A hundred-billion-yuan scorecard reflects new opportunities in China's agricultural transformation
Xinhua News Agency, Chengdu (reporter Ye Hanyong) - The just-concluded Third Sichuan Agricultural Expo saw the signing of 704 agricultural investment promotion projects, with a contract value of nearly 140 billion yuan, more than triple that of the previous session. Behind this “hundred-billion-yuan scorecard” is the result of Sichuan Province's efforts to promote the transformation and development of modern agriculture, reflecting new opportunities for China's agricultural transformation and development under downward economic pressure.
The “Internet Plus” concept is expected to usher China's agriculture into an accelerating “outlet” for development. This year's Agricultural Expo set up an e-commerce trading zone for the first time. Automatic vegetable vending machines and electronic fresh-keeping cabinets brought by local Chengdu e-commerce companies allowed visitors to experience agriculture's “Internet Plus” on site.
“It can be adjusted from minus 18 degrees Celsius for freezing to plus 60 degrees Celsius for warmth. Whether it is frozen fresh food or hot pizza, it can be stored temporarily. New technologies relying on the Internet will solve the ‘last mile’ problem of fresh food delivery.” said Yang Xiubin, executive deputy director of the Rural Work Committee of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee. Informatization efforts such as smart agriculture, precision agriculture and digital agriculture are both the goal of Sichuan's efforts to develop modern agriculture and the direction for China's agriculture to use the Internet to advance the transformation of the entire industrial chain.
Opening up and cooperation are expected to allow China's traditional agriculture to participate more deeply in the “global chain.” Compared with previous sessions, this year's Agricultural Expo greatly increased the display content on international agricultural cooperation.
“International cooperation is not only about bringing in, but also about going out.” said Chen Mengkun, director of the Industry Division of the Rural Work Committee of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee. “Following the trend of China's modern agricultural development, we have focused on strengthening agricultural cooperation with Hong Kong, China, Macao, China and Taiwan, China as well as other countries. Related projects for the three major agricultural cooperation parks Sichuan has established in Asia, Africa and Europe have successively landed. The ‘going out’ innovation of ‘one province covering one country’ has been praised by the International Food and Agriculture Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture as a model of ‘South-South cooperation.’”
Data show that in 2014, the overseas agreed transaction value of Sichuan agricultural enterprises was 3.369 billion yuan, and the actual transaction value was 1.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10 times.
Deepening reform is expected to break bottlenecks such as financing difficulties facing the transformation and development of China's traditional agriculture. Three agricultural enterprises in Chengdu initiated the establishment of Sichuan's first incubation base for good agricultural projects and set up two funds, with initial capital of more than 200 million yuan. At this year's Agricultural Expo, more than 400 projects were submitted for evaluation, and ultimately 10 projects will receive their support.
Li Zongbin, general manager of Sichuan Rundi Yuanda Agriculture Co., Ltd., said that social capital joining hands to build an incubation and cultivation platform has given him hope for industrialized agricultural operations. “This is also the hope for the future of Chinese agriculture.”