China encourages its farmers to develop animal waste processing facilities, which allow conversion of wastes to fertilizer and fuel, by giving them incentives.
This is to address the country’s problem on increasing animal waste due to the rapid growth of poultry and hog farming. The objective is to avoid both the release of hazardous pollution into bodies of water and the usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
The Ministry of Agriculture plans to aid the farmers financially in installing biogas plants, which utilize trapped methane from manure to generate heat energy or electricity, and facilities that will enable conversion of animal wastes into fertilizers.
Although no specific amount of subsidies was announced, the ministry also offer farmers that will do researches and use organic fertilizers to receive privileges on loans, taxes, power use, and land rent.
“Chinese livestock farms generate nearly four billion tons of waste annually, according to the agriculture ministry. The plan includes setting up recycling programs by 2020 in 200 major counties that have livestock farms.
That’s less than half the 586 major counties the government says have hog and poultry farms,” adds the press release. The animal waste conversion program also targets to achieve net-zero growth in chemical fertilizer and pesticide usage by 2020.
