How can we seize the historic opportunity for agricultural transformation and upgrading?
“Last year we planted corn, and this year we began rotating crops with soybeans, using 100 jin less fertilizer per hao of land. The nitrogen-fixing and soil-enriching effect of soybeans was also fully brought into play, greatly improving soil fertility.” Xing Haijun, chairman of the Xinrong Cooperative in Yangjia Township, Bei'an City, Heilongjiang Province, who had grown corn continuously for many years, had an especially deep understanding of the changes that “changing grain to soybeans” brought to the black soil.
Since the beginning of this year, especially after the national on-site meeting on accelerating the transformation of agricultural development was held in July and the Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating the Transformation of Agricultural Development was issued, transforming agricultural development has become a hot focus term in the agricultural field. Agriculture, after years of rapid development and consecutive record highs in total grain output, has welcomed a historic opportunity for transformation and upgrading.
It has reached the stage where transformation is imperative and there is no alternative
Transforming agricultural development is not only a matter of agricultural production, but also a major issue related to the overall economic and social development of the country. It has reached the stage where transformation is imperative and there is no alternative. This has become a consensus.
All localities and departments at all levels quickly unified their thinking, concentrated their efforts, and issued detailed plans in light of local conditions, giving the transformation of agricultural development both momentum and a basis. Jiangxi, Hebei, Hunan and other provinces conveyed the relevant spirit at meetings of the provincial Party committee standing committee or the provincial government executive meeting, while Gansu and other provinces carried out major discussions and major investigations in the agricultural system on “what to transform” and “how to transform.” At the same time, Jilin, Guangxi, Shanghai, Henan and other places held provincial (regional) meetings on accelerating the transformation of agricultural development, and Sichuan, Jiangxi and other places issued implementation opinions on accelerating the transformation of agricultural development in the name of the provincial Party committee or provincial government.
In measures such as financial support and assessment mechanisms, all localities truly leaned toward advancing the transformation of agricultural development, giving the transformation both impetus and conditions. Sichuan planned to integrate fiscal funds and launch the construction of demonstration zones for transforming agricultural development. Jiangsu planned, in the reform of agricultural subsidies, to arrange special funds for subsidies for major technology promotion such as zero growth in pesticides and fertilizers and saving seeds, water, pesticides and fertilizers. Jilin planned to incorporate important transformation indicators such as strengthening farmland quality protection, implementing straw return to the field, and advancing special rectification of agricultural product quality and safety into the key content of extended performance management for special work of grassroots governments.
Taking improving the quality and efficiency of agricultural development and enhancing agricultural competitiveness and sustainable development capacity as the key goals of transformation work, and taking the development of modern agriculture with efficient output, safe products, resource conservation and environmental friendliness as the key task, and turning them into concrete and operable measures, all localities are steadily advancing on the road of transforming agricultural development.
Striving to explore, break through and make progress in practice
Transforming agricultural development is the core and key of modern agricultural construction. It is necessary to innovate agricultural development models and blaze a path of intensive and connotative agricultural development that suits China's realities.
It is necessary to require and guide grain production and the transformation and upgrading of modern agriculture with the concept of sustainability, providing an endless driving force and lasting support for the development of the entire country. Saved 30 jin of fertilizer, increased grain by 60 jin.
In Jiangxi Province, which is vigorously advancing the creation of high-yield grain production and research on green yield-increasing models, Wei Shilian, a large grain grower in Changgang Village, Jinchuan Township, Xingan County, quickly calculated the cost and returns per mu of late rice this year. Focusing on protecting agricultural resources and the environment, Hebei deeply advanced the pilot work of comprehensive treatment of groundwater overexploitation.
It is necessary to develop various forms of appropriately scaled operations. This is the core and main line of transforming agricultural development. Focusing on cultivating new agricultural operating entities, Zhejiang Province actively promoted the tilting of fiscal, financial and other support policies toward new entities, carried out the creation of demonstration family farms and the cultivation of cooperative unions. At present, the province has more than 20,000 family farms and more than 40,000 farmers' professional cooperatives. On the basis of certifying and summarizing various practices and successful experiences, Shandong Province proposed to focus on promoting 8 forms of appropriately scaled operations, including land transfer, trusteeship services, organizational promotion and share cooperation.
It is necessary to make the agricultural industry bigger and stronger, extend the industrial chain and value chain vertically, expand the multiple functions of the industry horizontally, and at the same time make good use of new technologies, new business forms and new models to accelerate the improvement of the comprehensive benefits of agriculture. To this end, Xinjiang launched a pilot project for courtyard economy in the three prefectures of southern Xinjiang, supporting pilot villages in developing leisure agriculture. Henan Province selected Junxian and Shanxian as two pilot counties for bringing information into villages and households, and will build and improve 716 village-level information service stations before the end of the year, achieving one station per village.
It is necessary to vigorously advance the adjustment of the agricultural structure, open up new paths in promoting agriculture toward greater depth and breadth, and unleash greater development potential and efficiency. Heilongjiang Province deeply carried out pilot projects for changing grain to soybeans and changing grain to economic crops, strengthening policy support; the ten-thousand-mu “grain to feed” demonstration field in Tongyu County, Jilin Province had a bumper harvest.
Will accelerate the advancement of key work and plan major policies
At present, the national work of accelerating the transformation of agricultural development has gotten off to a good start, but it still faces some deficiencies in concepts and mechanisms. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture will next strengthen work guidance and supervision and implementation. It will continue to track and guide the work of accelerating the transformation of agricultural development in all localities, and push all localities to issue supporting support policies in light of actual conditions. At the same time, it will complete a division-of-labor plan with relevant ministries and commissions as soon as possible, clarify responsibility divisions, and form a joint force for advancement.
Accelerate the advancement of key transformation work. In accordance with work requirements such as implementing actions to protect and improve farmland quality, establishing grain production functional zones, fighting the tough battle against non-point source pollution, carrying out actions for zero growth in chemical fertilizers and pesticides, launching and implementing demonstration projects for resource utilization of agricultural waste, and implementing pilot projects for grain-to-feed conversion and grain-soybean rotation, carefully study and draft plans, increase intensity, strengthen measures, ensure implementation, and strive to make positive progress within the year.
Plan major policies for transformation. In conjunction with the compilation of the “13th Five-Year Plan” National Agricultural Modernization Promotion Plan, taking accelerating the transformation of agricultural development as the main line, and centering on key areas of transformation such as consolidating grain production capacity, cultivating new operating entities, advancing the integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries, promoting sustainable agricultural development, and ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products, plan a batch of major project policies to provide support for accelerating the transformation of agricultural development.