Efforts of growing organic vegetables that brings much less damage to the farmland paid off as Yunnan Province in southwest China has been trying to deliver its promise to better protect its natural recourses.

In the trail field under the management of Yunling Organic Agriculture Development Co., Ltd , the organic matter in soil has been improved whereas content of some heavy metals has been reduced ever since the organic planting project started in 2017. The green fertilizer they use has left close to little pollution in the soil, which is of critical significance as the field that covers 240 hectares of land is located right in the middle of Kunming Songhuaba Reservoir Nature Reserve.

"Our fertilizer is the result of the fermented mixture of livestock waste and crop straws." said Zhang Jian, deputy general manager of Yunling Organic Agriculture Development Co., Ltd. "After several years of trial planting, it is proved that the development of organic agriculture in sensitive water source areas plays a positive role in soil improvement and ecological restoration."

Now, more than 50 tons of vegetables of more than 20 varieties from the field are sent to places across China every day. Although the price is three to five times higher than that of ordinary vegetables, it is popular in the middle and high-end retail markets in east, central and south China. In Tonghai County, one of the main producing areas, the organic vegetables have begun to enter Southeast Asian market.

At present, Yunnan produces 32 million tons of vegetables per year. With the promotion of organic farming, the vegetable industry is facing a major transformation.

"A revolutionary change should be made to the traditional growing mode or cultivation technology. If the zero emission of chemical residues is realized, our problems of environmental pollution will be solved," said He Jiangming, researcher at the Institute of Horticulture, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

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