Grain output increases for the eleventh consecutive year, and the sound situation in agriculture and rural areas strongly supports the new normal
Economic Daily, Beijing, December 23 (Qiao Jinliang) - The reporter learned from the National Agricultural Work Conference held today that this year China's agricultural and rural economy achieved steady progress, steady quality improvement, and steady efficiency gains from a high starting point. After grain output achieved the “eleventh consecutive increase” and exceeded the 1.2 trillion jin mark for 2 consecutive years, farmers' income growth this year achieved an “eleventh consecutive rapid increase”; the growth rate of farmers' income will exceed the growth rates of gross domestic product and urban residents' income for the 5th consecutive year, and the urban-rural income ratio is expected to narrow to within 3:1.
Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu said that the sound situation of the agricultural and rural economy has provided strong support for “stabilizing growth, adjusting structure, promoting reform, and benefiting people's livelihoods” under the new normal, and has played the role of an “anchor” for the overall economic and social development. It is understood that stabilizing grain and increasing income became highlights of the whole year. Supplies of cotton, oil, sugar, fruit, vegetables, tea, meat, eggs, milk, and aquatic products were ample, and the overall market operated steadily. No major agricultural product quality and safety incidents or regional major animal epidemics occurred throughout the year. Agricultural machinery, agricultural reclamation, and the agricultural product processing industry developed steadily, rural reform was solidly advanced, new steps were taken in confirming, registering, and certifying land contractual management rights, innovating the agricultural management system, and reforming target prices for agricultural products, reforms in the seed industry, agricultural reclamation, and rural finance advanced steadily, and new progress was made in the construction of rural reform pilot areas and national modern agriculture demonstration zones.
A policy support system covering all fields and links of agricultural production has taken initial shape. In 2014, China's agricultural system actively promoted the introduction of subsidies for right confirmation, registration, and certification work, and launched subsidy pilots for the treatment and restoration of heavy metal-polluted cultivated land, resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, and expansion of beef cattle and mutton sheep breeding stock; new breakthroughs were achieved in financial and insurance support for agriculture, and various financial support-for-agriculture pilot trials were launched one after another; efforts were made to increase support for farmers' income growth, and multiple measures were taken to promote farmers' employment and income growth.
⟦NL” product production and supply are guaranteed. The large-scale and standardized production of horticultural crops reached another level, and the area and output of vegetables and fruits achieved a “double increase.” The transformation and upgrading of the livestock industry were promoted, and large-scale standardized breeding was guided. It is expected that annual meat and milk output will increase by 0.8% and 6.6% respectively over the previous year. Ecological protection of fishery waters was strengthened, modern fishery construction was advanced, and it is expected that annual aquatic product output will increase by 3.7% over the previous year.
Support from agricultural science and technology, equipment, and talent was strengthened. It is expected that this year the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress will reach 56%, and the comprehensive mechanization level of crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting will exceed 61%. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that this year China accelerated the construction of a new mechanism for modern seed industry development, created a new mechanism for joint research on improved varieties by industry, academia, and research institutes, and promoted mechanization in weak links such as rapeseed, cotton, and sugarcane.