Inner Mongolia Releases 2017 Key Work Points for the Planting Industry
In 2016, the agriculture and animal husbandry system of the whole region thoroughly implemented the relevant spirits of the central government and the autonomous region, proactively responded to changes in the agricultural product market, closely focused on “transforming the development model and adjusting the structure”, actively adopted effective measures, overcame the impact of unfavorable factors in planting production, and fairly well completed all annual targets and tasks. Grain production still achieved a good harvest, with total output reaching 55.6 billion jin, stable above 55 billion jin for 4 consecutive years. The layout of advantageous regions for major crops became more obvious, the development approach of planting for breeding and planting for processing became clearer, the planting structure achieved major adjustments, and the annual grain corn reduction task assigned to our region by the Ministry of Agriculture was overfulfilled. Important progress was made in the concept of green development, and agricultural production is shifting from a resource-consuming model to a quality-oriented green model.
2017 is a very critical year. To welcome the convening of the 19th CPC National Congress and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the autonomous region, deepening rural institutional reform, transforming the agricultural development model, safeguarding national food security, advancing supply-side structural reform, and carrying out targeted poverty alleviation in rural areas have all reached the decisive stage of tackling tough challenges. Agricultural production needs to continue to play the role of “ballast stone” and “stabilizer”. The overall approach for planting industry work in 2017 is: fully implement the decisions and arrangements on agricultural development of the Party Central Committee, the State Council, and the Party Committee and government of the autonomous region, thoroughly implement the spirit of the autonomous region's rural and pastoral area work conference and agriculture and animal husbandry work conference, firmly establish the new development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing, raise the green banner, play the distinctive card, and take the brand road, center on quality, efficiency, and competitiveness, closely focus on the main line of advancing agricultural supply-side structural reform, take stabilizing and improving grain production capacity as the foundation, take green development as the orientation, take reform and innovation as the driving force, take structural adjustment as the focus, consolidate and improve the production capacity of main production areas, build advantageous and distinctive industries, improve the quality and efficiency of the supply system, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the planting industry, strive for new breakthroughs in green development, and strive to safeguard the effective supply of agricultural products, steady increases in farmers' incomes, and the sustained and healthy development of agriculture.
Targets and tasks: The total crop sowing area shall remain above 100 million mu, the grain crop sowing area shall remain stable above 80 million mu, and, in the absence of major natural disasters, grain output shall remain stable at around 55 billion jin. The corn area in non-advantageous regions shall be reduced by another 2 million mu, of which 1 million mu shall be cut and 1 million mu shall be converted to silage. Continue to carry out in depth across the whole region the “four major actions” of controlling fertilizer for efficiency, controlling pesticides for harm reduction, controlling water for consumption reduction, and controlling film for efficiency improvement. The promotion area of green and efficient yield-increasing technologies shall remain above 35 million mu; the coverage rate of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology shall increase by 1 percentage point, the fertilizer utilization rate shall reach 32%, and the growth rate of chemical fertilizer use shall be controlled within 0.6%; the area of unified pest and disease prevention and control shall remain above 40 million mu, the green prevention and control area shall reach 45 million mu, the loss rate from pests and diseases shall be controlled within 5%, and the pesticide utilization rate for major crops shall increase to 37%; the newly added high-efficiency water-saving irrigation area in farmland shall be 2 million mu, with water saving per mu reaching 50%; the plastic film mulching area for major grain and oil crops shall be controlled below 15 million mu.
Agriculture and animal husbandry departments at all levels must closely focus on developing green agriculture and animal husbandry, water-saving agriculture and animal husbandry, and efficiency-oriented agriculture and animal husbandry, and make intensive efforts in the following aspects.
1. Adjust and improve policies and measures, and give full play to the guiding role.
Actively cooperate in advancing the reform of preferential agricultural policies. In accordance with the actual conditions of agricultural production and the needs of supply-side structural reform, put forward reasonable suggestions for policy adjustment, further refine and improve policy content, make good use of the discretionary space left to the grassroots, reasonably determine subsidy regions, subsidy bases, and subsidy standards, and give full play to the guiding role of policies. Advantageous and non-advantageous regions must reflect the principle of both support and reduction. It is necessary to take into account the relationships among policies, coordinate their implementation, and realize the intentions of all policies. Make full use of the slack farming season and use radio, television, the internet, mobile phones, brochures, and training by scientific and technical personnel entering villages and households to publicize and interpret policies well, protect farmers' enthusiasm for production, guide farmers to proactively adjust the planting structure, and strengthen confidence in sustained income growth.
