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Not just in Yunnan
Use of pesticides grew nationwide from about 700,000 tons in 1990 to 1.7 million tons (about 30 kg a hectare) in 2008,said Jiang Gaoming,an Institute of Botany researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Average use of pesticides per hectare in China is three to five times higher than in most other countries,according to a report by the National Business Daily in June.And nearly 90 million hectares of crops are polluted every year.
Caijing magazine reported in September that the use of chemical fertilizer throughout China in the 1950s was 10,000 tons a year.By 2007,it was 51 million tons.
Agriculture Vice-Minister Wei Chao'an said at a national conference in July that Chinas consumption of chemical fertilizer constitutes 35 percent of global market share,equal to the US and India combined.
"We've got many problems...that will not only threaten our health,but also harm the farmland," Jiang said.Overuse of fertilizer "will cause the soil to pack together".
It can kill earthworms and other organisms that aerate soil and contribute to fertility.
'Good business'
Global sales of farm chemicals hit $45 billion in 2009 and are expected to reach $52 billion in 2014,according to the Freedonia Group,an international business research firm.China has become one of the biggest players-as both producer and consumer.In 2009,it made more than 2 million tons of farm chemicals,exporting 800,000 tons.
Organic (synthetic) pesticides have been widely used worldwide since the 1940s and still take the major market share.Low-toxicity-and expensive-biological pesticides account for 1 percent of sales in China.
Liu Xiulian,54,has sold pesticides and chemical fertilizer in Zibo,East Chinas Shandong province,since 1996.She owns a family store covering about 20 square meters.
Liu said pesticides sell well during the busy season,May to August,but the business supports her family of four year-round.
