Resource management, soil fertility and sustainable crop production: Experiences of China

China is unique for its long history of permanent arable farming, large population, low per capita natural resources, and at the same time, having largely achieved food self-sufficiency. Some of the experiences of Chinese farming may provide clues or alternatives to other resource-poor countries in their strive for optimizing utilization of natural resources, improving soil fertility, and increasing food production. China's experiences are summarized into five attributes: (1) farmer's strong awareness of the importance of organic manuring in soil fertility and productivity, (2) exploration of all possible organic resources for recycling, (3) maximization of resource use efficiency, (4) crop rotation and cropping intensification, and (5) irrigation and use of chemical fertilizers. Chinese farmers regard almost all forms of organic wastes as ‘organic treasures’, and recycle them into organic fertilizers through animal digestion and/or composting. Biogas generation using organic wastes is explored as an extra step in this process. Recycling of organic wastes through animals and biogas generation utilizes effectively the part of organic carbon that can be converted directly to food and useful energy, which would otherwise be quickly lost in the early phase of decomposition in soil or compost. Crop rotation with legumes helps restore and balance soil nutrient supply. Multiple cropping is effective in boosting crop production from limited arable land. Cropping intensification, however, requires external nutrient inputs from chemical fertilizers, and in many places, also irrigation. Government support proved critical in the development of agricultural infrastructure as well as in overall crop production.