an economic compensation model for farmland protection based on the principles of constructing an economic compensation system. Using the perspectives of food security and ecological security, the surplus and deficit of farmland in each city （district） of Shaanxi Province in 2022 were calculated. On this basis, the various regions of Shaanxi Province would be divided into profit zones （i.e. compensation zones）, loss zones （i.e. payment zones）, and balance zones. The results showed that in terms of the surplus and deficit of grain cultivated land, the overall grain cultivated land in Shaanxi Province would be in a deficit state in 2022, with a total grain cultivated land deficit of 34.029× 10⁴ hm² in the province;Yulin City and Weinan City had a good surplus of grain cultivated land, with a surplus of 11.250× 10⁴ hm² and 0.758× 10⁴ hm² respectively, while Xi’an City had the most severe loss, with a deficit of 20.823× 10⁴ hm². From the perspective of ecological surplus and deficit of cultivated land, Shaanxi Province would generally be in a deficit state in 2022, with a total deficit of 42.751× 10⁴ hm². Among them, Yulin City and Yan’an City would be in a surplus state, with 33.314× 10⁴ hm² and 12.706× 10⁴ hm² respectively. Xi’an City would suffer the most severe deficit, with 22.701× 10⁴ hm². The ideal value of arable land development rights in Shaanxi Province in 2022 was 612.585 yuan/m², the ideal value of compensation standard was 12.993 yuan/m², and the actual value of compensation standard was 3.734 yuan/m². The implementation of the economic compensation system for farmland protection would help alleviate the pressure on farmland resources in Shaanxi Province, ensure food security and ecological security, promote the construction of agricultural ecological civilization and coordinate urban-rural development.

Key words: food security, ecological security, farmland protection, economic compensation model, Shaanxi Province