Ministry of Agriculture points out two major and two low problems in China's cultivated land quality

According to a Xinhua Net report on the 20th, He Caiwen, deputy director of the Planting Industry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that China's cultivated land soil has long been in a sub-healthy state, with problems of “two major and two low”: a large degraded area, a large polluted area, low organic matter content, and low soil fertility.

At the “2015 International Agricultural Business Brand Development Forum” hosted by the China Quality Agricultural Products Development Promotion Association, the China Brand Building Promotion Association and other institutions, He Caiwen introduced that at present the degraded area of China's cultivated land accounts for more than 40% of the total cultivated land area, specifically shown as the thinning of the black soil in Northeast China, acidification of soil in the South, and salinization of soil in the North; in terms of pollution, the polluted area of cultivated land is large, and the rate of heavy metal exceedance at monitoring points in cultivated land nationwide has reached more than 19%.

“China's organic matter content is currently only 2.08%, far below the level of Europe and the United States, among which the organic matter content of the black soil in Northeast China is only 3%, a clear decline from 7% at the beginning of development. In addition, soil fertility is on the low side; at present the contribution rate of China's soil to agricultural products is only 20%, 20% lower than that of developed countries. China's middle- and low-yield farmland accounts for 70%.” He Caiwen said.

As for the causes of the “two major and two low” problems, Zou Guoyuan, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences who attended the forum, analyzed that in addition to natural factors, people's excessive development of soil in recent years and insufficient efforts to protect soil are important reasons for the worsening of soil problems.

“The state should introduce prohibitions and incentive measures, reverse the notion of "using soil without nourishing it", and explore the use of economic means to repair and build up the soil.” Zou Guoyuan suggested.

⟦NL> He Caiwen pointed out that the Ministry of Agriculture is currently actively advancing the protection and construction of cultivated land quality, carrying out cultivated land quality protection actions nationwide, advancing the “zero growth of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by 2020” plan, and investing 500 million yuan in Northeast China for the protection of the black soil in Northeast China.