2. Carry out the “four major actions” in depth and accelerate green development.
The “four major actions” carried out in our region in 2016 - controlling fertilizer for efficiency, controlling pesticides for harm reduction, controlling water for consumption reduction, and controlling film for efficiency improvement - are deeply consistent with the greening proposed by the 10th Party Congress of the autonomous region. They are effective measures for safeguarding green development and protecting the green environment. This work must continue to be comprehensively and deeply advanced as a priority, with intensive efforts in implementation content and in giving play to demonstration and driving effects. In controlling fertilizer for efficiency, achieve the “three reductions”: achieve reduction by optimizing the fertilization structure - carry out soil testing and formulated fertilization in depth, seek new breakthroughs especially in intelligent fertilizer blending, and vigorously promote slow and controlled release fertilizers, biological fertilizers, and water-soluble fertilizers; achieve reduction by improving fertilization methods - seek new breakthroughs especially in mechanical deep application, precision fertilization, and integrated water and fertilizer management; achieve reduction by replacing inorganic fertilizers with organic ones - make full use of projects such as land consolidation, black soil protection, and dryland farming, vigorously promote straw return to fields and increased application of organic fertilizers, strengthen the construction of farmland quality, raise the level of farmland fertility, and reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers. At the same time, actively carry out the “Farmland Quality Construction Year” activity and encourage the creation of demonstration counties for fertilizer reduction and efficiency improvement. In controlling pesticides for harm reduction, strengthen the “four priorities”: strengthen monitoring and early warning, monitor the occurrence and development of pests and diseases in a timely and accurate manner, and at control nodes send the names, quantities, and methods of pesticide use to farmers through information platforms to guide farmers in carrying out green prevention and control; strengthen precision pesticide application, encourage and support specialized service organizations and farmers in upgrading pesticide equipment, improve the level of scientific pesticide application, control excessive pesticide use, and strictly manage prohibited and restricted pesticides; strengthen unified prevention and control, focus on supporting new types of business entities and village-level joint prevention and control, and improve the level of socialized services; strengthen technical training, train farmers and dealership owners in various ways, adhere to the concept of scientific plant protection, popularize low-toxicity and low-residue pesticides and ecological prevention and control technologies, and ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products. In controlling water for consumption reduction, cooperate with water conservancy departments to implement the “dual control” action of total water use and water use intensity, focus on promoting technologies such as high-efficiency water-saving irrigation and integrated water and fertilizer management, highlight work on water saving through varieties, structure, agronomy, and facilities, coordinate the advancement of institutional water saving, and improve water and fertilizer use efficiency. In controlling film for efficiency improvement, focus on the research, integration, publicity, guidance, and control of film-free cultivation technologies. At the same time, in arid and cold regions where the benefits of plastic film mulching are very significant, vigorously promote thick plastic film and degradable film, increase the intensity of residual film recovery, strive to reduce non-point source pollution, and hold the ecological bottom line.
3. Continue to adjust the industrial structure and optimize the quality of the supply system.
Supply-side structural reform is the main task of agricultural development at present and for some time to come, but it must be premised on stabilizing grain production capacity. This is both the foundation and the bottom line, and it cannot be relaxed at any time. Continue to implement the strategy of “storing grain in the land and storing grain in technology”. Thoroughly implement the spirit of the National Planting Industry Structural Adjustment Plan (2016—2020) and the Ministry of Agriculture's Guiding Opinions on Corn Structure Adjustment in the “Sickle Bend” Region, refer to the autonomous region's development guiding opinions on the three major crops of corn, potato, and soybean, and continue to make intensive efforts in changing grain to feed, changing grain to miscellaneous crops, changing grain to cash crops, and changing grain to specialty crops. For corn, focus on improving the production capacity and quality of advantageous regions and reducing the area of non-advantageous regions. Combine planting and breeding to convert to silage, combine planting and processing to improve production capacity, and ensure that reductions can be made and stability maintained, preventing a rebound in planting area in reduced regions. Vigorously develop ration crops such as wheat and rice, which are shortcomings in our region's grain structure. Steadily develop strong-gluten and medium-gluten wheat in the eastern and western advantageous regions, actively develop the rice industry in areas rich in surface water resources, and strictly control the use of groundwater to expand rice planting. For miscellaneous grains and beans, adhere to raising the green banner, playing the distinctive card, and taking the brand road, transform resource advantages and green advantages into efficiency advantages, and turn local native products and small varieties into major industries that drive farmers' income growth. For cash crops, develop industries such as ornamental tourism, leisure and health preservation, science education, and farming experiences according to local conditions, endow agriculture with more functions, and actively open new channels for farmers' income growth. In short, conditions, resources, and crops differ across regions. On the basis of following principles, carefully study and refine plans, and advance structural adjustment according to local conditions.
4. Strive to improve resource utilization and promote circular development of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Focus on promoting the integration of agriculture and animal husbandry in agricultural areas and circular planting and breeding. Through conversion through livestock, increase the amount of organic fertilizer returned to fields, reduce the amount of chemical fertilizer applied, enhance crop resistance, improve the quality of agricultural products, and promote the sound circular development of agriculture and animal husbandry. In semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral areas, vigorously promote “feed into pastoral areas and fertilizer into farmland” and expand sources of organic fertilizer. In the agricultural-pastoral transition zone, actively guide new types of business entities to develop jointly and explore “exchanging fertilizer for grass and fertilizer for feed”, so as to reduce operating costs for new types of business entities while realizing circular utilization of resources between agricultural and pastoral areas.
5. Actively advance scientific and technological innovation and cultivate new drivers for the development of modern agriculture and animal husbandry.
