Green production of apples delivers environmental and economic benefits in China

Sustainable alternative farming systems are gaining popularity worldwide because of the negative effects of conventional agriculture on global climate change and the environmental degradation caused by intensive use of synthetic inputs.The green farming system in China is an integrated production strategy that focuses on reducing chemical fertilizer use while increasing organic manure inputs.Despite their rapid growth as more sustainable systems over the past decades,green farming systems have not been systematically evaluated to date.We used apple production as a representative case to assess the sustainability of green farming systems.Across major apple-producing regions in China,green farming reduced the application of chemical fertilizer nitrogen(N)by 46.8%(from 412 to 219 kg ha^(−1))and increased that of manure N by 33.1%(from 171 to 227 kg ha^(−1))on average compared with conventional systems enhancing N use efficiency by 7.27-20.27%and reducing N losses by 8.92%-11.56%.It also slightly lowered yield by 4.34%-13.8%in four provinces.Soil fertility was improved in green orchards through increases in soil organic matter,total N,and available major nutrients.Our cradle-to-farm-gate life-cycle assessment revealed that green farming helped to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 12.6%,potentially contributing to a reduction of 165239 t CO_(2) eq annually in major apple-producing areas.In addition,green farming achieved 39.3%higher profitability($7180 ha^(−1) year−1)at the farmer level.Our study demonstrates the potential of green production of apples for the development of sustainable agriculture in China.These findings advance our understanding of sustainable alternative farming systems and offer perspectives for the sustainable development of global agriculture.

Agriculture green development in China: insights and advances

Reconciling the tasks of producing adequate amounts of nutritious food for the increasing global population while preserving the environment and natural ecosystems simultaneously is an enormous challenge. The concept of agriculture green development(AGD) and the necessary governmental policies were developed to address the aforementioned challenge in China and to help achieve the related global sustainable development goals. Agriculture green development emphasizes the synergy between green and development;current agriculture has to transform from the intensive farming with high inputs, high environmental impacts and low resource-use efficiency to a more sustainable agriculture, in order to ensure an adequate supply of nutritious food while delivering environmental integrity, improved economic profitability,and social equity. A research program on AGD was established by China Agricultural University with four research themes, namely: green crop production, green integrated crop-animal production, green food and industry,and green ecological environment and ecosystem services, to provide a scientific basis for future developments and to facilitate the implementation of AGD in practice. AGD requires a multistakeholder approach, fueled by innovative and interdisciplinary research. Joint actions have to be taken by governments, farmers, supply industries, consumers, educators, extension services and researchers to support AGD. This requires strong coordination and public awareness campaigns. This review presents the progress that has been made over the past 5 years and makes recommendations for more research and development, in order to better deliver agricultural green and sustainable development on national and international scales.

Development and challenges of green food in China

Green food in China refers to a wide array of primary and processed agricultural products that are safe,nutritious and of high quality for human consumption.Green food has been certified and produced following the principle of sustainability since the 1990 s,making historic achievements in providing quality food,protecting the environment,increasing farmer income,and nurturing agricultural brands over the past 30 years in China.Today,the green food industry enters a steady-growth stage in terms of cultivation area,product number and sales.This article summarizes the history of the development of green food in China and current achievements,analyze major challenges that may hamper further development of the industry,and propose strategies to address these challenges,i.e.,optimization of the food supply chain,deep food processing,and utilization of food wastes.

AGRICULTURAL GREEN DEVELOPMENT IN THE ERHAI LAKE BASIN-THE WAY FORWARD

Pollution of high-altitude lake basins by agriculture and rural activities,and the control of this pollution,have received increasing attention from academic research and government policy in China.Series of restrictions and regulations have been implemented to protect the surface,water quality.These restrictions and regulations have greatly impacted and transformed the agricultural systems and rural livelihoods surrounding these lake basins.Using Erhai Lake basin in Yunnan Province as a case study,three main challenges were identified for concurrently decreasing pollution in the lake and increasing farmer income.It is contended that scientifically-sound environmental protection policies and agricultural green development practices are key to reversing the current situation.This will help to protect the lake from pollution while smallholder farmers will be able to produce healthy food in an environmentally sustainable manner,and with a fair remuneration for all the services farmers providetothe society.