How can the agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal policy be improved? Relevant suggestions are worth considering
In 2015, Hubei Province was included as a pilot province for agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidies, and 64 counties and cities were selected to carry out the pilot. In 2016, Hubei Province revised and improved the agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal policy and rolled it out across the whole province. By November of this year, the province had scrapped a total of 9,529 agricultural machines, accounting for about 0.68% of the number of tractors and combine harvesters, and about 1.7% of the total number of tractors and combine harvesters that had reached the scrapping age. Among them, there were 1,223 tractors, accounting for 12.83% of scrapped machinery; and 8,306 combine harvesters, accounting for 87.17% of scrapped machinery.
Five major barriers constrain the smooth advancement of the policy
After two years of piloting in Hubei Province, we feel that there are still some constraining factors in advancing the work of agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidies, which can be summarized in the following aspects.
Binding scrapping and renewal together is not conducive to adjusting agricultural machinery equipment. Scrapping and renewal differ in their policy objectives. Encouraging scrapping is intended to save energy and reduce consumption, reduce hidden dangers of agricultural machinery accidents, and is also an inherent part of advancing supply-side structural reform in agricultural mechanization and "de-stocking." Encouraging renewal is intended to optimize the structure of agricultural machinery equipment and promote the upgrading and replacement of agricultural machinery equipment. The current policy requires that scrapping and renewal must be carried out simultaneously in order to receive subsidies. This includes two layers of meaning: first, farmers must have agricultural machinery that meets the conditions for scrapping; second, they must have the demand, conditions, and ability to purchase new machinery before they can apply for agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidies. In fact, with the advancement of land circulation and the widespread implementation of agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policies, new agricultural business entities need to purchase large agricultural machinery and supporting agricultural machinery implements, and correspondingly small agricultural machinery will gradually fade out of history. As a result, many farmers have appeared who only want to scrap their old agricultural machinery and do not need to purchase agricultural machinery, and have little willingness to buy new agricultural machinery. Implementing the two as bundled together inevitably leads to contradictions, resulting in a gradual decrease in the number of scrapped agricultural machines.
The subsidy standard is relatively low, which is not conducive to mobilizing farmers' enthusiasm. The current agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidy standard was proposed in 2012 and clearly lags behind the current level of economic development. For example, the subsidy amount for a walking tractor is only a few hundred yuan. In addition, the recovery price of second-hand tractors purchased by some agricultural machinery manufacturers is far higher than the agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidy standard, causing many operators to prefer to sell old tractors to purchasing companies rather than scrap them.
The types of subsidies are single, which is not conducive to the upgrading and replacement of machinery. At present, the machinery eligible for agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidies is limited to tractors and combine harvesters, mainly because tractors and combine harvesters implement license and certificate management, making it easier to confirm the policy targets. In reality, however, not only are there many tractors and combine harvesters on the market that have not been licensed as required, but there are also a large number of other machines urgently in need of scrapping. According to incomplete statistics, in Hubei Province alone, there are more than 200,000 unusable rotary tillers, accounting for nearly one-third of the rotary tiller stock.
The pilot has not been rolled out, which is not conducive to standardized implementation of the policy. At present, the agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidy policy has not yet been fully rolled out nationwide, and policies vary unevenly among provinces, leaving loopholes for some dealership enterprises to exploit. During implementation in Hubei Province, it was found that individual agricultural machinery dealership enterprises purchased scrapped agricultural machinery from other provinces, intending to apply for scrapping and renewal subsidies in Hubei Province, buying scrapped agricultural machinery with one hand and selling new machinery to buyers with the other, in order to fraudulently obtain subsidies and earn the price difference.
Lack of incentive measures is not conducive to advancing scrapping work. Most agricultural machinery repair points engaged in scrapping and recycling have outdated methods and low recovery and utilization rates for machinery after scrapping and dismantling. In addition, since last year, the purchase price of scrap steel has continued to decline, resulting in low returns. Moreover, the current implementation plan has no incentive measures for units participating in scrapping and recycling, causing many agricultural machinery repair points to have low enthusiasm for participating in scrapping and recycling work. At the same time, due to the lack of required funding, agricultural machinery departments are also not highly motivated to implement the policy.
