Training programs and in-the-field guidance to reduce China's overuse of fertilizer without hurting profitability

Excerpt

Chemical fertilizer plays an important role in increasing agricultural production in all countries. The problem in many developing countries typically has been that because farmers are credit constrained (and perhaps are unused to using chemical fertilizers or do not have access to the appropriate complementary inputs—e.g., high quality seeds and water), farmers do not use enough. Fertilizer use in many countries of Africa, for example, is very low, on average only about 5 to 10 kg ha^-1 (4 to 9 lb ac^-1).

Underuse of fertilizer, however, is not a problem in China. Chemical fertilizer expenditures account for the largest component of cost for all staple crops in the country (about 20% to 30%). China is the world's largest fertilizer producer and consumer. After Japan, Holland, and South Korea, China's farmers use more fertilizer per hectare (more than 200 kg ha^-1 [179 lb ac^-1]) than farmers anywhere else in the world.

A study by the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (Qiao et al. 2006) recently confirmed that China's farmers are overusing fertilizer. Specifically, farmers in many parts of China are applying chemical fertilizers—especially nitrogen—inefficiently.

Using fertilizers more efficiently and effectively is important in terms of farm incomes. On average, the last …