Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 11 (Reporter Dong Jun) — Accompanied by China's initiative to achieve zero growth in fertilizer use in agricultural development, a green transformation and upgrade aimed at "reducing fertilizer application while enhancing efficiency" is rapidly gaining momentum in the fertilizer industry—major fertilizer types such as urea, ammonium phosphate, and compound fertilizers are entering a transitional phase. In 2019, the nation’s total output of value-added fertilizers reached 10 million tons, making it the world’s largest variety of green and high-efficiency fertilizers.

This was reported by journalists on the 11th at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Fertilizer Value-Added Industry Technology Innovation Alliance. Value-added fertilizers are fertilizer products produced by scientifically combining bulk fertilizers such as urea, ammonium phosphate, and compound fertilizers with bioactive synergists—such as humic acid, alginic acid, and amino acids—that enhance fertilizer efficiency. Compared to conventional fertilizers, value-added fertilizers have a yield-increasing potential of over 14% for grain crops and a fertilizer-reduction potential exceeding 10%.

At the meeting, Wang Daolong, Chairman of the Alliance and Research Fellow at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Zoning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, stated that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has set a goal of achieving zero growth in the use of chemical fertilizers for China’s major crops by 2020. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has included the development of humic acid, alginic acid, and other similar products in its guiding opinions aimed at promoting the transformation and upgrading of the fertilizer industry. Currently, the value-added fertilizer industry is steadily growing, giving rise to brands such as zinc humate, polyammonium zinc, Tianye, Jinshajiang, Daheniu, Dongpinghu value-added urea, Xiangyan, Sakefu, Fudao, Meilinmei, Kaifeng alginic acid, zinc borate value-added diammonium phosphate, Kaimenzzi alginic acid, Nongda humic acid, Enbao alginic acid, and Junhua zinc humate value-added compound fertilizers.

With support from the 13th Five-Year National Key R&D Program’s project on “Development of New Compound and Water-Soluble Fertilizers,” the research team led by Zhao Bingqiang, Chief Scientist of the Fertilizer and Fertilization Technology Innovation Team at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has developed a comprehensive conceptual framework and technical strategy for the integrated management of the “fertilizer-crop-soil” system. The value-added urea, value-added ammonium phosphate, and value-added compound fertilizers developed by the team have now been industrialized by more than 40 large-scale enterprises across China. According to his forecast, over the next five to ten years, China’s conventional fertilizers—including urea, ammonium phosphate, compound fertilizers, and water-soluble fertilizers—will undergo a comprehensive transformation and upgrade to become green products characterized by higher efficiency in delivering essential nutrients.

The Value-Added Fertilizer Industry Technology Innovation Alliance comprises 17 domestic universities and research institutions, as well as more than 40 leading enterprises in the fertilizer industry, including Sinochem Chemical, RuiXing Group, and Sinochem Fertilizer. Its mission is to enhance the added value of fertilizer products, improve fertilizer utilization efficiency, conserve energy and reduce emissions, protect the environment, and ensure the standardized, normalized, and sustainable development of the value-added fertilizer industry.