The development of grassland agriculture cannot be separated from the rational use of resources
To develop grassland agriculture and build a beautiful and prosperous plateau agriculture, Yunnan has great potential. Grassland agriculture is a modern system that integrates farming, forestry and animal husbandry as a whole, rationally uses resources and achieves sustainable development. The characteristic of grassland agriculture is combining grain cultivation with grass cultivation, combining planting with breeding, and combining production with sightseeing tourism and product processing. In this regard, Yunnan has very great advantages. Generally speaking, the proportion of grassland in the crop system should not be less than 25%, and the proportion of animal husbandry in the total agricultural output value should not be less than 50%. This is a conclusion drawn from studying the practices of various developed countries around the world. In the past two years in our country, the total output value of animal husbandry accounted for 32% of the entire agricultural output value; last year it was relatively low, accounting for 28%. All of this shows that there is great room for development. The output value of animal husbandry in Yunnan accounts for nearly 30% of the total agricultural output value, that is to say, it is roughly the same as the national average.
This year's No. 1 Central Document proposed actively developing the herb industry, actively cultivating the planting of plants such as alfalfa, carrying out pilot projects combining planting and breeding and converting grain to feed, and actively promoting the coordination and development of the three models of food crops, cash crops and forage crops. The grass-fed poultry breeding industry and the broad sense of the grass industry and animal husbandry, converting grain to feed, and giving consideration to both grain and grass can all be summarized as actively developing grassland agriculture.
Yunnan should pay more attention to its existing grassland resources. Yunnan Province has the seventh largest grassland area among all provinces in the country. The provincial party committee and provincial government should broaden their vision and expand it to the grasslands, which account for 38.8% of the national land area. In addition, forest land, which accounts for 46% of the national land area, also has great grazing value. Contiguous grasslands should be taken as the main direction of attack to develop grassland animal husbandry production. This is extremely important for improving Yunnan's ecological environment.
It is necessary to vigorously develop grass-eating livestock, especially cattle and sheep raising. At present, more than 60% of the output value of animal husbandry is pork, while beef and mutton, especially mutton, account for a very small proportion. Therefore, in the development of Yunnan's breeding industry, cattle and sheep should be vigorously developed, and grassland resources should be fully utilized. Yunnan Province has great room for development in cattle and sheep breeding. This is also an important way to make good use of Yunnan's natural resources to develop plateau characteristic agriculture.
It is necessary to vigorously adjust the structure of the planting industry. How to adjust the structure, use idle farmland and idle winter farmland to grow grass, and develop plateau characteristic agriculture without affecting grain output is something Yunnan Province needs to consider. According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, about 14% of the country's idle farmland and idle winter farmland is currently used to grow grass, while in Yunnan it may be less than 2%. There is great potential for growing grass in idle winter farmland and idle farmland, and it should be vigorously developed. The proportion of grass-planting area and natural grassland is one of the signs measuring the development of a country's agricultural modernization. Yunnan has great potential in growing grass on farmland and adjusting the structure of the planting industry.
The government should strengthen support in terms of policies and supporting measures. Past survey experience has found that in many places in Yunnan and Guizhou, it is not easy to build an industry. When support funds are available, should they be used to grow grass or to feed livestock? All of these require money. It is hoped that the government can treat grass cultivation like grain cultivation, coordinate grass and livestock as a whole, and enable farmers to obtain benefits from growing grass.
Yunnan has sufficient conditions to increase the productivity of natural grassland and then vigorously develop cattle and sheep breeding. Yunnan's natural conditions can be compared with those of New Zealand. It is like spring all year round and suitable for grassland development. Moreover, Yunnan's environment ranges from several hundred meters to several thousand meters above sea level, and almost 70% of the forage grasses found across the country can be found in Yunnan. Alfalfa, the legume grass mainly planted in the north, cannot grow in the south, but it can be produced in Yunnan; ryegrass, which is mainly planted in the south, cannot reach ideal yields in the north because the climate is relatively cold, but in Yunnan it is also very satisfactory. In other words, Yunnan is a place that is both south and north and accommodates the environments of various regions, which provides a very good environment for developing grass and livestock husbandry. At the same time, Yunnan also has a very good foundation for scientific research cooperation and is fully capable of building an agricultural opening-up center facing South Asia and Southeast Asia, turning grassland animal husbandry into a characteristic industry.
(Nan Zhibiao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering)