Although organic agriculture is developing fast in China, it is still facing some challenges for its development: the research sector needs to provide more support with regards to providing more practical technology, ample advisory support, technical training, and changing mindset.

During the last 30 years, the main research focus and key area in China’s sustainable agriculture development plan has been eco-agriculture and green food; however, eco-agriculture’s principles are not as strict as the principles used in organic agriculture. Currently, there are no specific funding schemes for organic agriculture research in China. Since 2000, international cooperative programs have provided the first financial supports for research on organic agriculture in China, mainly in the area of development and assessment. To boost the development of organic agriculture in China, research institutions and universities have also started several technological consulting and research programs with funds from enterprises, local government, and a small part coming from central government. In addition, several regions have started research and compilation of regional organic product development plans by local governments at provincial and county levels.

At present, substantial and practical organic technology, policy decision making, and marketing linkage are the key needs for current organic research. There is no platform for organic research cooperation at the national level; however, a national organic industry alliance is foreseen to be set up with the support from the Ministry of Science and Technology in the near future.

Organic agriculture in China started in the early 1990s when the Dutch certification agency Skal certified green tea products from Lin'an, Zhejiang Province in 1990. During the same period, Nanjing Environmental Research Institute of Chinese State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) cooperated with the University of California, Santa Cruz and with the support from the Rockefeller Foundation began the first organic research programs, including studies such as: "Comparative Study on Energy, Material & Economic Flows of Organic & Conventional Production System in the Pan-Pacific Area" and "Comparative Study on the Production of Organic & Conventional Wheat, Rice & Vegetable."

In 1994, the SEPA Organic Food Development Center (OFDC) was founded in Nanjing as the first specialized organization engaged in organic agriculture research, certification, training, and promotion. In 1998, the Sino-German cooperative GTZ project "Development of Organic Agriculture in Poverty Areas in China" was initiated. Subsequently, China Agricultural University, Nanjing Agricultural University, South China Agricultural University, and the Tea Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences established organic research, consulting, and certification facilities. At the same time, other agricultural research institutions began launching research programs on organic production technologies. By 2002, the organic agricultural research and consulting service system in China had taken shape.

Milestones

• 1990: Organic agriculture certification begins in China (Dutch certification agency Skal certifies organic tea products);
  Early 1990s: First organic agriculture research programs begin;
• 1994: State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) Organic Food Development Center founded in Nanjing as the first specialized organization engaged in organic agriculture research, certification, training, and promotion;
• 1998: Sino-German cooperative GTZ project "Development of Organic Agriculture in Poverty Areas in China" begins;
• 1999: Nanjing Global Organic Food Research and Consulting Center (OFRC) founded as the first registered organic farming research and consulting organization in China;
• By 2002: Organic research and consulting services are well-established.

Links

• Ofrcc.com: Nanjing Global Organic Food Research and Consulting Center
• Mep.gov.cn: State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)

Key government agencies involved in the management of organic agriculture and products are the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), which introduced organic farming to China, and the Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNCA), which is now in charge of organic certification. Related ministries promoting the development of organic products and also providing some funding for organic research in China include the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), the Development and Reform Committee, and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).

The Organic Food Development Centre (OFDC) of the Nanjing Environmental Research Institute under the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was established in 1994 and was the first to get involved in organic management, research, and certification. The Agro-Ecology Research Institute, the Organic Agriculture Technology Centre under China Agricultural University, the Institute of Organic Agriculture and Organic Food under Nanjing Agricultural University, South China Agricultural University, and the Tea Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences established several organic research, consulting, and certification facilities. The China Certification and Accreditation Institute under CNCA also plays a role in organic research for certification and accreditation and policy making.

Links

• Agri.gov.cn: Ministry of Agriculture
• Ncsu.edu: China Agricultural University
• Ofdc.org.cn: Organic Food Development Centre (OFDC) of Nanjing Environmental Research Institute
• Ccai.cc: China Certification and Accreditation Institute
• Ofrcc.com: Nanjing Global Organic Food Research and Consulting Center
• Mep.gov.cn: State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)

International cooperative programs have provided initial financial support for organic agriculture research in China. The main foreign funders are: the Rockefeller Foundation, the Sino-German GTZ program, the German Amber Fund, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Vienna Sustainability Research Institute, and the EU, among others.

Currently, there are no specific funding schemes for organic agriculture research in China, though eco-agriculture and green food have always been key areas in China's sustainable agriculture development plan. Two and a half million Euros were allocated to the development of eco-agriculture during the tenth national Five-Year Plan (2000-2005).

The Chinese Central Government saw the rapid development of organic agriculture and in 2007 formally announced it would support organic agriculture in suitable regions, but without substantial funding. In the eleventh national Five-Year Plan (2005-2010), organic agriculture became a state supported study as the program "Organic Agriculture Farming and Processing Technologies and Extension in Illi City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region" was initiated by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

State authorities in charge and local governments also lend their support to organic research and planning programs by the Scientific, Technological and Educational Office of Ministry of Agriculture, SEPA, Jiangsu Science & Technology Program, among others. Private enterprises have also given funding to some universities and institutes to do some organic research on practical technologies. This research has paved the way for the development of organic agriculture in China.

