The demand for organic fertilizers is steadily increasing: it is expected that the demand for organic and microbial fertilizers in China will reach 22.837 million tons by 2026, a year-on-year increase

This is the core of the development of the Organic Fertilizer market in 2026. Behind the demand of 22.837 million tons and a year-on-year growth of 4.2%, the increase in penetration rate in the field crop area is indeed the key variable that "affects the whole body with one pull".
Why do you say that? Because the use of organic fertilizers in economic crop areas (such as gardens, tea gardens, and vegetables) has become relatively mature, even a slight increase in the penetration rate of organic fertilizers in large field crops such as corn, wheat, and rice, which account for the vast majority of arable land in the country, will bring about a huge increase in total demand. It's like an elephant turning around - although slow, every step shakes the earth.
Below, I will delve into the logic behind this' key variable 'from three dimensions: demand differences, policy drivers, and technological breakthroughs.
Why has the field crop area become a 'key variable'?
To understand the criticality of the field crop area, one must first see the essential differences between it and the economic crop area:

From the table, it can be seen that the growth logic of the field crop area is completely different from that of the economic crop area - it is not driven by "selling agricultural products at high prices", but by "government projects+land fertility improvement+long-term benefits". This is precisely the fundamental reason why it has become a 'key variable'.
2026 Policy Environment: Why is it a 'turning point'?
The No. 1 central document of 2026 provides unprecedented policy support for the promotion of organic fertilizer in field crop areas, which is mainly reflected in four aspects: 1 Priority support will be given to six types of green products. The country has explicitly listed bio organic fertilizers, microbial fertilizers, slow-release fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, humic acid fertilizers, and soil conditioners as priority support for green products, and has accurately coordinated with the three major farmland projects
Black Soil Protection (Northeast Field Crop Area)
Saline alkali land improvement (Northwest and North China)
Acidified Farmland Management (Southern Rice Production Area) 2 The subsidy for farmland fertility is directly linked to the subsidy for farmland fertility protection, green fertilization, and soil improvement. This means that farmers in field crop areas who apply organic fertilizers can not only obtain current yield increasing benefits, but also enjoy real policy support - "reducing production without reducing yield, green and more profitable" is becoming a reality. 3. High subsidies for intelligent equipment include the integration of intelligent water and fertilizer, precision fertilization by drones, and other equipment, with a subsidy ratio of up to 30% -50%. This greatly reduces the threshold for farmers to adopt new technologies. 4. The policy of full coverage of socialized services requires the promotion of integrated services for "soil testing, formulation, fertilization, and mechanical application", allowing farmers to "use fertilizers accurately without knowing the formulation".
Technological breakthrough: making the field 'affordable and easy to spread' a reality
The field crop area is large and the profit is thin. In the past, the promotion of organic fertilizers faced two major bottlenecks: high cost and difficult application. By 2026, these two bottlenecks are gradually being resolved through technological breakthroughs and innovative models. 1. Mechanized application provides a good example for the organic matter improvement project in cultivated land in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, which aims to achieve a smooth transition between harvesting and fertilization. The project purchases 24000 tons of organic fertilizer and uses a "hanging map operation" mechanism to dynamically allocate fertilizer application teams based on crop harvesting progress. At the same time, the innovative use of the "e-management field" system platform enables image tracking and recording of the entire process of organic fertilizer application, ensuring that it is applied to the field in two locations with sufficient weight.
The spring plowing site in Gulang County, Gansu Province also presents a similar scene: the sowing machinery loaded with organic fertilizer shuttles back and forth, evenly scattering the fertilizer in the fields. Local village officials gave feedback: "The crops grown with organic fertilizer have thick leaves, dark green color, and significantly different growth. The carrots planted last year were evenly proportioned and had a crispy and sweet taste, which was highly sought after by merchants In the spring plowing practice in Jindong Township, Gansu Province, where socialized services are used to solve the problem of "who will do it", the socialized service team provides "full chain" assistance such as land rotation, sowing, and spraying for labor scarce farmers. This "you entrust me to manage, I teach you how to learn" model makes "not knowing how to plant" and "not having time to plant" no longer a problem. 3. Cost control makes "affordable" possible. Practical data from the Zhenjiang project shows that by applying organic fertilizer, urea and fertilizer usage can be saved, with an average cost savings of over 50 yuan per mu. When organic fertilizer is no longer just a "cost", but an "investment", farmers in large field crop areas have the motivation to continue using it.
The green planting and breeding cycle project in Fengcheng, Jiangxi has formed a complete closed loop: the breeding farm provides manure → third-party professional treatment → solid manure is fermented into organic fertilizer and returned to the field → liquid manure is anaerobically fermented to produce biogas for power generation → biogas slurry is reused as fertilizer. Over the past four years, a total of 544500 mu of manure has been returned to the field, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers by more than 1900 tons and driving a crop yield increase of over 3% in the city. The comprehensive utilization rate of livestock and poultry manure has increased from 81% to over 95%.
Reshaping the industrial chain: a transition from "quantity increase" to "quality improvement"
The release of demand in the field crop area is driving profound changes in the organic fertilizer industry itself:
Diversified sources of raw materials: the proportion of straw fertilizer utilization has reached 68.61% (data from Jinxi County, Jiangxi Province), and the resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure has formed a closed loop
Product customization: Develop specialized formula products for different planting modes such as rice wheat rotation and corn continuous cropping
Service solution: shifting from "selling products" to "product+service", providing value-added services such as soil improvement suggestions and customized planting plans
Conclusions and Prospects
In summary, behind China's organic fertilizer demand of 22.837 million tons in 2026, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%, the real "key variable" is indeed the increase in penetration rate in the field crop area:
In terms of policy, priority support is given to six types of green products, land fertility subsidies are linked, three major land projects are implemented, and intelligent equipment is subsidized by 30% -50%, providing strong support for the promotion of large fields
Technically, mechanized application, socialized services, and cost control make the fields affordable and spread widely
In practice, successful cases in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, Fengcheng, Jiangxi, Gulang, Gansu and other places have proven the feasibility of promoting Datian
As we mentioned in our previous discussion, the organic fertilizer industry is at a critical turning point from a policy nurturing period to a market growth period. The increase in penetration rate in the field crop area is the most noteworthy variable at this turning point. When the 'elephant turn' is completed, the organic fertilizer market will usher in a true golden age.