China's agricultural development model is accelerating its transformation
The recent State Council executive meeting held recently held that the work related to “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” concerns the overall national situation and must be placed in a foundational position at all times. The meeting deployed efforts to accelerate the transformation of the agricultural development model and take a path of safe, efficient and green development.
In recent years, the structural adjustment of the planting industry, the acceleration of the transformation and upgrading of herbivorous livestock farming, the early and proactive launching of pilot projects such as converting grain fields to forage and rotating grain with soybeans, the solid advancement of the integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries and the mechanization and informatization of agriculture, and the gradual deepening of the cultivation of practical rural talent and new-type farmers…… These changes clearly show that China's agricultural development model is accelerating its transformation.
Grain output and production capacity are rising in tandem. In the first half of this year, China's summer grain harvest was again abundant from a high starting point and a high base, with total output increasing by 8.9 billion jin over the previous year. At the same time, the designation of permanent basic farmland got underway, the construction of high-standard farmland advanced from pilot points to broader application, the action to protect and improve cultivated land quality was officially launched, research on green yield-increasing models entered wheat fields, and the creation of high-yield grain production reached a new level. Grain production is shifting from a focus mainly on annual output to a sustainable development path of storing grain in the land and in technology.
Structural adjustment and layout optimization are advancing in tandem. The Ministry of Agriculture issued the Guiding Opinions on Further Adjusting and Optimizing the Agricultural Structure, carried out pilot projects for converting grain fields to forage in the “Three-North” region, and launched pilot projects for rotating grain with soybeans in 30 counties in Northeast China, continuously optimizing the structure of grain and cash crops and of planting and breeding. It promoted the action to upgrade the staple food processing industry and carried out the creation of national leisure agriculture demonstrations. At present, there are more than 1.5 million “farmhouse inns” across the country, benefiting more than 30 million farmers, and the integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries is continuously accelerating.
Resource utilization and environmental protection are being implemented in tandem. This year, eight ministries and commissions including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the National Plan for Sustainable Agricultural Development (2015-2030), continuously strengthening top-level design for the protection of agricultural resources and the environment. They launched a tough battle against agricultural non-point source pollution, carried out an action for zero growth in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, implemented pilot projects for the protection and utilization of black soil in major grain-producing counties in Northeast China, the remediation of cultivated land contaminated by heavy metals, and the comprehensive treatment of areas with severe groundwater overexploitation; and launched a new round of the project to return farmland to forest and grassland, grasping protection with one hand and treatment with the other, promoting the transformation of agricultural resource utilization toward conservation and efficiency.
Moderate-scale operation and the cultivation of operating entities are accelerating in tandem. Relevant departments have successively formulated and issued guiding opinions on the supervision of and risk prevention for industrial and commercial capital leasing farmland, and on the confirmation, registration and certification of rural land contractual management rights, guiding the orderly transfer of land. As of now, the area of household contracted cultivated land transferred accounts for more than 30.4% of the area under household contract. New-type operating entities such as large planting and breeding households, family farms and farmers' cooperatives are developing rapidly. The Ministry of Agriculture is steadily implementing the project for cultivating new-type professional farmers and the plan for modern young farm owners. As of the end of June, farmers' professional cooperatives registered with industry and commerce authorities nationwide reached 1.412 million. As a demonstration province for the province-wide advancement of the Ministry of Agriculture's cultivation of new-type professional farmers, Jiangsu has 14,000 family farms for grain and for vegetables and fruit, with output and returns per unit of land more than 20% higher than those of ordinary farmers.
Scientific and technological support and equipment guarantees are upgrading in tandem. Since the pilot reform of seed industry rights and interests was launched at the end of last year, the “empowerment” and “sharing of benefits” for research institutions and personnel have been steadily advanced, breaking through the institutional “shackles” for innovation-driven agricultural development.