With organic agriculture in China beginning to thrive, other international cooperative programs are gradually being initiated, focusing on a much wider range of research issues including:

Development and organic planning: In the late 1990s, international cooperative programs initiated organic agriculture research in China. These programs’ major focus was on the development of organic agriculture, such as the project funded by GTZ in Germany "Development of Organic Agriculture in Poverty Areas in China”. Meanwhile, many regions started their research and compilation of regional organic product development plans by local governments at provincial and county levels.

Assessment of organic agriculture: Comparative studies on the production of organic and conventional crops and vegetables were carried out in some long term experiments as well as other studies such as the impact of organic agriculture on environment, rural development, and the ecosystem, among others.

Organic technology research: Individual organic production technologies such as pest and disease control, soil fertility improvement, organic product storage, etc., as well as integration of technologies and demonstration projects. These projects are mainly funded by local government and enterprises for program consulting.

Rules, certification and recognition: Funded mainly by CNCA and APEC, research is carried out on “Promotion of mutual understanding on organic certification,” “Control system of import and export rules of organic products,” among others.

Research and promotion of organic education: Education-wise, Bioasialink is an EU - China co-funded two-year project specifically designed to develop a curriculum in organic farming suitable for the Chinese educational framework and production of teaching materials supporting curriculum implementation.

Development and organic planning: Organic planning for regional agricultural development is increasing, shown for instance, by the following projects:

• The Sino-German GTZ program "Development of Organic Agriculture in Poverty Areas in China" (1998-2003);
• "Organic Agriculture Development in West China" by the German Amber Fund (2002-2005);
• “Organic Agriculture Development and Environmental Protection" by Jiangxi Green Agriculture Research Center and Vienna Sustainability Research Institute.

Some of the completed plans are:

• "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Organic Food Development Plan;"
• "Liaoning Province Panjing Municipal Organic Food Development Plan;"
• "Guizhou Province Guiyang Municipal Organic Food Development Plan;"
• “Organic developing plan in Zibo City Shandong Province.”

Assessment of organic agriculture:

• The Nanjing Environmental Research Institute, in cooperation with the University of California, Santa Cruz and with support from the Rockefeller Foundation: "Comparative Study on Energy, Material & Economic Flows of Organic & Conventional Production System in Pan-Pacific Area" and "Comparative Study on the Production of Organic & Conventional Wheat, Rice & Vegetable;"
• Assessment research of organic agriculture development in China by IFAD 2005;
• Organic Agriculture, Poverty Reduction, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), supported by the Asian Development Bank Institute (2006-2007);
• EU-China project “organic agriculture in china: current situation and challenges” (2007-2008).

Organic technology research:

• "Organic Farming Systems and Techniques for the Promotion of Green Agriculture in Dongtan Chongming Island," financed within the Sino-Italian cooperation program by the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea;
• "Organic Agriculture Farming and Processing Technologies and Extension in Illi City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region," supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology;
• "Current Development and Pattern of Organic Agriculture in China," supported by the Ministry of Agriculture (2006-2007);
• "Research and Application of Organic Fertilizer in Organic Food Production" sponsored by SEPA (1998-2000);
• "Research on Development Patterns of Organic Food and Production Base in Jiangsu Province" sponsored by Jiangsu Science & Technology Program.

Technological consulting and research programs:

• China Agricultural University conducted a series of research on organic tea, vegetable and fruit, focusing on disease and pest control;
• Nanjing Agricultural University studied the environmental impact of organic and conventional agriculture;
• South China Agricultural University studied disease and pest control technologies for organic rice production;
• The Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences carried out several studies on organic tea disease and pest control and soil fertilization technique.

Areas where current research is needed includes: organic technology in practice, policy decision making, and marketing linkage.

It is necessary to carry out research from a technological point of view and make some modifications in traditional organic agriculture. This would allow integration of each factor within the whole agricultural ecological economy domain, help in building up systematic agricultural production, and focus on self-replenishment of soil fertility. It is necessary to make appropriate use of multiple cultivation systems such as crop rotation and inter-cropping to improve energy utilization efficiency, fertility, and use efficiency of water and nutrition. Also important is to manage various diseases and pests by integrating physical and biological methods and natural compounds.

Research on current policies and regulations is also needed. What specifically needs to be improved is looking at whether or not some policy conflicts between different policies exist, what the appropriate policies to support the development of organic agriculture in China are - especially for the support policies (subsidies, technology extension, CSA), and having a look at policies from developed countries and whether or not some of them could be the reference for Chinese organic agriculture. Correct assessment and suggestions are very important to the different level of government in order to support policies that promote organic farming in China.

The organic market is the driving force for the development of the organic industry. Research is needed to study marketing linkage with organic farmers with competitive, trustworthy, and fair supply chains locally and internationally from production and processing to market.

