Beijing — The International Zinc Association (IZA) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) to extend an ongoing cooperative project to promote zinc fertilizers in China. IZA said the extension is a result of an extremely successful zinc fertilizer research and demonstration effort that began in 2011, with significant improvements in crop yield and economic return for the farmer. The two-year extension will run through 2013 and will include expanded crop trials, demonstration plots, training, and technology transfer. The total budget is $500,000, and will be funded jointly by both parties. The goal is to improve crop production, human health, and farmers’ incomes in China through the use of zinc fertilizers. The MOA recently released their national "Guidance for Promoting Fertilizer Application," which recommends the increased use of zinc fertilizer in every region of China, highlighting the importance of this project. IZA says 14 percent of China’s 1.3 billion people are at risk for zinc deficiency, which poses such health problems as stunting, impaired development, and weak immune systems. China is one of the largest agricultural countries in the world, and over 50 percent of the nation’s arable soils are zinc deficient. The use of zinc-containing fertilizers not only increases crop yield, but crop nutrition as well, which means significant improvement in dietary nutrition.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain