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Targeted poverty alleviation must root out the causes of poverty in governance
As the second National "Poverty Relief Day" approaches, "inaccurate" poverty alleviation has become a hot topic of recent discussion. A notice from the National Audit Office shows that in Mashan County, Guangxi, 3,119 people did not meet the criteria for poverty registration, of whom 343 were financially supported by the government, and 2,454 had also purchased
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The citizenization of farmers must be advanced steadily; never try to help the seedlings grow by pulling them up.
To advance the building of a new type of urbanization, the central government proposed further advancing reform of the household registration system and advancing in an orderly manner the citizenization of the agricultural population that has moved to cities. However, in recent years the author found in Xiangyang City in northwestern Hubei that although farmers yearn for urban life, most of them do not have a strong willingness to completely "leave farming," and many hover in an amphibious state of "both city and countryside, both worker and farmer." All localities should take account of actual conditions, carefully analyze the obstacles to farmer citizenization, respect farmers' wishes, avoid pulling up seedlings to help them grow, and refrain from forcibly pushing it forward by administrative means. The reason "agricultural to non-agricultural" conversion is difficult to make attractive to many farmers lies in the following: <p><P> To advance the building of a new type of urbanization, the central government proposed further advancing reform of the household registration system and advancing in an orderly manner the citizenization of the agricultural population that has moved to cities. However, in recent years the author found in Xiangyang City in northwestern Hubei that although farmers yearn for urban life, most of them do not have a strong willingness to completely "leave farming," and many hover in an amphibious state of "both city and countryside, both worker and farmer." All localities should take account of actual conditions, carefully analyze the obstacles to farmer citizenization, respect farmers' wishes, avoid pulling up seedlings to help them grow, and refrain from forcibly pushing it forward by administrative means. The reason "agricultural to non-agricultural" conversion is difficult to make attractive to many farmers lies in the following:</P><P> First, there are many worries about the future: the elasticity of urban-rural amphibiousness is great. The vast majority of migrant workers who enter cities lack technology and skills, cannot compete for good jobs, earn little throughout the year, feel uncertain about life in the city, and fear that after being laid off they will return to the countryside with no land to farm. Farmers worry most that after "agricultural to non-agricultural" conversion they will lose contracted land and homestead land. Many young and middle-aged people choose urban-rural amphibiousness, retreating to the countryside when going out is difficult and going out to seek opportunities whenever possible. Farmers say that although farming does not bring much income, at least there is food to eat and a house to live in, which is at least a form of security. The city may be good, but without a job one cannot live there.</P><P> Second, real pressure is great: the threshold for settling down in the city is high. In 2014, the average monthly income of migrant workers in the cities and counties of Xiangyang was about 2,000 yuan, and those with monthly wage income exceeding 3,000 yuan accounted for about 15 percent, while in the same period the average sales price of commercial housing in the cities and counties was 3,800 yuan per sq m. Commercial housing prices continued to rise, urban village redevelopment led to a reduction in rental housing supply, and rental housing rents also rose by 20% to 30%. Migrant workers find it difficult to rely on wage income to support a family in the city, pay for their children's schooling, let alone buy a house. A 26-year-old young man surnamed Huang from Wuzhen in Nanzhang County knows how to install water and electricity, so finding work is not difficult, but he can save only 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a year. At this income level, even if he neither ate nor drank, buying an apartment would take one or two decades. Among the several young migrant workers the author surveyed, when buying a house in the city was mentioned, their first reaction was "I wouldn't even dare to think about it." But they have eager expectations about buying a house; in their view, without a house they cannot put down roots in the city. Most of the new generation of migrant workers have a certain amount of education and skills. Unlike their parents' generation, they have a stronger willingness to stay in the city and more employment choices, but buying a house is often a high threshold they cannot cross.</P><P> Third, the imprint of previous experience is deep: "washing one's feet" and entering the city is full of setbacks. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, the policy of "selling household registration" was implemented successively in the cities and counties of Xiangyang. A farmer could convert from agricultural to non-agricultural status by spending 5,000 to 10,000 yuan, and those of working age could even be recruited into factories, which led many people to empty their family savings or even borrow money everywhere to "buy household registration." But within a few years, many people were laid off and unemployed before they had earned back the money they spent on buying household registration, and had no choice but to take a "non-agricultural household registration" paper back to the countryside to farm or go out to work. This situation is still fresh in many farmers' memories. Many farmers say, we have contracted land and self-built houses, and can also enjoy the new rural cooperative medical care and the new social security. Now rural water and electricity supply is normal, transportation conditions have improved, housing standards have risen, the living environment is good, and with more and more national beneficial policies for farmers, rural household registration is also very "precious."</P><P> Farmer citizenization involves too many issues and cannot be achieved overnight. Its implementation requires a fairly long process; haste makes waste. Before farmers can obtain a higher level of employment and social security, the process of farmer citizenization cannot be fast. This requires the government to do careful and meticulous work in theoretical argumentation, planning guidance, institutional improvement, and public opinion guidance, and even more requires the government to gradually eliminate farmers' distant worries and immediate anxieties in the process of farmer citizenization, so that farmer citizenization comes about naturally, and it must never transcend reality by using administrative force to pull up seedlings to help them grow.</P></p>
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Crop cultivation must adhere to the conditions; one must not pull up seedlings to help them grow.
