How can finance better serve modern agriculture

The work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers is the top priority of the government's work. Strengthening financial support for agriculture, rural areas and farmers is of great significance for strengthening food security, building modern agriculture, increasing farmers' incomes and narrowing the urban-rural gap. With the in-depth development of the division of labor and specialization in rural areas, a large number of new types of agricultural business entities characterized by specialization, market orientation, large scale and intensive operation have emerged in the agricultural sector, becoming the backbone of the development of modern agriculture. New types of agricultural entities operate on a relatively large scale, have increased capital needs and generally face difficulties in obtaining financing. This problem has constrained the development of large-scale operation and modern agriculture. On the other hand, although in recent years China has initially formed a multi-level and relatively complete rural financial service system, with continuously expanding coverage and steadily improving service levels, rural finance is still the weakest link in the entire financial system. The number of financial institution outlets in rural areas is relatively small, and there are problems of absence and misalignment in the allocation of financial functions. The intensity and breadth of support for agriculture by rural financial institutions need to be improved, the relative supply of financial services is insufficient, and the overall service level still falls short of the needs of modern agricultural development and the requirements of coordinated urban-rural development. There is an urgent need to continue to deepen the development of rural financial services. At present and for some time to come, we must take serving modern agriculture as the starting point and ultimate goal, broaden our thinking, intensify our efforts, deeply advance the reform of the rural financial system and mechanisms, innovate financial products and service methods, build a rural financial institution system with sound functions, a reasonable structure, full competition, complementary advantages and deep coverage, continuously increase financial support for agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and better meet the financial service needs of agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

First, deepen the reform of the rural financial system and mechanisms. Rural finance is not merely a pure market product; it also has a quasi-public nature, with both market factors and government factors. How to combine the roles of the government and the market is a major issue facing rural finance. In this process, two combinations must be done well: one is to give full play to the decisive role of the market mechanism in the allocation of rural financial resources while better playing the role of the government; the other is to combine the prevention of financial risks with the stabilization of economic growth. Specifically, first, financial institution reform should be advanced by category. Give full play to the advantages of rural credit cooperatives and the Agricultural Development Bank and the role of commercial banks, encourage and guide social capital to enter the rural financial sector, and form a joint force supporting agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Second, enrich the entities providing rural financial services. Not only should the advantages of the existing various types of financial institutions in rural areas be fully brought into play, but new types of rural financial service entities should also be vigorously cultivated and developed. In the future, the establishment of agricultural industry investment funds, agricultural private equity investment funds and agricultural science and technology venture capital funds will be encouraged; support will be given to forming financial leasing companies mainly serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers; county-level financing guarantee institutions or guarantee funds established mainly with government funding and focusing on agriculture-related guarantee business will be encouraged, and other financing guarantee institutions will be supported in providing financing guarantee services to agricultural production and operation entities. In addition, the development of rural cooperative finance should be standardized. Support farmers' cooperatives in carrying out credit cooperation, actively and prudently organize pilot projects, and promptly formulate relevant management measures; cultivate and develop rural cooperative financial organizations on the basis of eligible farmers' cooperatives and supply and marketing cooperatives, so as to better support the development of modern agriculture.

Second, innovate financial products and service methods. At present, rural capital needs are increasingly diverse. Under the encouragement and support of the central bank and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, agriculture-related financial institutions have accordingly launched financial product and service innovations including forest rights mortgage loans, microcredit, and the "company + base + farmer household" model. However, in most rural areas, the problems of a single type of rural financial product and insufficient supply remain prominent. Therefore, innovation in rural financial service products should continue to be strengthened. In concrete practice, it is necessary to actively promote basic work such as the confirmation, certification, registration and transfer of land operation rights and homestead use rights, and explore pilot projects for mortgages of the "three rights"; make full and good use of the limited guarantee resources in rural areas, and allow various types of rural assets that are not prohibited by laws and regulations, have clear ownership of property rights and have reasonable value assessments to be used as collateral; encourage the implementation of a farmer household credit model of "one-time verification, borrowing at any time, balance control, revolving use and dynamic adjustment," and reasonably determine loan amounts, disbursement progress and recovery periods; accelerate the promotion and application of microcredit technology in rural areas; promote the industrial chain finance model, vigorously develop rural telephone banking and online banking business, and innovate and promote service models such as specialized institutions and credit factories; further simplify financial service procedures, promote easy-to-understand contract texts, optimize approval processes, standardize service fees, strictly prohibit attaching unreasonable conditions and extra fees when providing financial services, and effectively safeguard farmers' interests.

Third, accelerate legislation on rural financial services. At present, China's legal norms concerning rural finance are scattered among related financial laws, and there is still no law specifically targeting financial institutions that support agriculture and rural areas, which objectively weakens the legal protection of rural financial services. The pace of legislation on rural financial services should be accelerated. On the basis of summarizing practical experience, mature policies and practices should be elevated to legal norms to form a long-term mechanism for financial support of agriculture. For example, by establishing and improving a legal protection system, legal provisions should be made on the basic connotations of the new cooperative financial system, the main characteristics, development environment and support policies of new cooperative financial organizations; an administrative management basis should be provided for the establishment and subsequent development of new cooperative financial organizations; and provisions should be made on the guiding ideology, main objectives, basic principles, specific content and supporting policies for accelerating the cultivation and development of new cooperative financial organizations, among others.

At the same time, to make finance better serve modern agriculture, efforts must also be made to further improve financial support policies and raise the quality of rural financial services. On the one hand, improve preferential tax policies for rural finance, guide financial resources to "sink" into rural areas and give back to agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Accelerate the establishment of a long-term and institutionalized rural financial policy support system with clear guidance, effective incentives, strict constraints and coordinated supporting measures, so as to provide stable policy expectations for financial institutions carrying out business related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers and mobilize the enthusiasm of financial institutions for supporting agriculture. On the other hand, strengthen risk control in rural financial services, continuously strengthen risk management of agriculture-related loans, earnestly implement the "three checks" system for loans, further improve the accuracy of loan classification, and strengthen the forward-looking, proactive and continuous nature of risk management. In addition, carrying out publicity of financial knowledge in rural areas is also an inherent part of the task. Through various forms such as going to streets, villages, factories and enterprises, and communities, popularize financial knowledge in rural areas, let rural people "learn finance, understand finance and use finance," serve farmers' actual financial needs, and thereby truly improve the quality of rural financial services for modern agriculture.