Six suggestions for further improvement
The "Guiding Opinions on the Implementation of Agricultural Machinery Subsidies for 2015-2017" issued by the Ministry of Agriculture mentioned that the scope of pilot work for agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidies was expanded to 17 regions, and clearly stated that each province could organize implementation on its own. The expansion of the pilot scope and the further delegation of autonomy show that the state recognizes the policy of implementing agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal. How to further improve the system and implement the scrapping and renewal subsidy policy well? After investigation and research, the author puts forward the following suggestions.
Roll it out fully so that the policy can deliver greater benefits. It is suggested that the agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidy policy be fully opened nationwide. On the one hand, this can readily solve thorny issues such as reselling machinery and proof of legal source. On the other hand, it can further mobilize farmers' enthusiasm for upgrading and replacing agricultural machinery.
Loosen the link between scrapping and renewal so that operators have more choices. It is suggested that agricultural machinery scrapping subsidies and renewal subsidies be implemented separately, giving agricultural machinery operators more autonomy. Scrapping can apply for subsidies, and renewal can also apply for subsidies. The three procedures of scrapping subsidy procedures - scrapping, purchasing machinery, and subsidizing - should be reduced to two procedures, scrapping and subsidizing. Scrapping subsidies should be established as a separate item, and a special fund for scrapping subsidies should be set up. As long as one applies for scrapping, a scrapping subsidy should be given, without forcing the renewal of machinery.
Lower the scrapping threshold so that old machinery can be eliminated faster. It is suggested to expand the types of scrapped machinery and raise the subsidy standards for machinery. For scrapped machinery such as walking tractors, large and medium-sized tractors, and combine harvesters, after adding the residual value, renewal subsidy, and agricultural machinery purchase subsidy, farmers should be able to replace old machinery with new by spending only a small amount of money, further accelerating the elimination of old and faulty agricultural machinery and the renewal of new agricultural machinery. It is suggested that scrapping subsidy tiered standards for tractors be further refined according to horsepower, and that scrapping subsidy amounts for walking tractors and small tractors be appropriately increased. At the same time, provinces should be allowed, based on local agricultural machinery use conditions, to include other agricultural machinery with large usage volumes and high frequency into the scope of scrapping subsidies, increase scrapping subsidy amounts, and further release the benefits of the subsidy policy.
Increase support so that all parties are motivated. It is suggested to allocate special funds to install full-process monitoring equipment for agricultural machinery scrapping and recycling points, so as to realize full-process monitoring of policy implementation; encourage all localities to build regional agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal centers according to actual conditions; it is suggested to refer to automobile scrapping and renewal evaluation methods and establish third-party assessment agencies to evaluate the residual value of old machinery; it is suggested to refer to the "Measures for the Administration of Recovery of Scrapped Automobiles," reasonably calculate the dismantling costs of various types of machinery, and on this basis provide appropriate subsidies to agricultural machinery scrapping and recycling units according to a certain proportion, so as to increase enterprises' enthusiasm for participating in agricultural machinery scrapping; it is suggested that finance departments at all levels provide necessary working funds to agricultural machinery departments and regulatory departments according to the number of scrapped machines.
Improve operating procedures so that policy implementation is more convenient. It is suggested to further simplify procedures and make the implementation plan more convenient and beneficial to the people. During implementation, recycling enterprises may also provide door-to-door recycling of old agricultural machinery, agricultural machinery supervision personnel may handle matters on site, and designated locations may be used to scrap old agricultural machinery. After dismantling and scrapping, farmers may also sell the machinery themselves. It is suggested that in the agricultural machinery scrapping and recycling measures, further clarify the dismantling standards for scrapped machinery, destruction standards for the "five major assemblies," utilization standards for dismantled and recycled parts, recovery standards for scrapped machinery, supervision and sale cancellation methods during the scrapping process, archive management standards, and corresponding penalty measures, so that agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal work has laws to abide by and rules to follow.
Clarify regulatory responsibilities so that policy implementation is more standardized. It is suggested to further clarify the responsibilities of all parties. Machinery operators are responsible for the legal source of the machinery they apply to scrap, agricultural machinery scrapping and recycling enterprises are responsible for whether they truly dismantle and truly destroy the machinery, and the main responsibility of agricultural machinery management departments lies in supervision. By clarifying the main responsibilities of all parties, the implementation of the agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal subsidy policy can be promoted in a more efficient and convenient manner.