Comments on the Ministry of Chemical Industry’s Report on the Anticipated Development of Fertilizer During the Second Five-Year Plan [1] (February 3, 1958) To the Premier: It may be circulated. The minister’s name should be affixed. Also add the notation “Confidential—Handle with Care.” Mao Zedong, 3:00 a.m. on February 3 The various ministries of heavy industry were each to prepare one or several such documents and submit them within a few days. Printed from the manuscript. Note [1] Refers to the report submitted by the Ministry of Chemical Industry on February 1, 1958, concerning the anticipated development of chemical fertilizers during the Second Five-Year Plan. The main contents are: the projected output of fertilizers by 1962 under the Second Five-Year Plan; the anticipated production following completion of fertilizer plant construction projects undertaken during the First Five-Year Plan; and the projected output of newly built, expanded, and existing fertilizer plants during the Second Five-Year Plan. The explanatory section of the report states: In accordance with the Forty Articles on the Outline for Agricultural Development, we had previously set the 1962 fertilizer production target at seven million tons. More recently, however, we have re-examined this issue and concluded that, given all relevant conditions, it is feasible to further raise the target to ten million tons by 1962. The report also forecasts the economic benefits that would accrue upon reaching a fertilizer output of ten million tons, as well as the investment, technical expertise, and raw material resources required to achieve this goal.