The reduction of fertilizers and medicines, and the sound of frogs croaking——Guangdong's implementation of the World Bank-financed agricultural non-point source pollution control project

In mid-November 2018, the rice field in Lianxi Village, Wuhua County, Guangdong Province ushered in the second bumper harvest that year
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According to actual measurement, the conventional rice field yields 1,070 kg of dry grain per mu, while the World Bank loaned agricultural non-point source pollution control project (hereinafter referred to as the World Bank project) yields 1,170 kg per mu, an increase of 100 kg per mu
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The bumper harvest is indeed a joy.
What makes farmers even more happy is that by participating in World Bank projects, they have found a low-input, high-return production method
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“Conventional farms cost 220 yuan per mu for fertilizer, but the experimental farms cost only 135 yuan per mu, and the amount is less
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” Villager Lao Gao said
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Compared with Wuhua, some parts of the Pearl River Delta have enjoyed the benefits of World Bank projects earlier
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In 2014, Guangdong Province took the lead in launching the first domestic agricultural non-point source pollution control project using World Bank loans in Huizhou, Jiangmen and other places.
This is the world's first agricultural non-point source pollution control pilot project in the world.
With a total investment of US$213 million (approximately RMB 1.
32 billion), the aim is to reduce pollution emissions from planting and livestock breeding to water bodies, and provide farmers with special formula fertilizers, pesticide catalogs, and fertilizer control technologies through bidding.
Provide subsidies and explore the establishment of a long-term mechanism to protect the rural ecological environment, improve the comprehensive agricultural production capacity, and promote the continuous increase of farmers' income
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In the past five years of the project, it has successfully explored the agricultural ecological compensation mechanism based on the IC card information system, the livestock waste management project construction model represented by high-bed ecological breeding and southern conservation farming, and a new model of agricultural green production
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According to Hu Xueying, director of the Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution Control Project Management Office of Guangdong Province, since 2016, World Bank projects have been rolled out in 19 cities in Guangdong, and the province is planned to treat about 1 million mu of cultivated land annually
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In 2018, the only environmentally friendly planting project of the Guangdong World Bank project has involved nearly 140,000 farmers and 680,000 mu of arable land.
The number of pesticides and fertilizers used by farmers in the project area has been significantly reduced, and the average annual cost and income per mu is increased by 360 yuan
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"The reduction in the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the crop industry is far more than 10%
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Even if calculated at 10%, if 30 million mu of arable land in the province can be opened up, only the use of chemical fertilizers can be reduced by 192,000 tons
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"Slimming, reducing medicine without reducing production.
Guangdong Province is the worst-hit area of ​​agricultural non-point source pollution
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According to the data provided by the agricultural department, the average application intensity of chemical fertilizers in Guangdong in 2013 was 64 kg per mu, ranking first in the country, but the utilization rate of nitrogen fertilizer for rice was less than 30%.
The application intensity of pesticides was 3 kg per mu in 2012, which also ranked first in the country, but the absorption rate was only 30%-40%
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In Huicheng District, Huizhou City, the abuse of pesticides and fertilizers caused environmental pollution in the early years.
Fish and shrimps played and egrets flew together.
The pastoral scenery gradually disappeared
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Since participating in the World Bank project, many villagers were pleasantly surprised to find that fish and shrimps appeared in the canals beside the ridge, and heard the sound of frogs from time to time in the middle of the night
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“At first, we didn’t believe in medicinal use.
After the amount of fertilizer is reduced, crop yields can be increased.
I didn't expect the World Bank project to actually achieve it
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During the interview, many farmers told reporters
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In order to control pollution and increase farmers' income, the World Bank project has designed two parallel programs of technical compensation and financial compensation, encouraging farmers to use high-efficiency and low-toxic pesticides and soil testing formula fertilization, namely Comprehensively promote comprehensive prevention and control technologies such as "three-control" fertilization and unified prevention and control of rice, and provide financial subsidies to farmers who purchase designated pesticides, fertilizers, and electric sprayers
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Statistics show that the World Bank project has achieved significant results in Huizhou.
The application of pesticides has been significantly reduced.
Farmers use bio-pesticides and high-efficiency, low-toxicity and low-residue pesticides.
The number of applications is generally reduced by 1 to 2 times per crop; in addition, the amount of chemical fertilizers has also been reduced
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The application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides were compared before the implementation of the project.
Reduced by 15% and more than 20%, farmers generally increased production and income by more than 10%, protecting the water ecological environment and agricultural ecological environment, and the farmers’ environmental awareness and ecological planting and breeding skills have been significantly improved
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High-quality suitable chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and appropriate fertilization The method reduces the input and increases the yield
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"In the past, farmers spread all the fertilizer within 20 days after planting the seedlings
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Now it is scientifically fertilizing in stages
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"Tan Gankai, director of the World Bank Project Office of the Agricultural Bureau of Enping City, said that during the implementation of the project, farmers were guided to fertilize in stages according to "4231": 90 kilograms per mu as an average standard, 40% of the base fertilizer when transplanting seedlings, and 15 to 17 days after transplanting.
20%, 30% fertilization at 35 to 40 days, 10% fertilization at 60 days
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"One-time fertilization, a lot of fertilizers are taken away by rain, and segmented fertilization can better improve fertilizer utilization
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At present, the amount of fertilizer used by participating farmers has dropped from an average of 110 kilograms per mu to 90 kilograms, and the effect is obvious
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"Tan
Gankai said .
The Guangdong World Bank project has also developed an IC card subsidy system
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In the designated agricultural material store, farmers can directly enjoy the corresponding discounts when they buy agricultural materials of the specified category and amount with their IC cards: There is a 35% subsidy for pesticides, a 25% subsidy for the purchase of chemical fertilizers, and a subsidy of 120 yuan for the purchase of sprayers.
The unified defense rule enjoys preferential service prices
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As of March 2018, the total amount of transactions for the purchase of pesticides, fertilizers and sprayers in the project area reached 310 million yuan Among them, the subsidy amount is 90 million yuan, and each farmer receives an average annual subsidy of 458 yuan
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Advanced fertilization and drug technology, formulated fertilizers, high-efficiency and low-toxic pesticides, biological pesticides and electric sprayers suitable for Guangdong have been widely promoted
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The benefits of conservation farming are mostly in According to traditional practices in Guangdong, the stubble of the last crop must be removed before rice farming before new seedlings can be planted
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However, in the protected farming areas of World Bank projects in Jiangmen, Huizhou, Heyuan and other places, rice, corn, etc.
After the crops are harvested, the straw can remain in the field until the next crop is planted
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"Conservation tillage is the use of no-tillage or less-tillage when the ground is covered with crop straw or stubble.
Sowing seeds and improve fertilizer utilization through mechanized operations
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"Professor Tang Xiangru of South China Agricultural University said that returning straw to the field by conservation tillage can increase the content of soil organic matter and improve fertility, thereby reducing the amount of chemical fertilizers applied.
By using less tillage or no tillage and straw mulch, it can also reduce surface runoff.
And pollution of water bodies by chemical fertilizers and pesticides carried away by runoff
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According to reports, the conservation tillage sub-project of the Guangdong World Bank project has a team of experts with professional backgrounds in engineering, plant protection, fertilizer, rice cultivation, and corn cultivation.
Carry out technical guidance and training, conduct inspections and exchanges at home and abroad, learn more advanced conservation farming techniques, and explore a set of agricultural machinery and agronomic techniques suitable for the development of conservation farming in Guangdong
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"In conservation tillage, the most important thing is the mechanization of the entire cultivation process.
Through mechanized means, sowing and deep fertilization can be synchronized to increase the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and increase the yield of crops while reducing the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
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" Tang Xiangru said.

