China targeting zero growth in chemical fertiliser use by 2020: Xinhua
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CHINA, the world's top producer of rice and wheat, is targeting zero growth in the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides by 2020 to avoid further contamination of its farmland, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
Wide use of chemical fertilisers, of which China is the biggest consumer, has boosted its agricultural output and kept the world's most populous country largely self-sufficient in grains, but it has also threatened food safety. "Overuse of chemical fertiliser has increased costs and damaged the agriculture ecological environment," Zeng Yande, a department director with the agriculture ministry, was quoted as saying at the launch of a chemical reduction plan.
