2014 Fertilizer Review: Scientific Fertilization for Quality and Efficiency Improvement
Editor's note:
In 2014, “arable land quality” and “scientific fertilization” were frequently mentioned and put on the government's regular work agenda. In recent years, on the one hand, the massive use of chemical inputs has caused soil acidification and a decline in arable land quality; on the other hand, there is a structural surplus of fertilizer production capacity, and fertilizer enterprises are seeking innovative breakthroughs. At this time, the nation's arable land quality construction and scientific fertilization, as well as the adjustment of fertilizer industry policies, all point toward strategic transformation under the new normal, in the hope that under new circumstances such as appropriately scaled land management, agricultural production will further advance scientific fertilization and quality-and-efficiency improvement, achieving the long-term goals of greater environmental friendliness and sustainable development.
NO.1
New breakthroughs made in the construction of intelligent fertilizer blending outlets
This year, major breakthroughs were made in the construction of intelligent fertilizer blending outlets. Soil testing and formula fertilization expert systems and intelligent fertilizer blending machines are among the components of the national soil testing and formula fertilization subsidy projects implemented in various regions. At present, the soil testing and formula fertilization subsidy project covers all agricultural counties (farms) nationwide. Installing expert system touch screens has met the fertilizer blending needs of a considerable number of key grain-producing townships, and installing intelligent fertilizer blending machines has added more than 20 million tons (physical tons) of formula fertilizer production capacity, to meet the demand of family farms, specialized planting households and farmer professional cooperatives for high-quality, low-cost formula fertilizer.
By 2013, Dezhou City in Shandong had invested a cumulative total of nearly 40 million yuan in central government funds and had gained a basic understanding of soil nutrient conditions. On the basis of large amounts of data, they established a soil testing and formula fertilization expert system to provide scientific reference for regional fertilization. Farmers can click on the plot they cultivate on the expert system touch screen to obtain a personalized precise fertilization prescription, and can use the intelligent fertilizer blending machine to blend fertilizer free of charge. On July 24, Premier Li Keqiang visited Dezhou City in Shandong to inspect the construction of the intelligent fertilizer blending outlet at Deqiang Farm. He expressed the hope that efforts would continue to be intensified to do a good job in soil testing and formula fertilization, a project that benefits the people.
NO.2
The arable land quality improvement project continues to be implemented
The General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Office of the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the “Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Arable Land Quality Improvement Project” (Nong Cai Ban [2014] No. 68) this year. According to industry insiders, the arable land quality improvement project is a continuation and deepening of the soil organic matter improvement project that the two ministries of agriculture and finance have implemented for 6 years.
At present, China's agricultural development has entered a critical period of transformation and change. Following consecutive years of grain output increases, it faces tests such as soil degradation, diminishing fertilizer returns, agricultural non-point source pollution and extreme climate. One of the potentials for sustained output increases is to carry out arable land quality construction and improve arable land fertility through scientific fertilization and balanced soil nutrition. The joint notice issued by the two ministries of agriculture and finance requiring a good job in the arable land quality improvement project fully reflects the state's determination to revitalize arable land quality construction with the full support of central and local finances.
NO.3
The “General Rules for the Construction of High-Standard Farmland” implemented
The national standard “General Rules for the Construction of High-Standard Farmland” (GB/T30600-2014), approved and issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Standardization Administration of China and formulated under the leadership of the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture, was officially implemented starting June 25 this year. High-standard farmland refers to cultivated land that is level, concentrated and contiguous, with complete facilities, supporting farmland infrastructure, fertile soil, good ecology and strong disaster resistance, suitable for modern agricultural production and management methods, ensuring stable yields despite drought or excessive rain and high and stable yields, and designated as permanent basic farmland. The state plans to build 800 million mu of concentrated, contiguous high-standard farmland that ensures stable yields despite drought or excessive rain by 2020.
