The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced on January 4 that scientific calculations indicate China's fertilizer utilization rate for wheat, corn, and rice—the three major grain crops—will reach 43.3% by 2025, an increase of 3.1 percentage points compared to 2020.
The sustained improvement in fertilizer utilization efficiency stems from the synergistic efforts of policy guidance, technological innovation, and optimized extension services. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Ministry has continuously advanced fertilizer reduction and efficiency enhancement initiatives, implemented green crop-livestock integration pilot programs, deepened soil testing and prescription fertilization practices, promoted integrated application of reduction-efficiency technologies, and actively cultivated specialized scientific fertilization service organizations—effectively supporting steady progress in fertilizer efficiency.
Soil Testing and Prescription Fertilization Deepens. The promotion of soil testing and formula fertilization technology is a crucial foundation for improving utilization rates. Through systematic advancement across five key stages—“testing, formulating, producing, supplying, and applying”—the initiative has extensively conducted soil testing, continuously optimized fertilizer formulas, upgraded fertilization recommendations to “one field, one strategy,” strengthened farmer-enterprise collaboration, and promoted the adoption of formula fertilizers in the field. Currently, the annual promotion area of soil testing and formula fertilization technology nationwide exceeds 230 million mu, with a technical coverage rate exceeding 95% for the three major grain crops. For instance, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, wheat cultivation using soil testing and formula fertilization—combined with straw return to fields and seed-fertilizer co-planting—achieves 10–20% fertilizer savings and over 15% yield increases.
Expanding the “Three New” Integrated Model for Enhanced Efficiency. The “Three New” integrated model—centered on new fertilization techniques, new fertilizer products, and new application equipment—has become a key pathway for improving fertilizer utilization. New techniques like side-deep fertilization for rice, seed-fertilizer co-application for corn, and mechanical deep application for wheat are widely applied in synergy with new products such as controlled-release fertilizers and new equipment like water-fertilizer integration systems. By 2025, the area adopting side-deep fertilization for rice exceeded 26 million mu, boosting nitrogen fertilizer utilization by 2.1 percentage points. The area applying water-fertilizer integration for corn and wheat will increase by over 20 million mu compared to 2024, boosting average yield per mu by more than 100 kg and raising nitrogen fertilizer utilization by 2.5 percentage points.
Diverse substitutes promote synergistic nutrient enhancement. Replacing part of chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers, microbial fertilizers, and green manure to enhance the synergistic effects of organic and inorganic nutrients is a key measure for improving fertilizer utilization. By 2025, organic fertilizer application will cover over 650 million mu nationwide, with pilot regions for green crop-livestock cycles achieving an average 10% reduction in chemical fertilizer use. In North China's winter wheat production, the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers with shallow-buried drip irrigation water-fertilizer integration technology has increased yields by over 10% while reducing fertilizer consumption by more than 20%.
Specialized services drive technology implementation. The development of professional scientific fertilization service organizations is a crucial pillar for enhancing fertilizer utilization efficiency. According to reports, over 17,000 such service organizations currently operate nationwide, serving an annual area of 250 million mu. Through integrated services including smart fertilizer blending stations, expert fertilization systems, and drone operations, they overcome the “last mile” challenge in technology implementation.
Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' Crop Production Management Department and the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center stated that the 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical phase for enhancing comprehensive agricultural production capacity and quality-benefit outcomes. The Ministry will advance scientific fertilization efforts through three key strategies: strengthening coordinated planning to establish a precision fertilizer and water management system; enhancing policy guidance to focus on critical areas with targeted interventions; and accelerating fertilizer legislation to provide legal safeguards for scientific fertilization practices.
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