Nutrient management in China at the crossroads

Abstract

Nutrient management is arguably a key factor for achieving several of the UN Sustainability Development Goals. It plays a key role in the production of sufficient amounts of nutritious food, while poor nutrient management leads to nutrient losses (notably of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) and contributes to air and water pollution and biodiversity loss. Nutrient management in China is complicated because of the diversity in farming systems and environments, the countless number of farm households and small farms, and the fragmented agricultural supply and advisory system. Current nutrient management in China’s agriculture has become a global concern because of the implications of the large N and P inputs and losses. In this perspective, we identify and discuss several barriers for implementing environmentally-sound nutrient management, and highlight that farmers currently have limited farm-specific techniques, tools and incentives for precision and environmentally sound nutrient management. Most crop farmers manage primarily by choosing fertilizer bag size and nutrient formulation, while many livestock farmers have a headache of manure management, because of a lack of appropriate manure recycling opportunities. We argue that nutrient management in China is at the crossroads; decisions have to be made about the development and testing of farm-specific techniques and tools to provide farmers a customary dashboard with indicators and a steering wheel for precision and environmentally-sound nutrient management. Likewise, integrated crop-livestock systems and sustainability-driven farm business models have to be developed, within the context of Agriculture Green Development, which aims at greening agriculture and enhancing ecosystem services. There is also a need for in-depth and long-term studies of whole farming systems to better understand the impact of farmers’ decisions on nutrient cycling, use efficiency and losses, to test and improve nutrient management tools, and to explore the effects of policy measures. Such approaches could be applied and tested first in Science and Technology Backyards and then up-scaled to other villages and counties.