Download Group 2: Summary Questions: Future drivers of changes in nutrient

Group 2: Summary
Questions:
1. Future drivers of changes in nutrient management
2. UK and China NM: implications for the world
Why do farmers use too much fertilizer?
Farmer level:
Labor structure changes vs. small household: Most village young people (with a
relative good education) usually work in the city to earn money, only old people and
ladies stay in the village for farming. Normally, farmers’ income directly from
farming is low, and they have to do something else to earn more money. So farmers
pay less attention to whether overuse or not due to relatively low profit from small
land.
Gap between technique and farmer’s demand: Modern agricultural technology is
always too complicated for farmers, not match farmers’ demand well. The fertilizer
recommendation techniques need to be simplified and adapted to local conditions. If
too complicated, farmers don’t like to use it due to limitation of time or labor.
Farmers’ behavior is solely productivity-orientated: The only target for the farmers
is the high yield, less care to the resource efficiency and environment quality. How to
seek a balance between high efficiency (low environment risk) and high yield is very
important.
Other drivers: Scattered farmer, diversified operation system and changeable climate
result in difficult management and high management cost. Farmer’s will is very
important, and how to organize them?
Governmental level:
1. Extension system: China management system: provincial level, county level,
town level, however the extension from the town level down to farmers is very
weak. Service system is weak.
2. Support policy:
There is no support policy for the income of the farmers; The gap between the
farmers’ demand and technical service exist.
Lack of related policy for the agricultural environmental protection.
China has set up ecological compensation mechanism, however lack of related
policy. The government should establish nutrient management manual suitable for
different catchment and also need to establish monitoring mechanism.
Subsidy is local regulation.
Separation of three rights resulted in the improper nutrient management: 所有权
(ownership)、承包权(contract right)、经营权(operation right)三权分裂
Technical level:
The technology of nutriment management should be simple, practical, less input and
easy to manage for the farmers.
Transformation is needed from conventional agriculture to ecological agriculture,
linking this with sustainability of grain production and environment.
Output:
1. Current and future changes in nutrient management and policy in UK and China
2. Comparison between UK and China NM