(Yicai Global) Dec. 5 -- China's pesticide use has dropped in the past three years amid a campaign to ensure zero growth in pesticide use by 2020, an official said yesterday.

The ministry tightened market access and punished unlicensed companies as well as the makers and sellers of fake pesticides this year, said Zeng Yande, head of the Ministry of Agriculture's crop production department.

China has also raised the efficiency of pesticide use and stepped up the use of biological pesticides, Zeng said.

The nationwide utilization rate of pesticides rose to 38.8 percent this year, up 2.2 percentage points from 2015, the year the ministry started the campaign. The popularization rate of biological pesticides for pest control has been about 10 percent.

China will work to popularize green pest control technology, promote professional crop protection organizations and increase the efficiency of pesticide applications, said Zeng.