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Yang Shousheng is the head of the Baisheng Rice Specialty Cooperative in Baitang Town, Huizhou City, and is also the first major grain grower to participate in conservation tillage
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With the mentality of giving it a try, Yang Shousheng took out 10 acres of land for experimentation, and the results were surprising: the amount of farming was reduced, but the yield was not lost at all
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Today, with the technical support of a team of experts and the help of more than 30 agricultural machinery, Yang Shousheng's area of ​​conservation tillage is still expanding
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Forming habits to promote long-term effects is not enough for agricultural non-point source pollution control, but five years is not enough, but the World Bank project is a right start
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In fact, in Guangdong non-World Bank project areas, some farmers still retain the traditional low-efficiency production methods.
They are not only accustomed to using mid-to-highly toxic pesticides such as trichlorfon and dimehypo, but also do not actively recycle agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers.
Packaging waste
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Just over a year ago, the World Bank project inspection team in Zijin County, where the project was just launched, discovered that farmers still use "pentachlorophenate", a highly toxic pesticide that has been deregistered
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Relevant experts told reporters that this kind of pesticide is extremely harmful to the environment and has risks to human health.
Some farmers still don’t know the risk of this medicine.
They often buy it to kill snails, even spray the medicine with bare hands and go to the fields barefoot, causing skin on their hands and feet.
All cracked and turned black
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After the World Bank project is launched, local farmers can go to the designated agricultural material store to purchase high-efficiency and low-toxic pesticides for snails.
After removing the 35% subsidy, farmers only need to pay less than 6 yuan per package.

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In order to promote the new technology, the agricultural department in the project area also provides targeted training on fertilization, pest control, and disease prevention for farmers participating in the project, and adopts methods such as questioning and answering questions by the higher-level supervisors to the trained farmers.
, To ensure the training effect
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Zhen Dongping, a villager in Jingang Village, Enping City, said: "I used to see spots on rice and knew that there were insects, but I didn't know what kind of insects they were
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Now looking at the appearance of spots and when they appeared, I can know what kind of insects they are and what to use Medicine is the most effective
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” After five years of hard work, farmers in the Guangdong World Bank project area have become more and more confident in using scientific planting methods and high-efficiency and low-toxic agricultural materials
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In June 2018, a third-party organization’s household survey of 80 farmers in the Huiyang project area in Huizhou showed that most farmers have developed the habit of using formula fertilizers, high-efficiency and low-toxic pesticides, and high-efficiency sprayers, and said After the project's pesticide and chemical fertilizer subsidy quota or subsidies are stopped, they are also willing to continue to use environmentally friendly formula fertilizers, high-efficiency and low-toxic pesticides and biological pesticides
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2019 is the final year of the Guangdong World Bank project
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Hu Xueying said, “The treatment of agricultural non-point source pollution is a long-term project.
The relevant subsidies actually play the role of promoters.
The key is to cultivate farmers to develop healthy and environmentally friendly habit of using fertilizers and medicines and to consciously recycle agricultural wastes.

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