China sees progress on circular agriculture through effective pilot programs

China has achieved phased results in promoting the concept of circular agriculture, a model integrating planting and breeding with better processing techniques to push forward the green development of the country's agricultural sector, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Monday.

Since the project was piloted in 2021, the central government has allocated more than 7.4 billion yuan (over $1 billion ) to promote the overall collection and utilization of straw treatment, as well as livestock and poultry manure across 299 counties in China's major agricultural regions.

"After three years of continuous efforts, the recycling of organic resources has been effectively promoted. Over 100 million tonnes of livestock and poultry manure have been collected and treated, with more than 79 million tonnes used as fertilizer for farmland. This has resulted in the substitution of 320,000 tonnes of chemical fertilizers. The average comprehensive utilization rate of livestock and poultry manure in pilot counties has increased by five percent," said Li Zengyu, deputy director of the ministry's Department of Plantation Management.

Li also noted that since the launch of pilot programs to promote circular farming, a number of service organizations have been set up and expanded upon. 

Meanwhile, various technological models have also been integrated and promoted, providing valuable experience for the subsequent advancement of circular agriculture across the country.

This year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will team up with the Ministry of Finance to launch more pilot programs in order to further develop the industry, Li said.

"The promotion of simple and practical techniques for returning farmland is being carried out on a crop-by-crop and regional basis. Efforts are also being made to improve the interest linkage models among livestock farms, service organizations, and crop growers. Information technology is being utilized to strengthen the supervision of the entire process of collecting, treating, and applying organic fertilizers," added Li.

(Cover image via CFP)