The Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) – 农业资源与农业区划研究所 was established in 2003 following the reorganization of the Institute of Soils and Fertilizers (established in 1957) and the Institute of Natural Resources and Regional Planning (established in 1979). IARRP has 285 employees and fourteen research teams covering topics such as plant nutrition, fertilizer and fertilization technology, improvement and amelioration of soil fertility, soil-plant interactions, arable land quality monitoring and soil care, non-point source pollution control, soil tillage and cropping systems, agricultural allocation and regional development, resources utilization and regional planning of agriculture, agriculture remote sensing, grassland ecological remote sensing, smart agriculture, agricultural microbial resources, and edible mushroom genetics, breeding and cultivation.
In addition, there are six service departments:
- Industrial Development Service Center
- Soil Fertilizer Testing Center
- Periodicals Center
- Red Soil Experiment Station in Hengyang
- Saline-Alkaline Soil Improvement Experiment Station in Dezhou
IARRP has one National Engineering Laboratory for Improving Quality of Arable Land and five key laboratories of MARA:
- Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing
- Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer
- Key Laboratory of Non-Point Source Pollution
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources Collection and Preservation
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Resource Monitoring Evaluation and Innovative Utilization
Additionally, IARRP operates 10 experiment stations, including:
- Three national-level scientific observation and research stations in Qiyang, Hulun Buir, and Changping
- Three state-level observation stations of MARA in Dezhou, Qianxi, and Luoyang
- Four CAAS experiment stations: the Digital Water and Fertilizer Station in Langfang, the Ecological Agriculture Station in Miyun, the Soil and Fertilizer Experiment Base in Jinxian, and the National Mushroom Improvement Center
The following national and state centers are affiliated with IARRP:
- National Center for Quality Supervision and Test of Chemical Fertilizers
- Center for Quality Supervision and Testing of Microbial Fertilizers and Mushroom Spawn of MARA
- Laboratory of Microbiological Products Quality Safety Risk Assessment of MARA
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Agricultural Products from Fertilizer Sources of MARA
IARRP is also recognized as a unit for agricultural engineering consulting of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
More information: https://iarrp.caas.cn/en/.
