How can the industrialization of comprehensive straw utilization be advanced?
Crop straw is a valuable renewable resource. At present, China produces more than 900 million tons of straw each year. If used rationally, it will help improve soil organic matter content, reduce agricultural non-point source pollution, promote increased grain output and income, and safeguard China's food security. Recently, a reporter from Economic Daily interviewed Bi Yuyun, a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, on issues related to comprehensive straw utilization.
Reporter: To advance the industrialized development of comprehensive straw utilization, the most important prerequisite is to collect and store straw resources so as to ensure their effective use. How can China's difficulties in straw collection, storage and transportation be solved?
Bi Yuyun: Straw is scattered, bulky and relatively low in density, which is why it is difficult to collect, store and transport. In China, there are three major problems in establishing a straw collection, storage and transportation system. First, China's straw collection, storage and transportation system is still at the initial stage of spontaneous formation, and the industrialized development of straw lacks reliable straw collection and storage bases for use. Second, there is a lack of scientific planning guidance, which is not conducive to the orderly formation and development of a straw collection, storage and transportation network (collection and storage center——collection and storage station——collection and storage point) system. Third, the overall level of straw collection, storage and transportation technical equipment is relatively low.
From the perspective of future development, China urgently needs to establish a sound straw collection, storage and transportation system. On the basis of meeting the demand for returning straw to fields, and according to the needs of industrialized straw development, straw collection should be combined with utilization methods such as straw livestock feeding, straw new energy development, straw industrial processing, straw edible mushroom cultivation and straw commercial organic fertilizer production. With planning as the guide, straw collection, storage and transportation bases should be rationally laid out to form a market-oriented straw collection, storage and logistics system with straw utilization enterprises and straw collection, storage and transportation service organizations as the entities. Supporting facilities and equipment for straw collection, baling, compression and packaging, drying and stacking, rain and fire prevention, and transportation should be improved to form stable straw collection and storage capacity. Mechanization should be actively developed across the entire process of crop combine harvesting, crushing and returning to fields, picking up and baling, and storage and transportation, and the field straw treatment system should be established and improved.
⟦NL> Reporter: From which aspects should efforts be made to advance comprehensive straw utilization technology?
Bi Yuyun: Technological innovation is a key link in the industrialization of comprehensive straw utilization. Weak supporting technologies for comprehensive straw utilization are the bottleneck restricting its large-scale and industrialized development. Efforts should be concentrated on promoting research and development of key technologies for straw collection and utilization.
It is suggested that, focusing on the key technological bottlenecks in comprehensive straw utilization, universities, research institutions and leading enterprises be organized to carry out joint research, conduct research and development on key and common technologies, integrate and package technologies, increase efforts in developing machinery and equipment, introduce, digest and absorb advanced foreign equipment and technologies suited to China's national conditions, and raise the technological level of comprehensive straw utilization. Breakthroughs should be made in deeper technological obstacles such as straw ethanol, straw polysaccharides and monosaccharides, and straw starch production, so as to increase the added value of comprehensive straw utilization. The establishment of a supporting technical standards system should be accelerated, and a technical system should be formed as soon as possible that is linked with comprehensive straw utilization technologies, adapted to agricultural technology development, combined with agricultural industrial operations and matched with agricultural equipment. The establishment of industry standards, product standards and quality inspection standards systems for straw-related products should be accelerated to achieve standardization of production equipment, products and process operations.
Reporter: How can funding for comprehensive straw utilization be ensured and put in place?
Bi Yuyun: Special funds for comprehensive straw utilization should be established, with subsidies focused on the straw collection, storage and utilization links, so as to form an investment mechanism with fiscal input as the guide, input by enterprises and farmers as the main body, and multiple levels, multiple channels and diversification. Agricultural machinery and tools for comprehensive straw utilization should be included in the scope of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies, and the subsidy amount should be appropriately increased. Investment support for the research, development and promotion of new straw utilization technologies and new equipment should be further increased. Comprehensive straw utilization involves large volumes and wide coverage, and local input alone is far from enough. Looking at national demand over the next 10 years, more than 150 million tons of new comprehensive straw utilization capacity will be needed, with total project investment reaching hundreds of billions of yuan. If it relied only on a small amount of local government financial support and social investment, it would be difficult to accomplish.
At present, most local government financial support is aimed at straw burning prohibition work. For example, Shandong Province mainly supports areas around expressways, railways and airports. It is suggested that a four-level input mechanism at the central, provincial, municipal and county levels be established and improved as soon as possible to provide financial support for comprehensive straw utilization.