Grain output and production capacity rise in tandem, agricultural transformation and structural adjustment accelerate

Grain production no longer focuses only on annual output, but pays more attention to storing grain in the land and in technology; resource utilization and environmental protection are implemented in tandem; pig manure and sheep manure that nobody wanted before have become resources; the integrated development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries is advancing, and the structure of grain and economic crops, and of planting and breeding, is constantly being optimized…… As summer grain production achieved a “twelfth consecutive increase”, China's agriculture, closely centering on the main line of work of “stabilizing grain and increasing income while adjusting structure, improving quality and efficiency while transforming the development mode”, has achieved notable results.

Grain output and production capacity rise in tandem. In the first half of this year, China's summer grain once again reaped a bumper harvest from a high starting point and a high base. This year the national summer grain output totaled 282.1 billion jin, an increase of 8.9 billion jin over the previous year, and summer grain production achieved a “twelfth consecutive increase”. At the same time, the designation of permanent basic farmland got under way, the construction of high-standard farmland advanced from pilot points to wider areas, the action to protect and improve cultivated land quality was officially launched, research on green yield-increasing models reached the wheat fields, and the creation of high-yield grain production reached a new level. Grain production is shifting from a main focus on annual output to a path of sustainable development that stores grain in the land and in technology.

Structural adjustment and layout optimization advance in tandem. Based on their resource advantages, localities are gradually making the agricultural structure more optimized, higher-grade and more refined, and an advantageous regional layout and specialized production pattern is gradually taking shape. The Ministry of Agriculture carried out a pilot to replace grain with forage in the Three-North region, and carried out a pilot of grain-soybean rotation in 30 counties in Northeast China. In-depth efforts were made to create China's most beautiful leisure villages and national leisure agriculture demonstrations. At present, there are more than 1.5 million farmhouse resorts nationwide, benefiting more than 30 million farmers, and the pace of integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries is constantly accelerating.

Resource utilization and environmental protection are implemented in tandem. The National Agricultural Sustainable Development Plan (2015—2030) was published, strengthening the top-level design for the protection of agricultural resources and the environment. The Ministry of Agriculture launched a battle against agricultural non-point source pollution, promoting a shift in the way agricultural resources are used toward conservation and high efficiency. “In the past, nobody wanted the cattle manure and pig manure from the farms, but now everyone is scrambling for it. As the use of organic fertilizer gradually increases, chemical fertilizer use has dropped by 30 percent, yet wheat yield per mu has risen from 700 to 800 jin to more than 1,300 jin.” said Zhao Jincheng, a large grain grower in Qihe County, Shandong Province.

Scientific and technological support and equipment guarantees are upgraded in tandem. Since the end of last year, the Ministry of Agriculture has carried out a pilot reform of seed industry rights and interests, “empowering” and “conceding benefits to” research institutions and personnel. With the technical backing of research on green yield-increasing models, wheat in Qianying Village, Shenzhou City, Hebei Province, was watered only once yet yielded 1,327.6 jin per mu, setting a new wheat output record for the Heilonggang River basin. In the upsurge of “Internet Plus”, the pilot of bringing information services into villages and households will promote the transformation of traditional agriculture through information technologies such as the Internet of Things, achieving precision and intelligence in agricultural production.

In addition, appropriately scaled operations and the cultivation of operating entities are accelerating in tandem. As of now, the area of household contracted cultivated land that has been transferred accounts for more than 30.4 percent of the area under household contracting contracts; farmer specialized cooperatives registered with industry and commerce authorities nationwide have reached 1.412 million.