Increasing Wheat Yield For Smallholder Farmers With Technology Transfer

Increasing crop yield for 100 million smallholder farmers in China presents a great challenge, although opportunities exist to increase yields based on field observations. We hypothesized that efforts to improve technology transfer to smallholder farmers could increase both yield and N-use efficiency for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in Quzhou county, China. Among 1,042 farmers surveyed in 2010-2013, average wheat yield was 7.1 Mg ha(-1), but yield varied widely depending on management practices (e.g., tillage, variety, sowing date, sowing rate, fertilization) and farm characteristics (e.g., population, labor, land size). On-farm trials confirmed that adoption of recommended management approaches, and fertilizer rates could increase yield by 7.1-19.7%. We recommended a technology package consisting of wheat varieties, sowing dates and rates, and fertilizer formulations. Local farmers were classified into three groups: those who used local farming practices (FP), received training two times per year (TP), and received training, field guidance, and help purchasing fertilizers and seeds (OTP). In 2010-2013, wheat yield in TP and OTP increased by 4.4 and 20.6% respectively, relative to FP, thereby increasing N-use efficiency by 10.7% and improving economic profits by 20.6% relative to FP. The adoption rate of the recommended practices by OTP farmers was 83.0%, compared with 64.3 and 55.5% for TP and FP farmers, respectively. In conclusion, continuous increases in wheat yield could be achieved by optimizing local technologies and improving technology transfer for smallholder agricultural production in China.