China, the world’s top user of pesticides, aims to reduce their use in cultivation of fruit, vegetables and tea by a tenth within three years’ time, the farm ministry said Dec. 1, in an effort to curb chemicals in the food chain.
High levels of chemical pesticides and fertilizers are used to produce crops on China’s small, heavily exploited plots. Overuse can degrade the soil and pollute water, while improper use can cause contamination and reduce biodiversity.
The ministry also wants to reduce pesticide use on rice, wheat and corn by five per cent in the same period, and step up use of organic fertilizers by the same amount by 2025.
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“There is an urgent need to improve the efficiency and scientific use of pesticides and fertilizers when promoting the reduction of chemical pesticides,” the ministry of agriculture and rural affairs said on its website.
At the same time, national food security and supplies of key products must be maintained, it said.
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China began to tackle the problem in 2015 with a campaign to halt growth in use of chemicals by 2020.
While use of pesticides and fertilizers had dropped by 16.8 per cent and 13.8 per cent respectively by 2021, the country is still using too much and inefficiently, the ministry said.
A greater focus on natural enemies such as insects should be part of efforts to eliminate pests and disease, the ministry said, with such “green” prevention methods aimed to be used on more than 55 per cent of planted area by 2025.
China has just seven per cent of the world’s arable land but accounts for one-third of global chemical fertilizer consumption. Its per unit use is 2.7 times higher than the world average, said a state-backed publication, China Energy News.
