Rural strategy to boost pollution control

China will roll out a comprehensive action plan to control rural pollution as part of efforts to promote rural vitalization, and local governments will be allowed to issue bonds to raise funds, authorities said.

The plan, which has been approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, was published on Thursday by the ministries of ecology and environment, and agriculture and rural affairs. 

By 2020, the use of major fertilizers and pesticides should be heavily reduced, 85 percent of stubble and straw left over at harvest time should be pulped and used as a heating source or as fertilizer, while 80 percent of mulch films should be recycled, according to the plan. 

In addition, the total amount of irrigation water for agriculture should be restricted below 372 billion cubic meters by the same year, and the utilization ratio of animal excrement as fertilizer on livestock and poultry farms nationwide will be raised to 75 percent.

Pollution control work in rural areas is an important task in the Rural Vitalization Strategy, the action plan said.

The strategy was put forwarded by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, at the 19th CPC National Congress in October last year.