The pilot program for mortgage loans on the "two rights" has drawn attention from both urban and rural society, and all localities have a strong desire for reform. However, the complex legal issues and potential risk pressures of rural land system reform determine the strict conditions for selecting pilot areas. It is unworkable to "create conditions even when there are none." According to the guidance
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Soybean meal market faces pullback pressure after weather-driven speculation
Over the past two months, soybean meal futures contracts have seen a sharp decline followed by a rapid rebound, and the current price is already close to the high at the start of the decline. Does this mean the soybean meal market has already reversed? First, let us analyze the reasons for the earlier decline in soybean meal: First, sluggish domestic demand for soybean meal led to price declines. Weak demand in the livestock and aquaculture industry constrained soybean meal consumption. China's hog inventory and breeding sow inventory fell sharply year on year; prices of meat, eggs and poultry were sluggish, and farming losses were severe; demand in aquaculture slowed, constraining demand for protein meal. Second, soybean meal supply increased substantially, spot prices fell sharply, some basis contracts faced default risk, and selling off occurred.</P><P> Now let us look at the reasons for the rapid rise in soybean meal. The author believes that the rise in soybean meal came partly from a return of prices after the earlier excessive decline; on the other hand, it came from speculation driven by heavy rain in the main U.S. soybean producing areas, which caused market concern about U.S. soybean planted area and good-to-excellent ratings. The planted area data and weekly soybean good-to-excellent ratings data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on June 30 both confirmed the market's concerns about U.S. soybean planting. These data will, in the short term, still support U.S. soybean futures in maintaining high-level oscillation, which will substantially raise the cost of China's imported soybeans, forcing crushing plants to passively raise the prices of soybean meal and soybean oil.</P><P> But in the short term, speculation over the impact of severe weather on planting may cool somewhat, and the loose fundamentals will bring great pressure on soybean meal prices.</P><P> From the perspective of soybean meal supply, global soybean supply is ample. After U.S. soybeans hit a record high last year, soybean output in Argentina and Brazil also hit record highs, which will suppress legume prices over the medium and long term. Domestically, China's soybean imports in June may reach 8.53 million tons and in July reach 8 million tons, so soybean sources are very abundant; at present, the operating rate of domestic crushing plants remains at an extremely high level of about 54%, and soybean meal supply has recently remained high. The volume of domestic rapeseed meal and imported DDGS remains high, suppressing plant protein prices.</P><P> On the demand side, although the hog farming industry currently shows restocking demand, truly driving soybean meal consumption may still require waiting for hog inventory data to stop falling and rebound before it can be confirmed. The meat, egg and poultry farming industry remains sluggish. Due to oversupply, prices of meat poultry and eggs fell sharply earlier, severely dampening the enthusiasm of farming enterprises to restock. In aquaculture, because oversupply last year led to sharp price declines, pond stock levels in the south are relatively high this year, constraining the release of fry. Recently, rainfall has been excessive, feed placement in ponds has decreased, which is bearish for meal consumption. Later, as large quantities of stocked fish are sold, demand for protein meal from newly released fry may decline substantially, so demand for protein meal from aquaculture later is also worrying.</P><P> Based on the information on both supply and demand, the author believes that soybean meal supply and demand will remain loose, and after the bullish U.S. heavy rain weather factor is fully priced in, soybean meal prices will return to fundamentals in the short term, with the possibility of oscillating pullbacks.</P></p>
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Land Transfer Cannot Be Forced to Grow by Pulling Up Seedlings: Agricultural Transformation Requires Steady Progress
At present, China's agriculture is in a critical period of accelerated transformation. Whether traditional agriculture can smoothly achieve the leap to modern agriculture depends to a large extent on whether the process of land transfer and appropriately scaled management can advance steadily and in an orderly manner. With the successive introduction of policies to accelerate land transfer
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Cotton prices keep falling; the move toward technology and mechanization should come sooner rather than later
The fireworks of March will soon pass, and the cotton-planting season has arrived. Every year at this time, cotton prices rise, but compared with previous years, the increase this year has been greatly reduced. At present, the average domestic spot price of ginned cotton is 13,330 yuan/ton, down 31.3% from last year and slightly up 0.11% from last
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Rural Land Transfer Must Avoid Pulling Up Seedlings to Help Them Grow; Steady Progress Is Key
Toward land reform, which is of great importance and yet must never be rushed, the state's attitude is prudent. Premier Li Keqiang pointed out in the government work report that to advance agricultural modernization, reform is key. Do a good job in land rights confirmation, registration and certification, and prudently carry out pilot reforms in rural land expropriation, market entry of collective operational construction land, the homestead system, and the collective property rights system.
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Organic Vegetables and Meat Appear in Banks: Gimmick or Crowd-Puller?
More and more community banks are launching lifestyle services and taking a differentiated route. "Crossover" is no stranger to most people, but recently a newly opened community financial convenience store in Shunde New Town has attracted considerable attention. This newly opened community bank took a different approach,
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A New Round of Land Reform Is Imminent, and the Distribution of Interests Tests the Government's Wisdom
The curtain has slowly risen on a new round of rural land reform. Yesterday, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, presided over the seventh meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform. The meeting reviewed the "Opinions on the Pilot Work of Rural Land Expropriation, Market Entry of Collective Operating Construction Land, and Reform of the Homestead System." The meeting pointed out that the three bottom lines must be upheld: the nature of public ownership of land must not change, the red line for cultivated land must not be breached, and farmers' interests must not be harmed, and that progress should be advanced in an orderly manner on the basis of pilot projects. Industry insiders believe that the central government's review of the pilot opinions on land reform marks the pulling of the string on a new round of land reform. At present, issues such as the distribution of interests in rural land expropriation, the amendment of laws on collective operating construction land, and the withdrawal from homesteads still await resolution.
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Rising Risks for Corn as Prices Face a Pullback; Tight Supply of High-Quality Grain May Ease
Since June and July, corn futures prices have risen sharply, driven by drought weather and tight supply of high-quality grain. Among them, the nearby 1409 contract showed the most obvious trend, with corn 1409 rising about 14.58% and 1501 rising about 4.35% in the short two months to the end of August. The earlier rapid rise in corn futures prices
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