How can the problem of unsold agricultural products be solved? Addressing both the symptoms and the root causes is key
Right now the autumn grain is ripening, and farmers are looking forward to a bumper harvest. But in some townships in Huguan County, Shanxi Province, many farmers are still struggling because last year's surplus grain is sitting at home unsold. According to preliminary statistics, in the two townships of Shuzhang and Shipo in Huguan County alone, there are currently nearly more than 2 million kilograms of surplus grain awaiting sale, most of it corn. With the old grain unsold and unable to be turned into money, and the new grain arriving with nowhere to store it, this has become a difficult problem facing farmers. They worry day and night about birds, insects and rats spoiling the grain, and even more about the grain becoming moldy and deteriorating.
Experts believe that the reason a large amount of corn is unsold lies, on the one hand, in the continuous decline of corn purchase prices, which fails to meet farmers' expectations. On the other hand, the corn market as a whole is sluggish, demand is weak, and buyers are not very enthusiastic about purchasing corn. In addition, in the past two years, corn purchasing stations in Huguan County have decreased sharply, and farmers who want to sell their corn cannot find a place to do so.
Judging from news reports in recent years, similar cases of unsold agricultural products have occurred from time to time across the country. After such events occur, the government often organizes various activities to coordinate, but this cannot play a substantive role. The author believes that to solve the problem of unsold agricultural products, relevant departments still need to plan ahead and explore fundamental solutions through the joint efforts of multiple parties.
First, policy publicity should be strengthened so that farmers establish an awareness of the market economy, help them understand market conditions and market laws, enhance their grasp of agricultural product market conditions and market laws, and improve their ability to analyze and predict the agricultural product market, so as to avoid the occurrence of unsold agricultural products and thereby reduce farmers' economic losses.
Second, it is necessary to actively build an information platform for the supply and marketing of agricultural products and encourage farmers and buyers to publish supply and demand information. This will not only make it convenient for buyers to understand the local output and quality of agricultural products, but also help farmers choose satisfactory buyers through price comparison.
Third, efforts should be made to build agricultural product brands with local characteristics. On the one hand, the government should strengthen communication with agricultural research institutes at all levels, provide farmers with high-quality agricultural product varieties, and regularly organize expert lectures to help farmers improve product quality. On the other hand, it is necessary to give full play to the advantages of local media, increase the promotion of agricultural products, spread their reputation and build up their brands, so that farmers no longer worry about the sales channels for agricultural products.