It's time to change the mindset of prioritizing production over marketing in agricultural products
“To improve agricultural efficiency and enhance the competitiveness of agricultural products, it is necessary to build the entire industry chain. If there is only cultivation without processing, or processing without logistics, or only quantity without quality, then one cannot grasp pricing power, let alone market share.” Wang Shoucong, Director of the State Farms Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, recently told reporters.
Facing the trend of the “Internet Plus” era, where should the development direction of state farms be? Wang Shoucong said that state farms will focus on core links, namely building a traceability system for agricultural product quality, setting up e-commerce platforms, and improving logistics and distribution of agricultural products, using “Internet Plus” thinking and technological means to build the entire industry chain and incubate the state farms' own Alibaba.
“What strength do we have to compete with major foreign grain traders?”
——From building quality traceability, e-commerce and logistics distribution across the board, to accelerating the construction of a supply guarantee system for the entire industry chain, thereby enhancing resource control, pricing voice, and profit distribution rights
The long-term advantages of state farms have mainly been reflected in the production sector, but currently, under the dual squeeze of the “ceiling” and the “floor,” modern agricultural construction must pay more attention to quality and efficiency, and more attention to being market-oriented and consumer-centered.
“State farms must not only seek their own survival but also better serve the needs of the national strategy, which is inseparable from the construction of the three major links: quality traceability, e-commerce, and logistics systems.” Wang Shoucong said that it is necessary to vigorously strengthen warehousing, processing, transportation and marketing, especially the construction of agricultural product e-commerce and modern logistics distribution systems, to realize the transformation from producer to supplier, form a new pattern of industrial development driven by both online and offline, build a supply guarantee system for the entire industry chain that can compete with major foreign grain traders, and enhance resource control, pricing voice, and profit distribution rights.
Food is the first necessity of the people, and safety is the first priority of food. Build a nationally unified traceability platform for agricultural products and food safety information, realize traceability across the entire industry chain of agricultural product production, purchase, storage, transportation, sales, and consumption, and use the traceability system to force and guide production.
Currently, the “Internet Plus” wave is sweeping fiercely across all industries worldwide, and agriculture is no exception. How can agriculture catch this ride in this transformation? E-commerce is a shortcut. Agricultural product e-commerce is considered the last blue ocean of e-commerce, with huge room for development. Another important business format that accompanies e-commerce is logistics. In this regard, the state has proposed developing cold-chain infrastructure for agricultural products, supporting the construction of logistics distribution terminals and smart logistics platforms, regulating logistics distribution vehicle management, and rationally laying out logistics warehousing facilities.
The most core element of quality traceability, e-commerce, and logistics is the application of “Internet Plus” thinking and its technology. The direct purpose of the agricultural product quality traceability system is to promote the improvement of agricultural product quality and safety levels, but in actual production and operation, due to the use of information technology and internet means, it has achieved deeper purposes such as innovating enterprise management methods and enhancing enterprise market competitiveness.
“We are still only at the initial stage”
——Developing e-commerce is not just building a website or opening an online store. Reclamation areas and enterprises must value management and marketing talent cultivation, strengthen top-level design, and change issues such as multiple quality traceability systems being incompatible with each other
It is reported that while building their own quality traceability systems, reclamation areas are actively establishing agricultural product quality traceability systems with local enterprises, and some well-known large agricultural enterprises have also begun to use the state farm agricultural product quality traceability system.
“Since last year, we have taken traceable agricultural products as the entry point, advancing both online and offline, and exploring the establishment of a state farm agricultural product e-commerce platform.” Wang Shoucong said.
The reporter came to the Jiaxian Farm Supermarket located in the bustling downtown area of Guangzhou. “One of the biggest features of this supermarket is that all agricultural products can be traced to information such as where they were produced and when they left the factory, which has changed our shopping experience.” a citizen said.
Currently, reclamation areas in Shanghai, Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Ningxia, Chongqing, Beijing and others have successively built regional e-commerce platforms with their own characteristics. Guangdong State Farms has since last year built “Jiaxian Farm,” which integrates community supermarkets, e-commerce, group sales, and online and offline operations, with daily transaction volume reaching 500,000 yuan.
In addition, some reclamation areas have initially established logistics network systems with relatively large coverage, and logistics park construction has begun to take shape, with cold-chain logistics being accelerated.
“Nevertheless, we are still at the initial stage.” Wang Shoucong said that some reclamation areas and enterprises still have the shallow understanding that “developing e-commerce means building a website,” and similar understandings also exist in areas such as quality traceability and logistics construction.
Currently, the traceability systems designed and developed by various departments and regions are incompatible with each other. China's existing logistics management system is still in a state of segmented management by region and department, which restricts e-commerce development. “As far as state farms are concerned, e-commerce and logistics have problems such as duplicate construction and scattered operations, with high operating costs and lack of competitiveness.” Wang Shoucong said.
In addition, state farms have long focused on agricultural production and lack talent reserves in transportation, preservation, testing, marketing, informatization, and other areas. “This situation must change.”
“The national team should stand at the high end of the new e-commerce business format”
——Break the situation of the quality traceability system working alone, form a state farm e-commerce alliance, connect cold-chain logistics with last-mile delivery, make good use of the Internet of Things and big data, and build an e-commerce system with state farm characteristics of “Internet Plus farm Plus traceability Plus fresh products”
“Quality traceability, e-commerce, and logistics work are highly related and highly professional. Especially with e-commerce developing by leaps and bounds, there are currently differences in understanding among reclamation areas, so it is necessary to change the practice of working alone and accelerate the establishment of a state farm e-commerce alliance.” Wang Shoucong said.
The reporter learned that the members of the state farm e-commerce alliance include not only state farm e-commerce enterprises, but also related enterprises in agricultural product production and supply (quality traceability), logistics distribution, financial services, and others. Through establishing a nationwide state farm e-commerce enterprise group with capital as the bond, it aims to build the state farms' own Alibaba. After the alliance is formed, it will promote the integration of advantageous agricultural product resources of state farms nationwide, explore the establishment of a nationally unified state farm e-commerce platform, publicize and promote the state farm traceability concept and e-commerce brand, build a batch of modern quality traceability highlight enterprises with high levels of organization, scale, and informatization, and form experience that can be referenced.
“Localized fresh product e-commerce has become an important transformation direction for agricultural product e-commerce.” Wang Shoucong said that enterprises in urban-type reclamation areas with conditions should be encouraged to explore fresh product e-commerce models such as direct sales from farm bases, offline supermarkets, and community O2O, fully apply the full-process quality traceability system in fresh product e-commerce products, and build an e-commerce system with unique state farm characteristics of “Internet Plus farm Plus traceability Plus fresh products.”
“We should explore the formation of a comprehensive e-commerce platform for China State Farms, enhance the resource control, pricing voice, and profit distribution rights of state-owned agricultural enterprises in the e-commerce field, and enable the state farm national team to stand at the high end of the new e-commerce business format.” Wang Shoucong said.
Next, state farms will encourage enterprises to strengthen the construction of modern warehousing facilities, ensure that high-quality state farm agricultural products can be stored and transported out, and grasp sales initiative; increase the construction of large wholesale markets or logistics parks with market influence, seize key nodes in agricultural product circulation, and enhance market control; seize the opportunity to guarantee urban supply and connect cold-chain logistics with last-mile delivery; use the Internet of Things and big data to implement full-process refined management and control of logistics distribution, reducing logistics costs.