The No. 1 Central Document promotes green transformation: Organic fertilizer subsidies to increase by 30% by 2025, with biological fertilizers becoming the primary substitute

Organic Fertilizers refer to a type of fertilizer containing organic substances that can provide crops with various inorganic and organic nutrients while also improving soil fertility. These fertilizers not only contain relatively abundant organic and inorganic materials (such as macronutrients and secondary elements like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) but also include trace elements like manganese and zinc, playing a crucial role in agricultural development.  With the continuous growth of the social economy, the conflict between increased crop yields and soil environmental degradation has become increasingly prominent. As health-consciousness concepts gain traction, public demand for green food is rising, drawing greater attention to the utilization of organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers will contribute even more to sustainable agricultural development and the safety of agricultural products.
1. Current Status and Prospects of Organic Fertilizer Utilization  
1.1 Current Status of the Organic Fertilizer Industry
China's organic fertilizers exhibit a diverse range of types and abundant resources, primarily including animal manure, crop straw, and commercial organic fertilizers. Among these, commercial organic fertilizers receive strong government support, encompassing biological organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers, and microbial inoculant fertilizers. In recent years, driven by national policies and shifting attitudes toward fertilization, the organic fertilizer industry has experienced rapid development.
(1) Favorable national policy measures.
In recent years, with the introduction of favorable policies such as the "Zero Growth in Fertilizer Use," the "Soil Ten-Year Plan," the "Double Reduction in Agriculture," and the "Action Plan for Resource Utilization of Livestock Manure (2017-2020)," a favorable development atmosphere and policy environment has been created for the rapid growth of the organic fertilizer industry. According to data from the "China Statistical Yearbook 2022," China's equivalent fertilizer usage gradually increased before 2015, peaking at 60.22 million tons in 2015. After 2015, the usage decreased year by year, reaching 51.91 million tons in 2021. The reduction in chemical fertilizer application also indirectly reflects the increase in domestic organic fertilizer usage in recent years.
(2) The organic fertilizer industry is developing rapidly.
In recent years, China's organic fertilizer industry has also experienced rapid growth. Since 2015, driven by the government's strong promotion and application of organic fertilizers, domestic enterprises have accelerated the expansion of organic fertilizer production capacity and output. From 2016 to 2020, the number of enterprises related to organic fertilizers nationwide exceeded 10,000.
(3) The variety of products is gradually increasing.
Compared to traditional compost, commercial organic fertilizers offer advantages such as higher nutrient content and faster fertilizer efficacy. With the continuous advancement of organic fertilizer production technologies, the research and application of products like bio-organic fertilizers and organic-inorganic compound fertilizers have garnered significant attention. These products are evolving from single-purpose fertilizers aimed at primarily enhancing soil nutrients and organic matter content to diversified formulations that meet the varying nutrient requirements of different crops, improve soil conditions, and deliver functional fertilizer efficacy,
(4) Industry standards continue to be improved.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released the new standard "Organic Fertilizers" (NY/T525—2021) in 2021, which took effect on June 1, 2021, replacing the old standard "Organic Fertilizers" (NY/T525—2012). The new standard introduced safety indicators such as compost maturity and seed germination index, refined the catalog of organic fertilizer raw materials, and adjusted the organic matter content requirement from not less than 45% to not less than 30%. These revisions emphasize scientific rigor and practicality, providing safeguards for the healthy development of the organic fertilizer industry.

2. The Effectiveness of Organic Fertilizer Application
(1) The impact of organic fertilizers on soil.
Research indicates that the application of organic fertilizers plays a crucial role in improving soil physicochemical properties. In terms of soil physical properties, it can reduce soil bulk density, improve pore structure, promote aggregate formation, enhance soil permeability, and optimize water and thermal conditions, thereby providing a favorable physical environment for stable and high crop yields. Regarding soil chemical properties, organic fertilizers not only increase soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and available nutrients (alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium) but also significantly mitigate soil acidification, raise soil pH, and notably enhance cation exchange capacity and soil electrical conductivity. Additionally, organic fertilizers improve soil microbial characteristics, primarily due to their high organic matter content, which serves as a vital energy source for microbial proliferation.

(2) The impact of organic fertilizers on crops.
Organic fertilizer has comprehensive nutrients, not only containing the large and medium elements required for plant nutrition, but also trace elements and humus. After application, it can significantly improve the nutritional growth of crops. Research has shown that continuous application of organic fertilizers or a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers can improve plant stress resistance, promote fruit enlargement, improve crop quality, and achieve the goal of increasing yield and income. 3. Market prospects of organic fertilizers
(1) The total amount of organic fertilizer raw materials is relatively large.
The "National Report on Comprehensive Utilization of Crop Straw" released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shows that by 2022, the theoretical resource quantity of straw in China will be 977 million tons, and the collectable resource quantity will be 737 million tons. In 2023, the theoretical resource quantity of straw in China will reach 1.014 billion tons, and the collectable resource quantity will reach 737 million tons. The results of the second national pollution source survey show that although the amount of livestock and poultry manure generated in China has decreased by 19.7% compared to 2015, it still reaches 3.05 billion tons. The estimation of organic fertilizer resources in China shows that the total amount of organic nutrients in agricultural Organic Waste exceeds 70 million tons, of which the total amount of N and K2O nutrients exceeds 30 million tons, and the total amount of P2O5 nutrients exceeds 10 million tons, but the resource utilization rate is less than 40%.

