China's breadbasket province to reduce pesticide use

HARBIN -- China's major grain-producing province Heilongjiang will reduce the use of chemical fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide on more farmland this year to protect its iconic black soil and boost food security.

Demonstration areas featuring reduced chemical use will be expanded to 2.6 million hectares in 2019 from last year's 2.3 million hectares, according to the province's government work report delivered at the ongoing annual session of the provincial People's Congress.

The northeastern province will also expand the areas for growing green, organic crops to 5.4 million hectares in 2019, it said.

Heilongjiang, which is a major supplier of food crops such as maize, soybean, rice and wheat in China, is fighting soil erosion caused by overuse of chemical fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide.

The province saw a total grain output of 75.05 billion kg in 2018, accounting for over 10 percent of the country's total grain output, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.