General challenges that human society will face over the next 20 years, along with specific organic research priorities in China are as follows:

Policy and regulations

• Current production and marketing situation of organic agriculture;
• Potential development of organic agriculture in China;
• Policies’ review and focus on support policies;
• Education and technology extension system and Information platform.

Production and processing

• Evaluation and Monitoring system and planning. Researching multi-goal with various indicators;
• Nutrient management and soil fertility maintenance;
• Long term trials and demo farms;
• Farming systems;
• Pest, disease & weed management using traditional and innovative ways;
• Integration of crop and animal production;
• Technology needed for postharvest and processing;
• Organic agriculture contribution to mitigating climate change;
• Biodiversity conservation and utilization.

Marketing and rural development

• Marketing linkage with organic farmers with competitive, trustworthy and fair supply chains locally and internationally from production and processing to market;
• How to involve small households in organic agriculture and how to organize them;
• Special organic product development;
• Multiple functioning of organic agriculture on rural development (Evaluation to monitoring system).

There is no platform for organic research cooperation at the national level; a national organic industry alliance is foreseen to be set up with the support from the Ministry of Science and Technology in near future.

Organic training is normally organised by governments, universities, and certifiers. The training courses are mainly on technology training and raising awareness of the organic industry. Local leaders and technicians at the county or at least the town level and also people from trade companies participate in training courses, and then the county officers or trade company staff organize the organic training at town, village, and farmer group level. With training, the awareness of organic farming has increased, but specific training on the production technology needs to be enhanced.

More than 15 books on organic agriculture were published, including: Ecological Engineering in Organic Agriculture, Technologies & Principles of Organic Agriculture, Introduction to Organic Agriculture, Organic Food Certification Standard & Quality Control System, Organic Agriculture Production Techniques, Organic Agriculture and Organic Vegetable, Organic Agriculture Planting Techniques, Introduction to Organic Food Production, Organic Agriculture in China, among others.

Using "organic agriculture" and "organic food" as keywords, published papers on organic related research from 2000 to 2009 were retrieved from the CNKI (National Knowledge Infrastructure) online database. The results showed that in 2003, the number of published papers reached a peak and have been in decline ever since. Most of those published papers were introductory or conceptual in form; with less than 5% with actual research findings. As people become familiar with the concept of organic, it is expected that these papers will decrease.

China Agricultural University is the first to have open courses on organic agriculture for undergraduate students and organic product development and trade for Master and PhD students. Meanwhile, Northeast Agricultural University, Southern China Agricultural University, Nanjing Agricultural university, and Zhejiang University among others, also have courses on organic agriculture and production.

In most agricultural universities, there are courses on agro-ecology and organic, but usually just a general introduction. Below are some examples. 

Bachelor Courses:

• Agricultural ecology
• Organic agriculture
• Green food production
• Ecosystem design and planning
• Ecological economy
• Soil ecosystem (MSC)

Masters Courses:

• Organic product development and trade

At present, major parts of Chinese organic agriculture production are based in remote areas with varying environmental conditions. These systems often have a very slow nutrient conversion rate, poor stability, and low yield. Thus, it is necessary to carry out research from a technological point of view and make some modifications surrounding traditional organic agriculture. This will allow integration of each factor within the whole agricultural ecological economic area and consequently build up a systematic agricultural production.

Based on multi-disciplinary theories and methods, the mechanism of structure and functional changes will be deciphered behind the application of water resources, soil, fertilizer, and gas. Analysis of ecological status will depend on the quantitative inspection system’s structural change, as well as the observation of changing pattern influenced by the different manner of production based on historical data. At the same time, the comprehensive evaluation of production, cost, and social benefits of organic agriculture should be strengthened by selecting indicators such as energy transformation, cycling of nutrients, and the ecological environment to evaluate the economic profit of organic agriculture.

Lack of thorough and profound research

Research programs on organic agriculture are still scarce and the research on organic production technologies are underestimated by authorities.

Organic agriculture as an industry also requires pre-, mid- and post-production services, and a lot of work on cultivation, husbandry, preserving, packing, transportation, and marketing. Although there have been several successes, the research is not comprehensive and profound enough to fulfill the requirement of developing organic products.

Lack of policy support on organic agricultural research and consulting

Due to limitations on production techniques and management measures, the cost of organic production is much higher than conventional production (usually double the cost), making it difficult for farmers to receive advisory services because of the high costs. The government does not currently have a policy in place to support farmers with funds for advisory and training services, nor does it provide financial subsidies for this purpose. This leads to an aggravating situation in which advisory services are available and farmers want these services, yet there is no funding available to make this possible.

Links

• Agri.gov.cn: Ministry of Agriculture
• Ncsu.edu: China Agricultural University
• Ofdc.org.cn: Organic Food Development Centre (OFDC) of Nanjing Environmental Research Institute
• Ccai.cc: China Certification and Accreditation Institute
• Ofrcc.com: Nanjing Global Organic Food Research and Consulting Center
• Mep.gov.cn: State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)

This document was prepared by Qiao Yuhui from China Agricultural University.