Central government allocates 143.4 billion yuan in agricultural input subsidies, with priority tilted toward new-type operators
China News Service, April 7 (Xinhua) - According to the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture recently allocated 143.4 billion yuan under three funding programs: comprehensive agricultural input subsidies, direct subsidies to grain farmers, and crop improved seed subsidies, and required that 20% of the funds be adjusted and set aside from the comprehensive agricultural input subsidy funds allocated by the central government, plus pilot funds for large grain-growing households and incremental subsidy funds, to be coordinated for use in supporting appropriately scaled grain operations.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture will carry out work to adjust and improve agricultural subsidy policies and implement pilot programs. The state's overall level of support to farmers will not be reduced, but subsidies for farmers with different grain planting scales and operating methods will be adjusted. Priority will be tilted toward appropriately scaled grain operation entities, and different methods will be used to encourage different forms of appropriately scaled operations.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture required all provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and cities under separate state planning) to adjust and set aside 20% of the funds from the comprehensive agricultural input subsidy funds allocated by the central government, plus pilot funds for large grain-growing households and incremental subsidy funds, to be coordinated for use in supporting appropriately scaled grain operations. Priority should be tilted toward new-type operating entities such as large grain-growing households, family farms, farmers' professional cooperatives, and agricultural social service organizations. All localities should, in light of local conditions, adopt effective methods such as agricultural credit guarantees, interest subsidies, direct cash subsidies, and subsidies for the extension of major agricultural technologies to support new-type operating entities in solving the problems of difficult and expensive financing in appropriately scaled grain operations, improve the level of intensification and socialization of grain production, and transform the development model of grain production.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture will issue guidance opinions in the near future to guide all localities in doing a good job of adjusting and improving agricultural subsidy policies. This year, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture will also select some cities and counties in 5 provinces, including Anhui, Shandong, Sichuan, Hunan and Zhejiang, to carry out pilot reforms of the three agricultural subsidies.