A prominent highlight of the “General Rules” is that while strengthening engineering-based transformation of arable land soil, it also includes supporting measures to build up soil fertility, making soil improvement, balanced nutrition, organic matter enhancement and the construction of arable land quality monitoring outlets important contents of high-standard farmland construction project implementation. This remedies the previous disconnect between engineering transformation and agronomic fertility building, and reflects a major conceptual shift in high-standard farmland construction work. Through the implementation of the national standard, all regions are guided, in high-standard farmland construction, to value and properly build the intrinsic quality of arable land and ensure the continuous improvement of comprehensive arable land production capacity and output-increasing capacity. To implement the “General Rules”, the focus should be on achieving 3 persistences: persisting in building arable land quality and high-standard farmland infrastructure projects simultaneously, persisting in improving the field monitoring system and high-standard farmland construction simultaneously, and persisting in promoting new agricultural technologies and high-standard farmland construction simultaneously.
NO.4
Integrated water and fertilizer technology extended to grain crops in North China
The National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center, in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places, integrated technical models focusing on wheat, corn and potatoes and intensified the promotion of integrated water and fertilizer technology. This year, the application area reached nearly 8 million mu.
These places adopted micro-sprinkler integrated water and fertilizer technology, with an average input of about 200 yuan per mu. Wheat output increased by 100 kg and corn by 180 kg, an increase of more than 20%. Wheat saved 70 cubic meters of water and 10 kg of fertilizer, while corn saved 40 cubic meters of water and 9 kg of fertilizer, equivalent to reducing groundwater extraction by 110 cubic meters and fertilizer application (converted to pure nutrients) by 19 kg per mu per year. For potatoes, the use of integrated water and fertilizer technology increased output by 1500-2000 kg per mu, with even more obvious benefits. North China is a major grain-producing region of China, with wheat output accounting for 79% of the national total and corn 42%. At the same time, North China is severely short of water, with per-mu water resources less than one-fifth of the national average. Preliminary estimates suggest that for about 200 million mu of irrigated wheat land and 150 million mu of irrigated corn in North China, if integrated water and fertilizer technology were fully promoted, it could save 20 billion cubic meters of water annually, exceeding Beijing's total water consumption for 5 years and approaching half of the total planned water diversion volume of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project; it could save 3.35 million tons of fertilizer (converted to pure nutrients) annually, equivalent to the annual output of 10 large fertilizer plants; and two seasons a year could increase grain output by 47 billion kg and increase income by 78.5 billion yuan. The promotion of integrated water and fertilizer technology for “grain” crops in North China has opened a new path of resource conservation, environmental friendliness and increased grain output and income.
⟦NL> NO.5
Agricultural materials (fertilizer) e-commerce becomes an industry buzzword
After “Double 11”, the news that e-commerce giant JD.com “will sell fertilizer” sparked heated discussion. Taobao.com had earlier marched into rural areas, launching the secondary channel “Rural Taobao”, covering fertilizer, plastic film and many other goods. In addition to third-party trading platforms, some enterprises have built their own online sales platforms, such as the relatively large enterprise Shandong Luxi Chemical Group Co., Ltd.'s “China Fertilizer Purchase Network”.
Compared with the IT industry and the fast-moving consumer goods industry, the agricultural sector entered e-commerce relatively late. Expanding e-commerce business paves the way for the future for agricultural materials dealers. At present, new agricultural business entities such as farmer professional cooperatives, family farms and large planting households are developing rapidly. After appropriately scaled agricultural operations, the advantage of e-commerce connecting with large households has already emerged. But some industry insiders also say that agricultural materials (fertilizer) e-commerce is still very immature at present. On the whole, farmers' internet penetration rate is not high, farmers are accustomed to using the credit account model, and the transportation cost of bulk items such as fertilizer is too high and logistics is inconvenient, which suppresses the momentum of e-commerce development. Mature e-commerce platforms without an agricultural background entering fertilizer will severely impact the existing channels of an already highly mature industry and pose a huge challenge to logistics. In addition, without face-to-face physical transactions and lacking credit supervision, disputes over the quality of agricultural materials (fertilizer) commodities will also surge. However, in the long run, e-commerce represented by the Internet of Things and big data will provide huge opportunities for the development of modern agriculture, and modern agriculture needs to fully connect with the most advanced internet technologies. Agricultural materials (fertilizer) e-commerce will become a trend. How to respond actively and how to guide it correctly are the issues that the agricultural materials (fertilizer) industry needs to face squarely.