Internet Plus agriculture does not work simply by adding the two together

Agricultural and grain conditions vary widely across our country, and only a minority of places in certain fields can achieve informatized application; therefore, it is unwise to impose a one-size-fits-all approach, and unwise to blindly "+ the Internet." A true "Internet Plus agriculture" must properly handle the relationship between government and market. The pragmatic step at present is to explore a sustainable development mechanism that tightly combines public-welfare services with commercial services, ultimately realizing the government "building the road," enterprises "driving the cars," and farmers and consumers "collecting the goods."

A few days ago, three departments including the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the "Action Plan for Advancing the Development of Agricultural E-commerce," and 19 departments including the Ministry of Commerce released the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Rural E-commerce"... A series of news items about "Internet Plus agriculture" has attracted considerable attention. Localities are springing into action and actively following up.

Agriculture and rural areas do indeed need "Internet Plus," and consumers are also full of expectations for "Internet Plus agriculture." At present, traditional agriculture still basically depends on the weather. Whether in planting or breeding, from production to distribution, on the whole there is neither the support of agricultural big data nor generally the support of the agricultural Internet of Things. "Internet Plus" can effectively serve the entire agricultural industry chain. The solutions and tools provided by Internet thinking make the connection between production and sales more precise and efficient, and also force agriculture to raise its own degree of standardization, scale and organization.

Admittedly, developing modern agriculture requires an industrial mindset as well as Internet thinking, but "Internet Plus" cannot cure all ills. One must never pursue e-commerce for the sake of e-commerce, or blindly "+ the Internet" in a rush for quick success. After all, agriculture is different from industry and the information industry; agricultural and grain conditions vary widely across our country, so a one-size-fits-all approach is inadvisable. Although many places have achieved mechanization in the main planting stages, only a minority of places in certain fields can achieve informatized application. Moreover, the application of information technology in agriculture mostly remains at the trial and demonstration stage; research on agricultural information technology is disconnected from production, and the task of converting it into real productive forces remains arduous.

The core of "Internet Plus agriculture" development is to properly handle the relationship between government and market. It is necessary both to give full play to the decisive role of the market in allocating resources and for the government to earnestly shoulder its responsibility of providing public goods and services. The pragmatic step at present is to explore a sustainable development mechanism that tightly combines public-welfare services with commercial services, ultimately realizing the government "building the road," enterprises "driving the cars," and farmers and consumers "collecting the goods."

Specifically, in advancing agricultural e-commerce, the relevant departments should have an open and inclusive mindset; as long as it benefits farmers and agriculture, it should be welcomed and supported. The enthusiasm of operators and service providers should be fully mobilized, so that they can earn reasonable profits and achieve sustainable operations. Policy measures should be used to solve the things that a single e-commerce enterprise wanted to do in the past but could not do well, and to remove the institutional and mechanistic obstacles to the development of agricultural e-commerce. For example, rural logistics and distribution need to be advanced as a whole within the county area in order to reduce costs; and the long-awaited preferential support measures for land use, electricity use and network use for e-commerce must also be implemented as soon as possible.

At the same time, sound rural informatization infrastructure is the guarantee for development. High-speed rail, expressways and airports cannot be built all the way to the villages, but the "information superhighway" can absolutely reach into villages and households. Government departments in all localities should accelerate the extension of the Internet to rural areas, so that the fruits of informatization benefit more farmers; this is a fundamental measure for narrowing the urban-rural digital divide. The relevant departments should also earnestly fulfill their duties of statistics, standards and oversight in the field of agricultural informatization.

"Internet Plus agriculture" requires rationality and resilience. The intervention of the Internet in agriculture will not immediately produce a so-called subversive revolution, but every small step now is a big step for the future.