Chongqing - As pressure grows worldwide to use water more carefully, rice fields in Chongqing’s Yongchuan District are testing a more targeted approach. Narrow irrigation lines carry water directly to the roots of ratoon rice instead of flooding entire fields.
For farmer Nan Juan, who has grown grain for more than two decades, the change reflects a broader shift in agricultural production.
"In the past, farming was completely different," she said. "We used flood irrigation, large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides. Fertilizer would wash away with the water, the soil became harder, and pest problems increased."
Her fields offer a glimpse of how farming practices are changing in Chongqing, with less agricultural pollution and more efficient use of resources. The shift was highlighted as China observed its fourth National Ecology Day on August 15 under the theme “Building a Green Foundation for Chinese Modernization.”
Agricultural machines collect and bale rice straw in a harvested paddy field in Chongqing. (Photo/Zhao Weiping)
Chongqing faces particular challenges because of its mountainous terrain, fragmented farmland and large rural and reservoir areas. Local agricultural authorities say those conditions make resource-intensive farming difficult to sustain.
Since 2018, the municipality has promoted reductions in fertilizer and pesticide use, closer integration between crop production and livestock farming, and recycling of agricultural waste.
Cutting fertilizer and pesticide use
In Yongchuan, agricultural technicians now conduct soil testing and recommend fertilizer formulas based on the needs of individual plots, replacing the previous practice of applying fertilizer largely through experience.
Nan said her rice fields now use about 30% less fertilizer, while pesticide applications have also declined.
Across Chongqing, farmers are increasingly using insect traps, biological pesticides and crop-protection drones as alternatives to conventional chemical pest control.
Official data show that fertilizer and pesticide use in Chongqing has fallen for seven consecutive years. Current average use per mu, a Chinese land measurement equal to about one-fifteenth of a hectare, stands at 14.97 kilograms for fertilizer and 0.082 kilograms for pesticide, both below national averages, according to local authorities.
A harvesting machine chops corn stalks and loads them into a trailer in a field in Chongqing. (Photo/Zhao Weiping)
Turning agricultural waste into resources
The green transition also extends to livestock and aquaculture.
In Wanzhou District, a pig farm and more than 2,000 mu of citrus orchards are linked through a "pig-biogas-fruit" recycling system. Livestock waste is treated, with solid material processed into organic fertilizer and liquid biogas residue delivered to orchards through pipelines.
Orchard manager Chen Wei said the system has reduced fertilizer costs by more than 300 yuan per mu while improving soil conditions.
In Liangping District, fish farms now treat wastewater through sedimentation ponds, ecological channels and constructed wetlands before returning it to their ponds, replacing the previous practice of discharging it directly.
Chongqing is also expanding collection and recycling of used agricultural plastic film and pesticide packaging, while promoting thicker, longer-lasting and biodegradable mulch films to reduce plastic residue in farmland.
Chongqing is seeking to make agriculture less resource-intensive by applying fertilizer more precisely, recycling resources between crop and livestock farming, and finding more uses for agricultural waste, according to municipal agricultural officials.
For farmers such as Nan, that transition is visible at ground level: less water flowing across entire fields, fewer chemicals being applied and more decisions being made with data rather than experience alone.