When will the chaos of adulterated Wuchang rice end? The problem of adulteration prompts deep reflection

The Information Office of the Ministry of Agriculture held a press conference on the 3rd to brief on the "Research Report on the Development of China's Agricultural Product Brands." Zhang Hecheng, Director of the Market and Economic Information Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said in response to the “chaos of adulterated Wuchang rice” that the government should organize forces from all sides to crack down on counterfeits. Often a brand that becomes well known cannot survive more than a few years, and this is because of the impact of counterfeit and shoddy goods, so protection of brands must be strengthened.

Zhang Hecheng said that the report on Wuchang rice gave the Ministry of Agriculture a very good opportunity for reflection when studying the development of brand agriculture. In cultivating agricultural product brands, the Ministry of Agriculture's overall approach is to accelerate guidance for all kinds of enterprises, including farmers and farmer professional cooperatives and other market entities, to create brands and protect intellectual property through means such as brand registration, brand cultivation, brand operation and expansion, and protection, and to strive to build modern agricultural enterprises with brand value at their core. The Ministry of Agriculture believes that the basic principles for advancing brands are, first, market guidance; second, enterprises as the main actors; third, government promotion; and fourth, social participation.

Speaking of the role of government departments in the cultivation, protection and supervision of agricultural brands, Zhang Hecheng said the Ministry of Agriculture wants to play four main roles in the development of brand agriculture. The first is the role of planning and development. It is necessary to systematically plan and design the development of brand agriculture, including strategic positioning. The second is cultivation. The third is that the government must also organize social forces to carry out evaluation. How to evaluate a brand's influence is a scientific issue; it is absolutely not something decided by some judging panel. It is consumers who decide what data to use to express it, and what data to use to empirically evaluate the influence. There is also the assessment of brand value, so evaluation includes two aspects: social forces, and even third parties, must be organized to assess and evaluate.

Zhang Hecheng pointed out that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and relevant international institutions have already formally reached a consensus, and China's influence should be brought into play in the international assessment and evaluation of brand value. In the evaluation and assessment of agricultural brands, agricultural departments should also actively make a difference. The fourth is protection. The government should organize forces from all sides to crack down on counterfeits. Often a brand that becomes well known cannot survive more than a few years, and this is because of the impact of counterfeit and shoddy goods, so protection of brands must be strengthened.

Zhang Hecheng pointed out that the main tasks of enterprises, including leading agricultural enterprises, professional cooperatives and farmers, are to create, cultivate, publicize and promote, playing the role of the main actors. Industry associations play a very important role in brand development. The Ministry of Agriculture and the China Agricultural Products Marketing Association have taken the lead and in recent years have done a great deal of work in brand recommendation and brand development, mainly by innovating ways of promoting branded products and playing an important role as a bridge and bond.

In addition, Zhang Hecheng said that the important role of public media must not be forgotten. Even good wine fears a deep alley, so the important role of public media in building brand platforms must be highlighted. Some experts have proposed moving from the peddler praising his own melons to telling today's brand stories well, and telling China's brand stories well. This requires our media and agricultural departments to join hands, deeply explore the intrinsic characteristics of agricultural products, incorporate the distinctive culture of agricultural products, encourage cross-sector development of brands, and together with enterprises, associations, media and government build platforms for brand promotion, cultivate brand exhibitions, expand brands' influence and visibility, and create influential and competitive national brands.