(2) The practical need for green development in agriculture.
With the development of the social economy, people's awareness of the safety and environmental protection of agricultural products is gradually increasing, and the demand for organic agricultural products is also growing. The improvement of the safety and quality of agricultural products has become an urgent need. The Action Plan for Zero Growth in Fertilizer Use by 2020, released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, shows that the amount of fertilizer used per unit area of crops in China is about 2.7 times the world average. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers can cause agricultural non-point source pollution, posing increasingly serious hazards to soil, groundwater, and air; On the other hand, it can cause certain harm to plants, such as excessive nitrogen fertilizer leading to a decrease in plant stress resistance and fruit quality, and excessive phosphorus can induce diseases. If agriculture wants to achieve green and efficient development, it should consider the rational use of fertilizers and replace some chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers. The proportion of organic fertilizer application will continue to increase in the future.
(3) A key step towards achieving the 'dual carbon' goal in the future.
China has proposed the goals of "carbon peak" before 2030 and "carbon neutrality" by 2060. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China once again emphasized the need to actively and prudently promote "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality". Nutrient management in farmland is an important pathway for carbon pool management in terrestrial ecosystems. By increasing the application of organic fertilizers, soil organic matter content can be increased, effectively stimulating the carbon neutrality ability of farmland ecosystems.

Existing problems
Applying organic fertilizers can enhance soil fertility, improve soil physical and chemical properties, and increase crop yield and quality. However, there are still some urgent problems that need to be solved in actual production, promotion and application. 1. The production technology of organic fertilizers needs to be strengthened
At present, organic fertilizers on the market are mainly produced through high-temperature aerobic fermentation, which involves adjusting parameters such as organic matter content, ventilation frequency, water content, carbon nitride, and pH for raw material fermentation. Some enterprises are relatively small in scale, lack technical personnel and strength, have outdated production processes, and do not strictly control quality, resulting in a single product and inability to produce specialized and functional organic fertilizers, which cannot meet market demand. 2. Difficulty in ensuring the quality of organic fertilizers
In recent years, although the number of organic fertilizer enterprises in China has been increasing year by year, due to various factors such as enterprise scale, management methods, and production technology, the source and quality of some organic fertilizers in the market cannot be guaranteed. Some organic fertilizers have problems such as fraud, excessive heavy metals, and insufficient maturity. A survey and sampling were conducted on 236 organic fertilizer production enterprises across the country, including Southwest, Northwest, Central, South, East, North, and Northeast regions. The results showed that the overall pass rate of organic fertilizer quality technical indicators was only 20.34%, and the pass rates of nutrient content and organic matter content were both less than 50%. 3. The promotion rate of organic fertilizers needs to be improved
Due to factors such as high production costs, slow fertilizer efficiency, and high labor intensity, the promotion and application of commodity organic fertilizers are currently progressing slowly. On the one hand, for farmers, in practical promotion, due to the fact that farmers have been paying attention to the application of chemical fertilizers in recent decades, and organic fertilizers have disadvantages such as low nutrient content, larger application amount compared to chemical fertilizers, and higher price, the current application of organic fertilizers is mainly focused on economic crops such as fruit trees and vegetables, and for field crops such as wheat and corn, the overall application amount of organic fertilizers is relatively small. On the other hand, for organic fertilizer production enterprises, some companies pursue maximizing profits, and the organic fertilizer products produced cannot effectively meet the needs of farmers. The characteristics of products required for different crops and soils are also different, leading to the problem of insufficient matching between production and use between enterprises and farmers. These all hinder the promotion and application of organic fertilizers. 4. The use of unqualified products poses significant risks
Although the application of organic fertilizers has received increasing attention, improper application can pose potential risks to the environment. In actual agricultural production, if farmers apply organic fertilizers with serious quality problems such as insufficient maturity, excessive heavy metals, and pH, it will not only fail to improve soil quality, but also bring a series of problems such as crop burning, soil acidification, and soil heavy metal pollution.

suggestion
The demand for organic fertilizers will continue to increase in the future, and it is imperative to vigorously promote the application of commercial organic fertilizers. 1. Can afford it
Continuously improve policies related to the organic fertilizer industry, increase support for organic fertilizer production enterprises and farmers in terms of taxation, pricing, subsidies, scientific research, etc., and reduce the cost of using organic fertilizers. 2. Don't worry, use it
Establish a sound regulatory system for organic fertilizers, strengthen cooperation between universities and research institutions and enterprises, improve production processes, jointly promote the standardization of organic fertilizer production, and improve the quality of commercial organic fertilizers. 3. Will use
Strengthen demonstration and guidance training, expand the scope of organic fertilizer application through various forms such as holding training courses, field lectures, and issuing organic fertilizer application guidelines, enhance farmers' awareness of scientific application of organic fertilizers, and enable them to adopt reasonable application methods based on the nutrient characteristics, soil physical and chemical properties, and crop growth characteristics of different organic fertilizers. 4. Heavy brand
In the context of building a strong agricultural country, the improvement of arable land fertility is an important material foundation for achieving high-quality agricultural development. The organic fertilizer industry must seize this "east wind" and actively participate in projects such as high standard farmland construction, fertilizer reduction and efficiency improvement, soil acidification treatment, etc., to strengthen brand building.