Chinese government seeks biological alternatives to pesticides and fertilizers

As a way of betting on security and development in a sustainable way, biopesticides and biofertilizers are gaining ground in China, after the government decided to focus on the growth of the low-carbon agricultural sector.

China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reported that pesticide companies and distributors across the country use the "one bottle, one code" system to control quality, as well as to keep illegal pesticides, which are often highly toxic, out of the market. The ministry called for a reduction in the amount of chemical fertilizers in use, as part of a recent carbon emission reduction plan for rural areas.

“La producción de bioplaguicidas es más respetuosa con el medio ambiente, ya que no deja residuos”, señaló Zhang Hongyan, vicepresidenta de Shanghai Nongle Biological Products, fabricante de biopesticidas. “Hace 20 años nos resultaba mucho más difícil promover los pesticidas biológicos en lugar de los químicos, porque los agricultores chinos buscaban sobre todo eficacia y resultados rápidos, en lugar de calidad”, agrega.

Zhang explained that things started to change around 2015, when politicians began to talk more frequently about environmental protection and quality improvement. In 2016, Nongle Biological began offering an agricultural service package with more environmentally friendly fertilizers and pesticides. Currently, three of its self-developed biopesticides are about to be commercialized.

Farmer cooperatives in Shanghai suburbs have been adopting these environmentally friendly solutions since 2017. Some of them followed the recommendations of local authorities and apply biopesticides four to five times a year to prevent rice blasts and sheath blight. 

According to laboratory research at Shanghai Jiaotong University, the most widely used biopesticides among these cooperatives are developed from bacterial metabolites, which can be stored for two to three years, just like chemicals. The institution has just completed laboratory work on a new, more effective biopesticide after more than 10 years of research.

“Con la modificación de genes y de la vía metabólica, podemos obtener 14 gramos de pesticida por cada litro de líquido de fermentación. Normalmente, el extracto sería de sólo 0,05 gramos”, indicó He Yawen, director del centro de I+D de biopesticidas y biofertilizantes establecido conjuntamente por la Universidad Jiaotong de Shanghai y Shanghai Nongle Biological Products.

Thus, China is moving in the same direction as the global agricultural market, where biopesticides are close to constituting a US$7 billion market next year, with a compound annual growth rate of 16%. This is almost three times faster than the growth of the global pesticide market. According to data analytics firm Market Research Engine, that market is driven by factors such as rising pest resistance, increasing bans on synthetic pesticides and advances in integrated pest management solutions. 

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