"These reductions didn’t happen because countries were cutting back on food or going organic and cutting out synthetic fertilisers completely. It’s because **we were becoming more effective at using them**. "One of the world’s biggest and most impressive studies shows this very clearly. In a trial that spanned a decade, researchers worked with 21 million smallholder farmers across [[China]]. They wanted to see if they could **help farmers to increase crop yields while reducing the environmental impacts of farming**. They were successful. From 2005 to 2015, average yields of [[maize]], [[rice]] and [[wheat]] increased by around 11%. At the same time, nitrogen fertiliser use decreased by around one-sixth. They were literally producing more from less. ([Location 2712](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0C3X6X695&location=2712))" --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[fertilisers]], [[growth]], [[food-security]], [[food-production]], [[food-emissions]], [[farming]], [[statistics]], **Source** -- [[260103133118 - B - Not the End of the World]]