How to achieve zero growth in chemical fertilizers and pesticides

How to achieve zero growth in chemical fertilizers and pesticides? How to increase the supply of green and high-quality agricultural products starting from the production end, thereby promoting structural reform on the supply side of agriculture? At a recent face-to-face event with experts and media themed "Focusing on Zero Growth of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides, Promoting Agricultural Supply-Side Reform," experts including Mao Jianhua, former director of the Tianjin Institute of Resources and Environment, Zhao Jianming, deputy director of the Shanxi Soil Fertilizer Workstation, Gao Peifang, executive dean of the Entrepreneurship College of Shanxi Agricultural University, and Xi Wenbo, general manager of Tianjin New Ag Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., along with nearly twenty media outlets including the China Science Daily, discussed how to achieve zero growth in chemical fertilizers and pesticides and deepen the promotion of agricultural supply-side reform from the perspectives of policy interpretation, technical means, and promotion application.
"This year's Central No. 1 Document focuses on deepening the structural reform on the supply side of agriculture, and the reform of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is an important part of it. How to promote the implementation of policies in practical work?" Zhao Jianming answered that, based on ensuring national food security and agricultural product supply, the amount of chemical fertilizers used should be reduced, and the efficiency of fertilizer utilization should be improved. He stated that healthy soil is the basic condition for producing safe food, so it is necessary to treat polluted soil to improve soil quality, introduce policies to promote organic fertilizers as substitutes for chemical fertilizers, and advance standardized agricultural production. When discussing how our province can achieve the goal of zero growth in chemical fertilizer usage by 2020, he pointed out that farmers' concepts of fertilization in production need to change, and farmers should be encouraged to use organic fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers, conduct soil testing and formulation, and guide farmers to apply fertilizers scientifically, standardize production, and mechanize production to solve the "last mile" problem of achieving zero growth in chemical fertilizers and pesticides from the source. Currently, agricultural input companies lack motivation to "reduce fertilizer," and companies need to innovate in products and upgrade technologies to actively cooperate with the implementation of national policies. The government should strengthen demonstrations, increase publicity efforts, and establish demonstration zones to promote through demonstrations, publicity, training, and other measures.
Mao Jianhua elaborated on his views based on the history of agricultural fertilizer development in China and the excessive use of imported chemical fertilizers leading to problems in soil and agricultural products. He pointed out that China is a traditional major country in organic agriculture, and the imported chemical fertilizers in the mid-20th century won the favor of Chinese farmers with their immediate effects, marking the beginning of the chemical fertilizer era in Chinese agriculture. Currently, China is a major producer and user of chemical fertilizers. The excessive use of chemical fertilizers has led to serious soil environmental problems and ecological issues, raising food safety concerns. He believes that ensuring food safety first requires ensuring soil health, and that chemical fertilizers should be used scientifically and reasonably in agricultural production, combining organic and inorganic fertilizers, conducting targeted soil testing and fertilization, and adopting new types of biological fertilizers.
How to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides scientifically? Gao Peifang stated that while the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has increased crop yields, it has also disrupted the balance of soil nutrients, caused soil compaction, and reduced the quality of agricultural products. Changing agricultural production methods, especially the way chemical fertilizers are used, has become an urgent issue to be addressed. He also mentioned that to lead the transformation of agricultural production methods, the university's student entrepreneurship team has planted strawberries, jujubes, and other crops on severely compacted land, demonstrating that the application of organic fertilizers can enhance crop production quality and restore the inherent quality of agricultural products. It is hoped that through scientific demonstrations of pesticide and organic fertilizer usage, farmers can be guided to change their production methods, solve issues related to improving agricultural product quality, and help farmers increase production and income.