Improving the Agricultural Support and Protection System: An Overview and Interpretation of Deepening Rural Reform
Improving the Agricultural Support and Protection System
——Interpreting the Comprehensive Implementation Plan for Deepening Rural Reform
The support and protection system is the core of agricultural policy in a modern country, and is also an inevitable requirement for developing modern agriculture in our country. In recent years, national fiscal investment in agriculture, rural areas and farmers has grown rapidly, the scope covered by agricultural subsidies has become increasingly broad, and a relatively complete agricultural support and protection system suited to our country's conditions has initially been established.
However, in recent years the cost of domestic agricultural production in our country has risen rapidly, the prices of major agricultural products are generally higher than those on the international market, the comparative returns of agriculture are relatively low, and to keep the rice bowl firmly in our own hands, ensure the safety of the agricultural industry, and enhance the competitiveness of our country's agriculture, support and protection for agriculture must be further strengthened. As the growth rate of fiscal revenue slows, and as agricultural subsidies increasingly approach the "amber box" subsidy ceiling committed to upon our country's accession to the World Trade Organization, agricultural support and protection policies also need to be adjusted and improved. The recently published "Comprehensive Implementation Plan for Deepening Rural Reform" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") clearly proposes adhering to the basic policy of giving more, taking less and loosening control, improving the effectiveness of agricultural support and protection, and accelerating the formation of an agricultural support and protection institutional system that is comprehensive in coverage, clearly oriented, focused on key points, supported by coordinated measures and simple to operate, so as to guarantee the supply of grain and other major agricultural products in our country, promote increases in farmers' incomes, and achieve sustainable agricultural development.
⟦NL> Establishing a mechanism for stable growth of investment in agriculture and rural areas——
Ensure that investment only increases and does not decrease, and use fiscal funds to leverage financial and social capital investment in agriculture and rural areas
For agriculture to develop, investment is key. Establishing a mechanism for stable growth of investment in agriculture and rural areas is of great significance for developing modern agriculture and guaranteeing the supply of grain and other major agricultural products in our country.
The "Plan" points out that agriculture and rural areas should be made a priority area for fiscal expenditure, ensuring that investment in agriculture and rural areas only increases and does not decrease. At the same time, the responsibilities and powers of the central and local governments in supporting agriculture should be reasonably divided. Transfer payment funds related to agriculture should be integrated to effectively improve investment performance, and measures such as government cooperation with social capital, government purchase of services, guaranteed interest subsidies, subsidies in place of awards, privately run projects with public assistance, and risk compensation can also be used to drive financial and social capital investment into agriculture and rural areas, giving play to the guiding and leveraging role of fiscal funds.
Developing modern agriculture and guaranteeing the supply of major agricultural products also requires the combined efforts of farmland water conservancy construction, reform of the agricultural science and technology system, and improvement of the grassroots agricultural technology extension system. Water conservancy is an indispensable primary condition for modern agricultural construction. The "Plan" proposes actively promoting comprehensive reform of agricultural water prices, establishing an agricultural water price formation mechanism conducive to water conservation, a precise subsidy system for agricultural water use and a water-saving incentive mechanism, and encouraging social capital to participate in the construction, operation and maintenance of farmland water conservancy projects. At the same time, the reform of the agricultural science and technology system should be deepened, so that industry, academia and research and agriculture, science and education are closely integrated, the evaluation mechanisms for scientific research project approval and achievement transformation are improved, and incentives for scientific and technological personnel are strengthened. Support for the development of the seed industry should be provided, and a number of large backbone seed enterprises integrating "breeding, propagation and promotion" should be made strong. The grassroots agricultural technology extension service system should be improved, and multiple forms of realizing public-interest agricultural technology extension services should be explored.
Improving the price formation mechanism for agricultural products and the agricultural subsidy system——
Agricultural product price reform will "apply policies by variety and advance gradually," subsidy funds will be tilted toward new agricultural operating entities, and grain-growing farmers and main producing areas will not be made to suffer losses
For China to be prosperous, farmers must be prosperous. To increase farmers' incomes, a reasonable level of agricultural product prices must be maintained. To improve the price formation mechanism for agricultural products and the market regulation system, reform must be used to give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation. Major agricultural products of various types differ in their importance to the national economy and people's livelihood. The "Plan" proposes adopting the method of "applying policies by variety and advancing gradually" to improve the price formation mechanism for agricultural products. The methods of market regulation for agricultural products should be improved, excessive government intervention should be avoided, market circulation should be invigorated, and market vitality should be enhanced. In terms of agricultural product circulation, the construction of a modern agricultural product circulation system supported by informatization should be strengthened, new forms of agricultural product circulation should be vigorously developed, and the role of e-commerce platforms in linking farmers with markets should be brought into play.
Agricultural subsidies are an important means of supporting the development of modern agriculture. Regarding how to improve the agricultural subsidy system, the "Plan" requires maintaining the continuity and stability of agricultural subsidy policies, adjusting and improving "amber box" support policies, gradually expanding the scale and scope of implementation of "green box" support policies, and improving the effectiveness of agricultural subsidy policies.
Regarding the direction of subsidy funds, the "Plan" emphasizes adjusting part of the existing funds and newly added subsidy funds to tilt toward various types of appropriately scaled new agricultural operating entities, highlighting the key points of fiscal support for agriculture, continuously increasing investment in agricultural infrastructure construction and comprehensive agricultural development, improving the investment mechanism for promoting agricultural scientific and technological progress and strengthening farmers' skills training, strengthening support for agricultural structural adjustment, and increasing support for agricultural inputs, the purchase of agricultural machinery and tools, and so on. At the same time, the interest compensation mechanism for main grain-producing areas should be improved, so that grain-growing farmers and main producing areas do not suffer losses.
Establishing a mechanism for sustainable agricultural development——
Promote reduced-input and cleaner agricultural production models, and implement actions to protect and improve cultivated land quality
Sustainable agricultural development is the future direction of our country's agriculture, and also an inescapable responsibility we bear toward future generations. To establish a mechanism for sustainable agricultural development, it is necessary to strengthen institutional innovation in ecological protection, promote reduced-input and cleaner agricultural production models, improve the compensation mechanism for reducing agricultural inputs and improving efficiency, and develop ecological circular agriculture. Ecological governance work should be carried out well, actions to protect and improve cultivated land quality should be implemented, and the treatment of cultivated land polluted by heavy metals and the protection of the black soil in Northeast China should be strengthened. The conversion of cropland to forest and grassland, the return of land to wetlands and lakes, and restrictions on grazing and fishing should be advanced in depth, and the ecological protection compensation system should be improved, and so on.
In addition, the "Plan" also sets out requirements for accelerating institutional innovation in rural finance. It is necessary to continuously innovate rural financial service models, promote the combination of commercial finance, cooperative finance and policy-based finance, promote the development of inclusive finance, and accelerate the establishment of a modern rural financial system that adapts to the characteristics of our country's agricultural production and is multi-tiered, broadly covered, sustainable, moderately competitive and risk-controllable. (Interpreter: Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group Wu Hongyao Zhang Zheng Reporters Zhu Jun Chang Qin)