Adapt to the new requirements of structural adjustment, transformation of the development model, and green development, promptly adjust the direction and focus of innovation, and strive to achieve new breakthroughs in variety innovation, technological innovation, and method innovation. Accelerate the revision of approval standards for major crops, highlighting trait indicators suited to modern planting industry development, such as moderate growth period, resistance to disease, drought, and lodging, rapid dehydration, and suitability for mechanical harvesting. While improving the effectiveness, low consumption, precision, and safety of chemical control, actively research, promote, and apply ecological control, physical control, and biological control technologies such as crop rotation, staggered sowing, natural enemies, and trapping, so as to reduce pesticides, control harm, and ensure quality and safety. Actively carry out research on standardized, intensive, and simplified cultivation technologies, and vigorously promote the corn “1+6 model”, namely integrated supporting cultivation technologies based on appropriately scaled operations including precision sowing, film-free drip irrigation, integrated water and fertilizer management, green prevention and control, mechanical grain harvesting, and straw return to fields. Actively carry out research on dryland farming technologies, develop dryland organic premium agriculture, and form a pattern of harmonious development among nature, land, people, and crops. Actively advance the process of factory seedling cultivation and standardized production for facility vegetables, and continuously improve the planting efficiency and quality and safety control level of facility vegetables.
6. Carry out in depth the three-level joint creation and stationing activity, and give full play to the demonstration and driving role.
The three-level joint creation and stationing demonstration activity is an effective form of agricultural technology extension. It can not only form a joint force technologically, but also enhance the practical ability of scientific and technical personnel, form local influence, play a demonstration and leading role, and become a command position for guiding agricultural production. Business units at all levels should rely on green high-yield and high-efficiency creation and their own departmental projects to build demonstration sites level by level, demonstrate and promote green technologies and cost-saving and consumption-reducing technologies, and take technologies with immediate results such as straw return to fields, water-soluble fertilizers, mechanical corn grain harvesting, green prevention and control, unified prevention and control, integration of key technologies, and shallow-buried drip irrigation as this year's work priorities, striving for new breakthroughs in demonstration scale. At the same time, actively carry out exploration of full-process socialized services and “Internet Plus” services, the promotion of new varieties, new pesticides, and new fertilizers, and experimental research on technologies such as mechanical cultivation of corn paper-pot seedlings.
7. Vigorously support new types of business entities and raise the level of modern production.
Make full use of the results of land rights confirmation, actively guide farmers to adopt methods such as offsetting, exchange, and small-scale transfers among farmers to solve the problem of fragmented land operated by farmers, realize contiguous cultivation by household, and create conditions for large-scale land transfer. Vigorously support new types of business entities, tilt policy subsidies and technical services toward new types of business entities, encourage new types of business entities to participate in key project construction, and through new types of business entities realize standardized production, industrialized operation, and branded sales, and establish a comprehensive quality control system, so as to comprehensively improve the planting level and the market competitiveness of agricultural products.
8. Strengthen supervision of the agricultural input market and ensure the safety of agricultural production.
In accordance with the reform of the agricultural law enforcement system and changes in marketing methods, actively formulate new response measures, strengthen agricultural input supervision, and ensure the safety of agricultural production and the quality and safety of agricultural products. First, clarify functions. Agriculture and animal husbandry departments at all levels should further clarify the functional responsibilities of comprehensive law enforcement brigades and business management departments, avoiding unclear functions, unsmooth relationships, poor communication, and shifting responsibilities in work that lead to enforcement blind spots. Second, actively respond to marketing changes. Actively respond to new sales methods such as designated sales, direct sales, commissioned sales, online sales, door-to-door delivery in villages and households, and independent contact by new types of business entities, focusing on strengthening publicity and training and improving farmers' safety awareness and ability to identify products. At the same time, effective consultation channels should be established to respond to farmers' concerns. Establish mechanisms for enterprise spot checks, market inspections, field inspections, and household reverse investigations to effectively crack down on illegal operations. Third, strengthen supervision of new products. Focus on problems such as excessive antibiotics in organic fertilizers, insufficient effective ingredients in chemical fertilizers, illegal addition of hidden ingredients in pesticides, varieties containing genetically modified ingredients, and name changes and false labeling, increase spot check intensity on new products, and formulate and improve management measures with relevant departments as soon as possible, standardize product names and ingredient labeling, and ensure standardized management of agricultural inputs and safe ingredients. Actively carry out the region-wide action to select, recommend, manage, and assist farmers with new fertilizers, and provide reference for farmers to recommend new fertilizers that are safe to input, highly efficient in output, and environmentally friendly. Fourth, attach great importance to the management of genetically modified varieties. Genetically modified organisms are the focus of public opinion, a hot spot of public concern, and a sensitive issue. Great importance must be attached to the management of genetically modified varieties, and illegal genetically modified crop varieties flowing into the market must be severely investigated and punished, eradicating each one as it is found. While strengthening market supervision, seed management departments must also strengthen the management of variety testing, approval, and seed production links. They must not only supervise what comes in from outside, but also control what goes out, and must crack down on each case as it is found, managing illegal spread with a zero-tolerance attitude.