Efforts to Crack Down on Fake Agricultural Materials and Strengthen Oversight Are Further Intensified

The special campaign to crack down on fake agricultural materials has been carried out for 14 consecutive years, with intensifying rectification efforts, a continuously purified agricultural materials market, and a quality situation that is stabilizing and improving. But we must also clearly see that the production and sale of fake agricultural materials has not yet been completely eradicated, incidents that cheat and harm farmers still occur from time to time, and many problems remain in the agricultural materials market.

In terms of product categories, for seeds the main problems are counterfeit branding and infringement and “promotion without approval”. According to a 2014 undercover investigation, although the proportion of counterfeit branding and infringement declined year-on-year, it remained at a high level, with the proportion very high in some areas, and the problem of “promotion without approval” still relatively common in some areas along provincial borders. For pesticides, veterinary drugs, feed and fertilizers, the main problem is the illegal addition of prohibited or restricted drugs or substances. Problems such as insufficient active ingredients in fertilizers, lack of registration, one certificate used for multiple products, and counterfeit or forged registration certificates are also relatively prominent.

⟦NL> In terms of criminal behavior, among the major and important cases investigated in recent years, the most prominent is the problem of “black dens” producing and selling fakes, and criminal behavior has shown a trend toward regionalization, concealment and professionalization. Some illegally add hidden ingredients to evade oversight, some peddle goods from street to street in mobile operations, and some even use guerrilla tactics against law enforcement personnel, especially using new business methods and channels such as “telephone sales”, “e-commerce” and “logistics delivery” to sell fake and inferior agricultural materials, posing challenges to traditional market oversight methods. Some cases also show a relatively high degree of organization. In the Henan fake fertilizer case investigated last year, some people organized sales pitches, some organized experts to give lectures, and some organized on-site inspections, all linked together to form a criminal chain.

In terms of consumption, the broad masses of farmers still have relatively weak ability to identify fakes and distinguish genuine products, relatively weak legal awareness, and insufficient awareness and ability to safeguard their rights in accordance with the law. Some even seek cheap bargains and specifically buy agricultural materials from mobile vendors, giving lawbreakers an opportunity to exploit.

In terms of law enforcement, grassroots agricultural law enforcement still cannot meet actual needs in terms of staffing, case-handling funding and technical equipment, creating many difficulties for evidence collection and case investigation. Problems of inadequate and shallow law enforcement are still relatively prominent in some areas, and in some fields phenomena such as non-standard, unfair, inactive and even arbitrary law enforcement still occur from time to time.

The 2015 crackdown on fake agricultural materials and oversight work must adhere to a problem-oriented approach, administration according to law, combining crackdown with prevention, and addressing both symptoms and root causes, further intensify oversight of agricultural materials, severely crack down on illegal and irregular acts, improve and perfect long-term oversight mechanisms, and strive to create a fair competitive market environment and a safe and reassuring consumption environment. The focus should be on the following aspects:

(1) Clarify the work priorities. In terms of timing, spring plowing, the three summer tasks, and autumn and winter planting should be taken as important nodes to strictly prevent fake and inferior agricultural materials from flowing into the market during peak buying and selling seasons, so that farmers can use reliable agricultural materials. In terms of geography, focus on key areas such as major agricultural materials production areas, areas with clusters of small-scale operations, and border areas between regions, and focus on rectifying agricultural materials wholesale markets, specialized markets, distribution centers, large transport and sales households, and rural mobile vendors. In terms of product categories, highlight products such as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, veterinary drugs, feed and feed additives, and agricultural machinery, and prescribe the right remedy for prominent problems. In terms of stages, grasp the three stages of approval, production and sales. At the approval stage, strictly guard the access threshold and strictly implement relevant conditions, procedures and standards. At the production stage, improve routine oversight systems, carry out full-coverage inspections of production enterprises within the region, and resolutely crack down on unlicensed production by “black workshops, black factories and black dens”. At the sales stage, establish routine inspection and supervisory inspection systems, seriously investigate and punish illegal and irregular acts such as selling fake and inferior agricultural materials and operating beyond scope, and especially strengthen oversight of online sales of agricultural materials, taking effective measures to promote the healthy development of agricultural materials e-commerce.

(2) Highlight case investigation and handling. This is the most powerful weapon in cracking down on fake agricultural materials. All localities should actively expand case clues, carefully study the new characteristics and new methods of illegal acts, accurately grasp the traits and patterns of lawbreakers, and do a good job of screening and sorting clues. For illegal and irregular acts discovered through patrols, inspections, supervisory spot checks and public reports, strike hard and crack down as soon as they appear, dig deep into the sources of production and sale of fake and inferior agricultural materials, and never let the matter rest until the truth is fully uncovered. For major and important cases involving a wide scope, huge amounts, serious harm and bad influence in the production and sale of fakes, as well as key cases of public concern, adopt forms such as listed supervision and joint case handling to intensify case investigation and handling. Further strengthen the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice. Wherever the standards for transfer are met, resolutely transfer the case to judicial authorities to pursue criminal responsibility, and resolutely put an end to phenomena such as failing to transfer cases, difficulty in transferring cases, and substituting fines for criminal punishment, and severely punish and heavily sentence lawbreakers. It is necessary to investigate and handle a number of major and important cases, shut down a number of black dens, severely punish a number of lawbreakers, intensify case exposure, and fully give play to the deterrent role of justice.

(3) Improve long-term mechanisms. First, improve rules and regulations. Accelerate the revision of laws and regulations such as the Seed Law and the Regulations on the Administration of Pesticides, and on the basis of existing work, further implement working mechanisms such as information disclosure, inter-provincial coordination, and investigation and handling of major and important cases, so as to provide institutional guarantees for cracking down on fake agricultural materials. Second, continuously innovate oversight methods. Strengthen the construction of agricultural materials oversight information platforms to achieve queryable product information, traceable flows, controllable quality and accountable responsibility, fully use modern oversight methods, and effectively improve oversight effectiveness. At the same time, make use of the large data volume of major online sales platforms, conduct in-depth mining and analysis, and make them a good helper in cracking down on fake agricultural materials. Third, vigorously carry out socialized services. Promote the healthy development of the modern agricultural materials business service system, encourage emerging models such as agricultural materials chain operations, agricultural materials cooperatives, and direct sales and direct supply by enterprises, support the construction of “reassuring agricultural materials stores”, and broaden the main sales channels for agricultural materials. Make use of socialized resources to strengthen service guidance for farmers, family farms, large growers and breeders, farmers' professional cooperatives and other new agricultural business entities, and guide them to purchase rationally and use agricultural materials scientifically.

(4) Strengthen social co-governance. Advance the construction of the credit system, comprehensively use information from supervisory spot checks, law enforcement inspections, complaints and reports, and public surveys, comprehensively carry out credit evaluations of agricultural materials business enterprises, and establish and improve operating mechanisms of the credit system such as information disclosure, incentives for trustworthiness, punishment for dishonesty, and credit oversight. Fully give play to the role of industry associations, public welfare organizations and news media, and build a social governance system for agricultural materials featuring administrative oversight, industry self-discipline, social supervision and public participation. Intensify disclosure of information on administrative penalty cases, and make all those meeting the standards public. Continuously improve the reward mechanism for reporting fake agricultural materials, and create favorable conditions for participation by all sectors of society.