Ministry of Agriculture Notice: Promoting Tilted Funding Support for the Construction of Modern Agriculture Demonstration Zones

To the agriculture, agricultural machinery, animal husbandry, state farm, and fishery departments (bureaus, committees) of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities under separate state planning; the Agriculture Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; the Heilongjiang General Bureau of State Farms; the Guangdong General Bureau of State Farms; and the people's governments of all National Modern Agriculture Demonstration Zones:

Over the past two years, in accordance with the relevant arrangements of the Central Government, our Ministry has designated a group of National Modern Agriculture Demonstration Zones (hereinafter referred to as “Demonstration Zones”) across the country. All localities have attached great importance to this, taking the Demonstration Zones as an important lever for accelerating the construction of modern agriculture, and have successively issued policies and measures, pushing forward the construction of the Demonstration Zones with positive progress. In order to further accelerate the pace of construction of the Demonstration Zones and effectively give play to their role in demonstrating and leading the development of modern agriculture nationwide, the following notice is hereby issued on promoting the tilted support of agricultural project funds for the construction of the Demonstration Zones:

I. Raise Awareness and Clarify the Approach to Tilted Support

Promoting the tilted support of agricultural project funds for the construction of the Demonstration Zones is an important measure for implementing the decisions and arrangements of the Central Government's Document No. 1 and the National Modern Agriculture Development Plan (Guofa [2012] No. 4) on building modern agriculture demonstration zones; it is an important action for giving play to the guiding role of government agricultural support funds, effectively gathering various resources, and promoting the formation of synergy in the construction of the Demonstration Zones; and it is an important exploration for integrating various types of agricultural support funds, innovating the agricultural investment mechanism, and improving the efficiency of fund use. The agricultural competent departments of all localities and the people's governments of all Demonstration Zones must unify their thinking, enhance their sense of responsibility and sense of being the main body, take promoting the Demonstration Zones to basically achieve agricultural modernization at an early date as the overall goal, take making the leading industries bigger and stronger as the main task, effectively strengthen work guidance and overall coordination, and actively do a good job in all aspects of the tilted support of agricultural project funds for the construction of the Demonstration Zones. First, we must adhere to priority planning and priority arrangement. Taking the construction of the Demonstration Zones as an important lever for accelerating the development of regional modern agriculture, for Demonstration Zone projects that conform to the national and local special construction plans and the guiding opinions on fund arrangements, we must adhere to priority planning, priority application, and priority arrangement, ensuring that the total amount and proportion of agricultural project funds arranged for the Demonstration Zones increase year by year. Second, we must adhere to highlighting key points and breaking through bottlenecks. Taking the improvement of the modernization level of the leading industries of the Demonstration Zones as the main direction, and taking the strengthening of infrastructure construction, accelerating innovation in science and technology and in production and operation systems and mechanisms, and vigorously developing agricultural public services and socialized services as the key points, we must concentrate our forces, carefully build a number of demonstration bases and demonstration projects, focus on breaking through weak links, and effectively solve bottleneck problems. Third, we must adhere to effective integration and innovation. We must actively innovate the agricultural investment mechanism, and in accordance with the requirements that channels remain unchanged and purposes remain unchanged, do a good job in linking upstream and downstream projects and projects in related industries, take the county level as the main body of integration, and focus on establishing a new mechanism of “water entering through multiple channels, stored in one pool, and released through one faucet.” At the same time, we must take into overall consideration and properly handle the relationship between points and areas, promoting the coordinated development of regional modern agriculture.

II. Grasp the Key Points and Highlight the Focus of Tilted Support

In line with the development and construction trends of the various Demonstration Zones, and in accordance with the approach of adapting measures to local conditions and making breakthroughs at key points, during the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, we will focus on increasing the intensity of tilted support of agricultural project funds in the construction of modern grain, cotton, oil, and sugar production bases, modern special industry parks, modern standardized large-scale breeding farms and zones, and new socialized service systems in the Demonstration Zones, and focus on improving the level of specialization, standardization, large-scale operation, and intensification of agricultural production and operation in the Demonstration Zones.

(1) Modern grain, cotton, oil, and sugar production bases. Actively promote the tilting toward the Demonstration Zones of central and local agricultural project funds such as the project to add 100 billion jin of grain production capacity, cotton, oil, and sugar production bases, dryland water-saving agriculture demonstration projects, conservation tillage, high-yield creation for grain, cotton, and oil, subsidies for improved crop varieties, cultivated land quality construction, and organic matter enhancement; actively seek support from projects such as land consolidation, renovation of low- and medium-yield farmland in comprehensive agricultural development, and key counties for small-scale farmland water conservancy; focus on building high-standard farmland, promote the supporting promotion and application of improved varieties, improved methods, and improved machinery, actively cultivate large-scale operating entities, and strive to build a number of modern grain, cotton, oil, and sugar production bases featuring concentrated and contiguous production, integrated and supporting technologies, leading mechanization levels, and high yield, high quality, and high efficiency.

