China wants to fight against water pollution and land

More efforts to fight against water pollution and land; reduction of fertilizers and pesticides, waste limitation.

The Ministry of Agricultre asked farmers to devote more efforts to fight against water pollution and land. Currently 1 m3 of water is needed to produce 1 kg of grain in the country (the average for developed countries is between 1.2 and 1.4 kg). Efforts should focus on better use. The needs for agricultural irrigation should not exceed 372 million cubic meters by 2020.

The ministry also called on farmers to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, while reducing waste and switch to organic alternatives.

The use of chemical fertilizers has reached 59 million tonnes in 2013, an increase of 5.2% over the past three decades, according to a report. The use of pesticides should be reduced to 300 000 tonnes against 320,000 tonnes.

source : china org cn