Organic agriculture cannot do without healthy soil
On December 12, the Fourth China (Chengdu) Organic Agriculture Forum was held in Pujiang County, Sichuan Province. With the theme "Healthy Soil - Standard Certification," the forum held keynote speeches and exchanges on topics including healthy soil cultivation, organic agriculture certification and trade, consumer trust, and international organic agriculture development trends. Experts at the forum held that it is necessary to start with strengthening the quality construction of cultivated land and cultivating healthy soil, use resources rationally, achieve the lasting development of agricultural ecosystems, and promote organic agriculture construction in a scientific and orderly manner.
Experts pointed out that soil health is the ability of the soil ecosystem to maintain biological productivity, improve environmental quality, and promote the health of animals and plants. Whether it is organic agricultural products, green food, or pollution-free agricultural products, all have very high requirements for the soil quality and environment in which crops grow. At present, the soil of agricultural land such as cultivated land and garden land in our country faces threats of pollution to varying degrees, as well as the challenge of continuous decline in soil fertility. In particular, cultivated land soil has long been in a "sub-healthy" state, most prominently shown in the "two larges and two lows." The "two larges" are the large area of degraded cultivated land quality and the large area of polluted cultivated land. The "two lows" are the low soil organic matter content and the low basic soil fertility.
Experts at the forum held that in the process of transition from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, our country's agriculture cannot bypass the hurdle of resources, environment, and ecology. If we do not begin now to proactively resolve ecological and environmental constraints, we will face even more severe agricultural resource and ecological environment problems in the future. Against this broader background, organic agriculture faces a rare development opportunity. Organic agriculture advocates giving full play to the natural regulatory mechanisms within agricultural ecosystems, adopting rational cultivation measures, protecting the ecological environment, and achieving harmonious development of rural social economy and the ecological environment. Accelerating the development of organic agriculture helps promote the transformation of agricultural development methods and the sustainable development of agriculture.
It is understood that Chengdu has taken the development of green and organic agriculture as an important part of building an urban modern agriculture industrial system, and has successfully held the organic agriculture forum for 3 consecutive sessions. Pujiang County, as a key county for Chengdu's organic agriculture development, has established the development approach of building an organic agriculture base in line with international standards, and has achieved notable results in aspects such as the construction of an organic environment, the establishment of an organic input system, the formulation of organic norms and standards, and the dissemination of organic concepts, providing a vivid sample for the development of organic agriculture.
This forum was co-hosted by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China, the China Green Food Development Center, the Quality Agricultural Products Development Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Farmers' Daily, the China Agricultural Products Market Association, the China Quality Agricultural Products Development Service Association, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture, and the Chengdu Municipal People's Government. More than 200 people attended the forum, including relevant heads from departments such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Certification and Accreditation Administration, domestic and foreign experts and scholars from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research, and China Agricultural University, as well as representatives of agricultural departments and organic agricultural production entities from some provinces and cities.