Fertilizer utilization in China’s three major grain crops reached 42.6% in 2024, an increase year by year

In 2024, the fertilizer utilization in China’s three major grain crops - rice, corn and wheat, reached 42.6%, up 1.3% over 41.3% in 2022, which is trending higher year by year.

The steady increase of the fertilizer utilization rate is attributable to the intensified implementation of the fertilizer-use reduction measures taken by in the agricultural administrations. Since 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has organized a zero-growth program in relation to the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which aims to improve the utilization efficiency via improvement of product quality, development of new and efficient products as well as improvement of application methods, so as to achieve reduction of use of pesticides and fertilizers to the benefit of environmental protection, thus ensuring the sustainability of agricultural production.

Among the various factors affecting fertilizer utilization, soil testing and formulated fertilization are the key factor. In all regions of China, agricultural administrations work closely with agricultural enterprises in promotion of customized service for supply of special fertilizer packages to promote application of formulated fertilizers. So far, the soil testing and formulated fertilization have covered above 95% of the three major grain crops in the country.

The integrated application of new fertilization technology, new product and new machine is also an important approach, which is promoted and applied to all possible regions, having effectively increased China’s fertilizer utilization rate.

Multiple alternative measures have played an important role. All regions of China have encouraged and guided farmer’s utilization of local manure nearby and planting of green manure as well as increased use of microbial fertilizers to partly replace chemical fertilizers.

Professionalized fertilization service provides strong support for improvement of fertilizer utilization rate. All regions of China are continuing to foster and expand professional services; promoting recommendations on intelligent fertilization; providing intelligent diagnostics, digital fertilizer distribution and mechanized ″one-stop″ scientific fertilization service to promote precision fertilization.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, what comes next will be continued effort to take action on scientific fertilization and efficiency enhancement via integration of advanced fertilization process by combination of technology, product, machine and tool, with the aim to further increase the fertilizer utilization in the three major grain crops.