Sino-German Technical Cooperation Program Environmental Strategies of Intensive Agriculture in the North of China (ESIA)

Structure of the Presentation General Background Existing Problems Negative Consequences Impacts Analysis of Possible Causes Justifications of ESIA program Pilot Regions Program Goal and Purposes Program Components Program Strategies Organization of Program Management Program Duration and Funds

General Background Increasing demands for food caused by fast population growth and the decrease of arable land (per person) in the past decades About 1.2 billion people in China, less than 0.08 hectare arable land per person

General Background Intensified crop production

General Background Increasing use of various material inputs in intensive crop production

General Background Intensified livestock production leads to increasing amount of animal wastes

Existing Problems Irrational use of chemical fertilizers in crop production  High consumption In , total nitrogenous fertilizer consumption in Germany increased by 103%, but 4,175% for China  Imbalanced fertilization  Inappropriate application

Comparison of nitrogen consumption in P.R. China and Germany 1961/ / / / / / / / / / / / / t year GermanyChina

Existing Problems Excessive and inappropriate use of agro-chemicals (excessive use, abuse, misuse and inappropriate application)  187 active ingredients, 800 products, 395,000 tons agro- chemicals are used national widely every year (1999)  Around 2.4 – 4.5 kg agro-chemicals (ingredients) are used in per hectare arable land  Organophosphate pesticides are still popularly used

Existing Problems Pesticides production in P.R. China (active ingredient)

Existing Problems Inappropriate management of animal wastes Huge amount of animal wastes are produced. In total, 1.7 billion tons of animal wastes are produced in China in 1997 Discharge of animal wastes without appropriate treatment.

Negative Consequences  Pollution of agro-environment (namely soil, surface water and underground water) In Europe, the nitrate in drinking water must be lower than 50 ml/L, this threshold in China is 89 mg/L; 46% of intensive agriculture production regions in the north of China, nitrate contents in surface and underground water are more than 50 mg/L, it even reaches 500 mg/L in some areas.  Contamination of various agro-products, such as vegetables, fruits …  Increased cost in agriculture production

Impacts  Threatening to the sustainability of agro-environment  Threatening to food safety, namely human health Every year, around 100,000 people are poisoned acutely and more than 1,000 people are poisoned to death by agro-chemicals  Impacts on the marketing of agro-products on domestic and international markets  Reduction of farmers’ income

Analysis of Possible Causes  Low awareness of environment and food safety aspects among public  Weaknesses in national legal frameworks  Unavailability of relevant technologies  Weaknesses in government extension service  Limited access of farmers to knowledge and information

Justifications of ESIA Program  Environment protection  Sustainable development of agriculture  Safe food for consumers  Competitiveness of agriculture products on international markets after China’s entry to WTO  Livelihood and well-being of rural population  Rich experiences and advanced technology of Germany

Pilot Regions Hebei Province Gaocheng County Taocheng County Xushui County Shandong Province Guangrao County Huimin County Qingzhou County Tianjin Municipality Ninghe Swine Farm

Program Goal and Purposes Goal: Protection and management of natural resources in P. R. China is improved Purposes: T he pollution of vegetables, fruits and soil with nitrate and/or chemical pesticides, and water pollution with animal wastes is reduced in pilot regions while keeping up high productivity

Program Components Component 1: Relevant decrees, regulations and standards are enacted, proposed or updated Component 2: Producers of selected crops follow recommended Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach Component 3: Improvement of animal waste management in intensive livestock farms

Program Strategies  Strengthening of national agricultural policy legal framework  Public awareness raising  Capacity building for government extension agency  Transfer of technologies to producers

Organization of Program Management Executing agencies  Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), on behalf of Government of P. R. China  German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), on behalf of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Implementing institutions  Agro-Environment Monitoring Center (AEMC) of MOA  Center for Energy and Environment Protection Technology Development (CEEPTD) of MOA  Plant Protection Institute (PPI) of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS)  Soil and Fertilizer Institute (SFI) of CAAS

Program Duration and Funds Program duration started from 1st February 2002 to be ended on 31st January 2008 Program funds  German contribution: up to 5.12 Million Euro (around 42.2 Million RMB)  Chinese contribution: up to 80 Million RMB