Formulated fertilizer reaches villages, households and fields, with promotion area reaching 360 million mu-times

        Since the beginning of this year, agricultural departments at all levels have deeply implemented the soil testing and formulated fertilization project, closely focusing on the core of formulated fertilizer promotion, actively exploring new methods and new approaches such as agricultural-enterprise cooperation, intelligent fertilizer blending terminal construction, and mobile phone information services, vigorously guiding enterprises, new-type agricultural business entities and socialized service organizations to participate in the production, supply and service of formulated fertilizer, which has driven the large-scale promotion and application of formulated fertilizer. According to statistics, in the first half of the year, the national consumption of formulated fertilizer for major grain crops was 5.3 million tons (in pure nutrients), and the application area was 360 million mu-times, up 17.8% and 20% respectively compared with the same period last year; formulated fertilizer already accounts for about 40% of the total fertilizer applied to major grain crops.

Relying on large enterprises, connecting with large cities and counties in advantageous production areas, to create demonstration models of agricultural-enterprise cooperation in promoting formulated fertilizer. Since 2012, the Ministry of Agriculture has carried out the agricultural-enterprise cooperation action to promote formulated fertilizer for 3 consecutive years, adopting the method of “one hundred enterprises connecting one hundred counties”, organizing more than 200 large and medium-sized fertilizer enterprises across the country to produce and supply formulated fertilizer for 100 counties that are advancing soil testing and formulated fertilization across the board. This year, the Planting Industry Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture selected 19 large counties and cities of grain and cash crops in 11 provinces (regions, municipalities) including Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Guangxi, Chongqing and Hainan, and cooperated with Sinochem Fertilizer Co., Ltd. to carry out “Creation of Demonstration Counties for Agricultural-Enterprise Cooperation in Promoting Formulated Fertilizer”, jointly creating a number of typical models of scientific fertilization and exploring effective models for formulated fertilizer to reach villages, households and fields.

Relying on intelligent fertilizer blending terminals, meeting individualized fertilization needs, and creating a grassroots formulated fertilizer distribution and service network. Intelligent fertilizer blending terminals are fertilizer supermarkets and fertilizer “gas stations” built in the fields, and can better meet the requirements of fast, convenient fertilizer demand and use in agricultural production. In 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine jointly issued the “Opinions on Accelerating the Promotion of Formulated Fertilizer”, giving a series of support policies to the development of intelligent fertilizer blending terminals, creating good conditions for the construction of grassroots fertilizer blending outlets. Heilongjiang Province increased financial support, and according to the standard of subsidizing 300,000-350,000 yuan per fertilizer blending station, planned to build 315 regional fertilizer blending stations across the province, with a production capacity of 2.3 million tons of formulated fertilizer per year. Hubei Province vigorously developed specialized cooperatives for soil testing and formulated fertilization, integrating soil testing and formulated fertilization technology, formulated fertilizer products and socialized services into a package, realizing the synchronization of the “four modernizations” of specialization of technical services, industrialization of technical achievements, intelligent production of formulated fertilizer, and individualized application of formulated fertilizer.

Relying on information technology, applying the soil testing and formulated fertilization expert system, and creating an information service platform for formulated fertilizer promotion. Since the implementation of the soil testing and formulated fertilization project, each project county (farm) has taken the delivery of soil testing and formulated fertilization information such as fertilizer formulas and fertilization guidance opinions to households as a key task, adopting methods such as “formula cards delivered to households and fertilization guidance opinions posted on walls”, so that farmers understand reasonable fertilization amounts and fertilization methods. So far, more than 900 million fertilization recommendation cards have been distributed. While adhering to traditional models such as distributing fertilization recommendation cards and promotional albums and promoting information posting on walls, all localities have effectively strengthened the construction of the soil testing and formulated fertilization expert system, and through information technologies such as the internet, mobile phone text messages and touch-screen queries, made fertilizer formulas and guidance opinions refined and concrete, adopting voice that farmers can understand, information they can read, and methods they can receive, letting farmers understand the nutrient status of their own farmland and guiding farmers in selecting and using fertilizer.