(2) Modern special industry parks. Actively promote the tilting toward the Demonstration Zones of central and local agricultural project funds such as the improved variety breeding bases of the crop seed project, natural rubber production bases, creation of standard horticultural crop gardens, subsidies for facility greenhouses, modern agricultural production development funds, production capacity construction for “shopping basket” products, special projects of the Ministry of Agriculture under comprehensive agricultural development, and support for industrial development; focus on improving the facilities and equipment conditions of the parks, promote the application of distinctive new varieties and high-tech technologies, promote standardized and large-scale production, and focus on building a number of modern vegetable, fruit, tea, and other special agricultural product industry parks that are high-yield, high-quality, high-efficiency, ecological, and safe.

(3) Modern standardized large-scale breeding farms and zones. Vigorously promote the tilting toward the Demonstration Zones of central and local agricultural project funds such as standardized large-scale breeding farms (communities) for pigs and dairy cows, aquatic healthy aquaculture demonstration farms, the breeding industry improved variety project, subsidies for improved livestock and poultry breeds, prevention and control of major animal diseases, and rural biogas projects; focus on improving the facilities and equipment conditions for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture, vigorously promote standardized large-scale breeding of livestock and poultry and healthy aquaculture technology, enhance the capacity for harmless treatment of waste and the quality and safety levels of livestock, poultry, and aquatic products, and accelerate the cultivation of a number of modern breeding farms and zones with complete facilities, leading technology, quality and safety, and environmental friendliness.

(4) New socialized service systems. Actively promote the tilting toward the Demonstration Zones of central and local agricultural project funds such as condition construction for the grassroots agricultural technology extension service system, reform and construction of grassroots agricultural technology extension, the animal epidemic prevention system, fishery administration and fishing port projects, plant protection projects, subsidies for the prevention and control of animal and plant epidemics and pests, the agricultural product quality and safety inspection and testing system, comprehensive treatment of schistosomiasis, subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery, the people-benefiting project for primary processing of agricultural products at their place of origin, special projects for farmers' professional cooperatives, special projects for agricultural industrialization, the Sunshine Project for farmer training, the science and technology direct-to-household through train, and standardized agricultural production; with strengthening public services, developing socialized services, expanding service areas, and improving service levels as the focus, focus on building a new agricultural socialized service system that covers the whole process, is connected and supporting, convenient and efficient, and standardized in operation, and improve the level of integrated production, processing, and sales services in the Demonstration Zones.

III. Innovate Mechanisms and Improve the Benefits of Tilted Support

Promoting the tilted support of agricultural project funds for the construction of the Demonstration Zones requires not only expanding the total amount of funds for the construction of the Demonstration Zones, but also actively exploring new mechanisms for agricultural investment and management, and continuously improving the fund aggregation and demonstration benefits of the Demonstration Zones.

(1) Actively innovate the integration mechanism for agricultural support funds. Provincial agricultural competent departments must closely combine promoting the tilted support of agricultural project funds for the construction of the Demonstration Zones with innovating the integration mechanism for agricultural support funds, and explore methods and mechanisms for unified planning, classified management, and centralized use of similar projects. The people's governments of the Demonstration Zones must take the development and construction plans of the Demonstration Zones as the guide, and in accordance with the requirements of unified leadership, unified review, counterpart application, and integrated use, actively integrate various types of agricultural support funds that are similar in nature, identical in purpose, and scattered in use, and concentrate them on the construction of various key projects in the Demonstration Zones, ensuring that results are seen as soon as possible.

(2) Actively innovate the guiding mechanism for agricultural support funds. Provincial agricultural competent departments must actively cooperate with local financial departments to promote various financial institutions to increase their support for the Demonstration Zones. The people's governments of the Demonstration Zones must actively improve the investment and financing system, expand investment and financing channels, and innovate investment and financing methods, take government agricultural support funds as the carrier, and take large planting and breeding households, family farms (ranches), farmers' professional cooperatives, and leading agricultural enterprises as the implementing entities, promote the comprehensive and supporting use of agricultural support funds with private, financial, industrial and commercial, and other funds, amplify the efficiency of the use of agricultural support funds, and strive to form a diversified investment pattern.

(3) Actively innovate the management mechanism for agricultural support funds. Agricultural competent departments at all levels and the Demonstration Zones must establish and improve management systems, implement “sunshine operation” for the various types of agricultural project funds tilted to support the Demonstration Zones, and strive to make the decision-making management, fund arrangement, implementation process, and use effects of various projects scientific and transparent, procedurally standardized, and open and fair. We must actively explore new ways of managing agricultural support funds such as replacing subsidies with awards, promoting construction with awards, and subsidizing after construction, establish performance management systems and methods for the integration and tilted support of agricultural support funds in the Demonstration Zones, strengthen and improve the management of agricultural project funds, and improve the efficiency of fund use.

Provincial agricultural competent departments must, in accordance with the requirements of this notice, earnestly study and formulate specific plans and policy measures for the tilted support of agricultural project funds for the construction of the Demonstration Zones, strengthen communication and coordination with development and reform, finance, and other departments, strengthen communication and collaboration with financial departments, and give priority consideration to arranging the Demonstration Zones in agricultural project funds applied to our Ministry. All Demonstration Zones must accurately grasp the use direction, layout scope, application conditions, and management requirements of various types of agricultural project funds, earnestly do a good job in preliminary work, and ensure that the tilted support achieves practical results.

June 5, 2012 Source: Ministry of Agriculture website