Integrated water and fertilizer technology breaks the stranglehold on agricultural development

At a recent high-level forum on "one control and two reductions" held in Beijing, experts noted that China's agricultural production has long involved excessive development and use of arable land and water resources, and faces the constraints of two "strangleholds" - resource conditions and the ecological environment - which forces us to transform the agricultural development model and achieve sustainable agricultural development.

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed the goal of achieving "one control and two reductions" by 2020 to prevent and control agricultural non-point source pollution. "One control" refers to strictly controlling total agricultural water use and vigorously developing water-saving agriculture, while "two reductions" refers to reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and implementing a zero-growth action for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

To achieve this goal, we must ultimately rely on advances in agricultural science and technology. "Among these, integrated water and fertilizer technology is crucial, known as the 'number one technology' for saving water, reducing fertilizer use and increasing efficiency," the experts said.

The "heavy water and heavy fertilizer" model of agriculture has reached its end

"It can be said that China's agricultural output increases have been achieved on the basis of long-term heavy inputs of water, fertilizer and pesticides, which has caused many resource and environmental problems. With the proposal of the 'one control and two reductions' policy goals, this extensive agricultural development model will also come to an end," said Sun Shubao, chairman of the China Pesticide Industry Association.

Zhong Luqing, deputy director of the Cultivated Land and Fertilizer Division of the Planting Industry Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said, "In the coming period, we face mounting pressure to continuously increase agricultural production supply. We must both control the growth of agricultural water use and ensure the security of major grains and the effective supply of major agricultural products, which requires us to work hard on efficient water saving."

In agricultural production, what is efficient water saving? "Irrigation water accounts for about 90% of agricultural water use in China, so efficient water saving in the general sense means efficient use of irrigation water," said Wu Yuqin, director of the Water-Saving Irrigation Division of the China Irrigation and Drainage Development Center under the Ministry of Water Resources. Through developing efficient water saving, fertilizer use efficiency can be increased by 20%, and with a higher level of technology, fertilizer use efficiency can even reach 40%-50%."

China's "13th Five-Year Plan Outline" clearly proposes that during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, "an additional 100 million mu of efficient water-saving irrigation area will be added, and the effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water will be raised to above 0.55." Gao Xiangzhao, chief expert of the National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, stressed that with the continuous advancement of rural land transfer and against the backdrop of profound changes in agricultural production, controlling agricultural water use and improving irrigation efficiency is an inevitable choice.

Integrated water and fertilizer technology can improve water and fertilizer use efficiency

The extensive production model of "heavy water, heavy fertilizer and heavy pesticides" not only pollutes the ecological environment but also causes public concern about food safety, and social opinion demonizing chemical fertilizers and pesticides is running rampant. "Zero growth of chemical fertilizers and pesticides does not mean we will no longer apply chemical fertilizers and pesticides," Zhong Luqing said. "Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are products of modern agricultural development and an important standard of agricultural scientific and technological progress. They have played an indispensable role in ensuring the effective supply of agricultural products and stabilizing farmers' incomes. Therefore, they should be evaluated scientifically, objectively and fairly."

Low fertilizer use efficiency and irrational application are among the main factors causing high agricultural production costs and heavy burdens on farmers in China. "In China's agriculture, chemical fertilizer accounts for half of all input costs other than labor, carrying a large part of the pressure on farmers to save costs and increase incomes," Gao Xiangzhao said. Integrated water and fertilizer technology can improve the use efficiency of water resources and chemical fertilizers. It is an important technical measure for increasing agricultural output, raising farmers' incomes and achieving "one control and two reductions" in China, and also an important means of easing the pressure on the agricultural ecological environment.

Good technology, but the key is to make sure farmers know how to use it

With the continuous advancement of agricultural modernization, farmers' demand for saving labor, time and effort is constantly growing. "Integrated water and fertilizer technology can achieve the goals of saving water, resisting drought, and protecting the ecology and environment, so vigorously promoting it is imperative," said Gu Zongqin, chairman of the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association.

However, promoting the development of integrated water and fertilizer technology is by no means as simple as "1+1=2." The "Implementation Plan for Promoting Integrated Water and Fertilizer Technology (2016-2020)" issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture clearly sets the goals and tasks: "By 2020, the area of promoted integrated water and fertilizer technology will reach 150 million mu, an increase of 80 million mu. Grain output will increase by 45 billion jin, water will be saved by 15 billion cubic meters, fertilizer will be saved by 300,000 tons, and efficiency will increase by 50 billion yuan."

"In recent years, China's integrated water and fertilizer technology has developed rapidly, from initially being used on cash crops to field crops, from initially being promoted in protected agriculture to field production, and from initially being applied in the arid regions of the northwest to the whole country," said Du Sen, director of the Water-Saving Technology Division of the National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture. "At first, the input cost of integrated water and fertilizer technology was relatively high, at two to three thousand yuan per mu, but now through our localized research and development, the cost has dropped significantly. In many places, basic equipment can be installed for less than one thousand yuan. The drop in cost has made it generally acceptable to farmers."

Because China has a vast territory, large regional differences, and diverse cropping systems and soil types, the promotion of integrated water and fertilizer technology should pay attention to technology integration, carry out demonstrations according to local conditions, and develop suitable technical models for different regions and different crops. "Some modern technologies can be applied, such as automated monitoring technology, to achieve precise fertilization through real-time monitoring of water and nutrients," Du Sen said. In the promotion process, publicity and training for farmers should be done well. Integrated water and fertilizer technology has relatively high technical requirements and corresponding operational requirements for water-saving irrigation equipment. The key is to make sure farmers know how to use it and achieve results with it.