Prevention and treatment of agricultural pollution will become major parts of the environmental protection efforts of the municipal authorities in east China's metropolis of Shanghai.

 

Over the next three years, Shanghai's environmental protection will include comprehensive treatment of large livestock or poultry farms, agricultural pollution treatment and utilization of crop stalks, said a municipal agricultural official.

 

The city will build or rebuild five poultry or livestock waste processing centers and promote the use of organic fertilizers and technologies to reduce the use of pesticides, the official said.

 

The city also plans to put 500 tons of filter-feeding fish into its rivers or lakes over the next three years, to consume plankton that is usually harmful to aquatic ecosystems.

 

The agricultural pollution treatment is part of the city's third-stage environmental protection plan for the next three years, initiated by its environmental protection department.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2006)