Farmers have grain in hand, so why do they still feel anxious?
As the saying goes, with grain in hand, the heart does not panic. But for farming households in Henan and other places, having grain in hand not only makes the heart panic - worrying it cannot be sold - but also makes the heart fret - selling grain still requires "pulling strings." What kind of game is this?
In recent years, China's grain output has increased year after year, not only fattening farmers' wallets but also strongly supporting economic and social development and the improvement of people's livelihoods. However, a series of problems have followed: inventories have risen sharply and grain cannot be sold; grain prices have fallen, hurting farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain; and especially the "pulling strings" to sell grain has left many farming households with nothing but a sigh... The tragedy of "Three More Dou and Five More Dou" in Ye Shengtao's writing has unexpectedly been staged again today, and staged in an extremely ugly way.
Faced with the reality of "pulling strings" to sell grain, how can farmers not panic and fret? Only after the grain is sold does the household have a source of income, can it pay various expenses, and can it carry out reproduction; if the grain cannot be sold, everything is empty talk, and there may even be worry about food and clothing. "Pulling strings" to sell grain is something many farmers have never seen or heard of. They do not know how it happens, still less why it happens. Seeing fellow farmers who have waited 10 days and still have not sold their grain, and themselves, and then seeing some people sell their grain as soon as they arrive, and at a good price, would you say they are fretful or not? Today's society demands fairness and justice, yet selling grain unexpectedly also requires "pulling strings." Where does fairness and justice come from in that?
On November 11, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council presided over an executive meeting of the State Council, stressing the need to effectively protect farmers' interests and their enthusiasm for growing grain, strictly investigate grade downgrading and price suppression, and prevent "difficulty in selling grain." This is good news for farmers selling grain, but it is unclear whether the relevant departments have heard clearly and taken it in, or whether they will treat the Premier's words as a passing breeze. The "prescription" the Premier set out to prevent "difficulty in selling grain" - doing a good job in the autumn grain purchase, increasing investment in the construction of storage facilities; steadily digesting existing inventories, converting eligible temporary storage corn into one-time state reserves, and so on - can be called a miraculous cure and a remedy that works as soon as taken, but the key is whether the "medicine" can be applied to "treating the illness."
"Pulling strings" to sell grain infringes on farmers' interests. The urgent task is to strictly investigate and severely punish this kind of behavior that harms farmers and agriculture, and ensure that farmers' grain can be sold and sold at a good price; the long-term policy is to adjust the policy-based grain purchase and storage system, strive to realize the "separation of price and subsidy," and let grain prices return to the market. To truly enable farmers to have grain in hand and not panic in heart, farming households, grain purchasing enterprises, and especially the government and its agriculture-related departments still need to think harder and find more ways.