Central Document No. 1 focuses on the four modernizations of agriculture, farm reclamation reform included for the first time
The 2015 Central Document No. 1 locks onto the “three rural issues” for the 12th consecutive year, with the theme "Several Opinions on Increasing the Intensity of Reform and Innovation to Accelerate Agricultural Modernization." This year's No. 1 document refines in specific detail, on the basis of last year's, the measures for advancing agricultural modernization.
Experts interviewed by the Shanghai Securities News believe this year's No. 1 document has four major highlights: food security places greater emphasis on quality safety; farm reclamation reform is included in the No. 1 document for the first time and becomes a reform priority; land system reform continues to advance; and agricultural industrialization and informatization are strongly promoted.
Proposal of the provincial governor responsibility system for food security
⟦NL> This year's No. 1 document divides five aspects into 32 small points, and food security still bears the brunt.
The document sets out many detailed requirements for enhancing grain production capacity, including permanent farmland designation, high-standard farmland construction, and protection and improvement of cultivated land quality. It also proposes scientifically determining the self-sufficiency level of major agricultural products and rationally arranging the priority order for the development of agricultural industries.
“The core of the "three rural issues" is food security, and this year is no exception. However, the focus on food security has shifted from quantity safety in the past to quality safety.” said Zheng Fengtian, a professor at the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of Renmin University of China, in an interview with the Shanghai Securities News reporter.
He said, “Last year's No. 1 document proposed shifting from quantity safety to quality safety, while this year it makes specific arrangements for how to guarantee quality safety, such as controlling from the source of agricultural products. In terms of institutional development, proposing the provincial governor responsibility system for food security is a major highlight.”
In addition, this year's No. 1 document also emphasizes accelerating agricultural science and technology innovation and achieving major breakthroughs in fields such as biological breeding, smart agriculture, agricultural machinery and equipment, and ecological environmental protection. These fit the requirements of “building modern agriculture and accelerating the transformation of the agricultural development model,” but the ultimate goal is still to “keep the rice bowl firmly in our own hands.”
Farm reclamation reform included in the No. 1 document for the first time
In past years, the Central Document No. 1 mentioned “state farm reform” only sporadically, but this year's No. 1 document includes farm reclamation reform for the first time and treats it as a reform priority.
The document proposes accelerating research and introduction of policies and measures to advance farm reclamation reform and development, deepening reform of farm enterprise operation, reclamation area groupization, and equity diversification, and innovating the industry guidance management system, the enterprise market-oriented operation system, and the farm operation and management system.
The document emphasizes clarifying the ownership relations of state-owned assets in farm reclamation and establishing a state-owned asset supervision system suited to the characteristics of farm reclamation. It calls for further advancing reform of the social functions undertaken by farm reclamation. It calls for giving play to the unique advantages of farm reclamation, actively cultivating large-scale agricultural operation entities, and building farm reclamation into an important agricultural product production base and a demonstration and driving force for modern agriculture.
“State farm reform will be the focus of farm reclamation reform. State farms are extensive in area, high in the degree of commodity grain cultivation, and high in modernization. By introducing industrial and commercial capital and institutional reform, they can be built into pilot bases for agricultural modernization and bases for "going global."” Zheng Fengtian told the Shanghai Securities News reporter.