Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 5 hrs ago
China promotes lower-carbon practices from farms to dining tables
China is promoting lower-carbon grain production from farms to dining tables, with measures at four stages: soil care, field production, storage and eating.
The effort addresses strained farmland, where years of intensive cultivation and heavy use of fertilisers and pesticides have harmed soil, especially in areas with low yields.
In northern dryland areas, a combined approach using smarter fertiliser systems, organic manure and living microbes has cut fertiliser use by about 9% in one measure, and the approach has spread across 2.78 million mu in several provinces.
In rice fields in northeast China, crabs and crayfish help control weeds and pests, while crop straw feeds cattle and cattle manure returns to fields as fertiliser.
This recycling can reduce fertiliser use in rice fields by 20% and pesticide use by more than 70%, according to estimates cited in the programme.
New grain stores use airtight, nitrogen-rich conditions to limit pests and mould without repeated chemical treatment; storage losses across storage, transport and processing average about 2% of annual grain output.
At a university dining hall, serving food by portion has cut kitchen waste by a third, and China’s food-waste law has been in force since 2021; the wider goal is to save resources and emissions across the grain supply chain.
China is promoting lower-carbon practices across the food chain, from soil care and farming to storage and dining.
The measures include reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, recycling agricultural by-products, improving grain storage and preventing food waste.
A farming project’s combined soil-care techniques have been promoted across 2.78 million mu in several provinces and regions.
Rice-crab farming can reduce fertilizer use by 20% and pesticide use by more than 70%, according to estimates.
National grain-storage improvements and portion-based self-service dining are also intended to cut losses and emissions.
- Who
- Chinese researchers, agricultural producers and institutions are advancing the practices. The report also describes efforts by the government and diners.
- What
- China is promoting lower-carbon methods throughout the grain chain, including soil restoration, farm recycling, improved storage and reduced food waste.
- When
- The report was published on November 10, 2026. It describes initiatives undertaken during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and other measures already in use.
- Where
- Examples include Wuchuan in Inner Mongolia, rice fields in the Songnen Plain, a grain store in Changsha and a smart dining hall at China Agricultural University.
- Why
- To reduce resource use, food losses and greenhouse gas emissions while supporting agricultural production and healthier soil.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
China’s Anti-Food Waste Law took effect.
China established a key research project to improve soil health and production capacity in low- and medium-yield fields in northern dryland areas.
China implemented a programme to improve green grain storage.
China News Service published its report on lower-carbon practices across the grain journey.
- Soil-care techniques
- Promoted across 2.78 million mu in Shanxi, Gansu and Inner Mongolia, among other places
- Smart fertilization system
- Fertilizer use reduced by about 9%
- Rice-crab farming
- Fertilizer use reduced by up to 20%; pesticide use reduced by more than 70%
- Grain losses
- About 2% of annual output is lost on average in storage, transport and processing
- Green storage demonstrations
- Chemical-agent use reduced by 50%; energy use reduced by 20%
- Smart dining hall
- Food waste reduced by one-third after diners began taking portions as needed
1 source
What people are saying
We integrate soil technology, fertilizer technology and biological microbial-agent technology.
First, we developed a smart fertilization system, reducing fertilizer use by about 9%; second, we adopted organic fertilizer to replace chemical fertilizer, at a replacement rate of about 20%; third, we use live microbial agents on site, fermenting them and applying them directly through drip irrigation.
Our preliminary conclusions from long-term monitoring are that reducing chemical fertilizer, replacing it with organic fertilizer, and raising crabs and shrimp in rice paddies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies while increasing soil organic matter.
The major change in adopting green, circular agriculture is that things once seen as waste are turned into resources through reuse and returned to the agricultural cycle.