The Ministry of Agriculture publishes data on the utilization of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for the first time.

On December 2, the Ministry of Agriculture released data on the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for the first time: in 2015, the chemical fertilizer utilization rate of China's three major grain crops, rice, corn and wheat, was 35.2 percent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points over 2013; and the pesticide utilization rate was 36.6 percent, an increase of 1.6 percentage points over 2013. This is the first time that the Ministry of Agriculture has released the above data since the implementation of the "Zero growth in Chemical Fertilizer and Pesticide use Action".

Increase the utilization rate of chemical fertilizer by 2.2% = save 1.8 billion yuan

The improvement of the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has brought remarkable effects in many aspects. It is estimated that an increase of 2.2 percentage points in the utilization rate of chemical fertilizer can reduce urea use by 1 million tons, nitrogen emissions by 478000 tons, save 1 million tons of coal, and farmers will reduce production input by about 1.8 billion yuan. Farmers reduce production input by about 800 million yuan, which is also conducive to reducing pesticide residues, ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products, and protecting soil and water environment. In recent years, the benefit of chemical fertilizer and pesticide reduction has achieved a set of mature technical model and effective working mechanism, which is the basis for continuously improving the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

There is still a gap in the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides between China and the developed countries.

At present, the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in China is still on the low side, and there is still a big gap compared with developed countries in Europe and the United States. at present, the nitrogen fertilizer utilization rate of food crops in the United States is about 50%. The utilization rate of food crops in major European countries is about 65 percent, which is 1530 percentage points higher than that in China. In developed countries in Europe and the United States, the utilization rate of pesticides in wheat, corn and other food crops is 50% to 60%, which is 1525 percentage points higher than that in China.

In addition, the utilization intensity of land and other resources in China is very strong, which is more than one year in some areas in the south, twice a year in Huang-Huai-Hai region, and once a year only to the north of the Great Wall. In Europe, America and other countries, most of them are ripe once a year, and some countries also practice fallow and rotation. Europe and the United States and other countries through the implementation of deep ploughing and straw returning to the field, the general plough layer is more than 35 cm, while in most parts of our country, the plough layer is only 15 cm to 20 cm, and the ability to conserve water and fertilizer is poor.

In order to improve the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, in order to carry out the action of zero growth in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by 2020 and guide the green development of agriculture, we must speed up the transformation of the mode of fertilization and pesticide use. According to local conditions, we will popularize technologies such as deep application of machinery, mechanical topdressing, simultaneous sowing of seed and fertilizer, and integration of water and fertilizer, and promote the application of green prevention and control technologies such as agricultural control, biological control, and physical control according to different crops and diseases and insect pests, so as to promote the integration of unified prevention and control and green prevention and control. We will speed up the promotion of new and efficient fertilizers and pesticides.

At present, the product structure of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in China is not reasonable, the technical content is not high, and the promotion of advanced and suitable fertilization and pesticide application machinery lags behind. The next step is to focus on the research and development of new products such as high-efficiency slow-release fertilizers, high-efficiency, low-toxic and low-residue pesticides, biological fertilizers and pesticides, and actively promote advanced fertilization and pesticide application machinery. It is all the more necessary to speed up the development of social service organizations and encourage them to participate in the "Zero growth in the use of Chemical Fertilizer and Pesticide."