How agriculture shifts from one grain dominating to a hundred flowers blooming
A prominent pillar for improving the quality of agricultural products is agricultural science and technology. The space breeding, super rice, colored silkworm cocoons, information technology, and remote sensing technology displayed at the Agricultural Trade Fair all represent the direction of future agricultural science and technology applications.
Give prominent attention to ecological and environmental protection, implement standardized production, and make "green" a beautiful calling card for agricultural products
Unlike what many people imagine, compared with vegetable markets and supermarkets, the agricultural products exhibited and sold at the Agricultural Trade Fair are not only not cheap, but many are actually priced higher, yet they are still sought after by consumers. On-site sales at the Agricultural Trade Fair reached 41 million yuan, an increase of 5 million yuan over last year. What is the reason?
"The first consumer mentality supporting people's enthusiastic purchasing is 'safety,' and people favor green agricultural products even more." According to Wang Hua, deputy director of the Provincial Agricultural Commission, the fair displayed more than 18,000 products, an increase of more than 2,000 over the previous session, all of which are green, organic, and pollution-free foods, and many are nationally known brands and innovative products.
During interviews, many entrepreneurs told reporters that Anhui not only has abundant agricultural resources but also outstanding ecological advantages, which is why it is increasingly becoming a hot spot for agricultural investment. Large grain growers, family farm owners, and cooperative leaders have also accurately grasped this trend, and without exception emphasize the good environment of their bases in marketing. Many are pursuing organic certification for their land, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, producing green vegetables, and using the rice-field duck-raising model to produce pollution-free rice.
"Our base is near Daishan Lake. The water used for irrigation is natural lake water, and we apply biological bacterial fertilizer, cake fertilizer, and farmyard manure. The products are absolutely safe and healthy." At the trade fair, Hu Panpan, head of the Shichang Rice Cooperative in Feidong County, repeatedly promoted this to customers.
Wang Hua told reporters that, catering to consumption trends and the requirements of agricultural development, our province will vigorously promote the industrialization of modern ecological agriculture, give prominent attention to ecological and environmental protection, implement standardized production, and pursue certification of green foods and organic foods to safeguard the safety of the people's "tongue." At the beginning of this year, the Provincial Agricultural Commission launched the "Green Wan Nong" brand cultivation plan, proposing that by 2017, the province's total number of pollution-free agricultural products, green foods, organic agricultural products, and geographical indications of agricultural products - the "three products and one indication" - reach 4,700, and explore the establishment of an Anhui agricultural brand catalog system to form a cluster of "Green Wan Nong" brands with strong competitiveness, high added value, and good reputation.
A prominent pillar for improving the quality of agricultural products is agricultural science and technology. The space breeding, super rice, colored silkworm cocoons, information technology, and remote sensing technology displayed at the Agricultural Trade Fair all represent the direction of future agricultural science and technology applications. Wang Hua said that science and technology lead the future of agriculture. Our province must coordinate various agricultural science and technology resources, strive to achieve breakthroughs in a number of key technologies in key areas, promote the integrated development of agricultural machinery, agronomy, and agricultural information, implement the "Internet+" modern agriculture action plan, improve the agricultural science and technology extension system that meets the requirements of modern agricultural development, and advance pilot integration of the grassroots public welfare agricultural technology extension system with the commercial service system, so as to give agriculture the wings of science and technology.
Research, develop, and promote processing technologies and equipment, seize the opportunity of staple food industrialization, and elevate the level of industrialized development
It is golden autumn, and rice is being harvested. In Dingyuan County, large quantities of high-quality glutinous rice are transported every day to Henan, where it is processed into tangyuan and sold nationwide. Because its food processing industry is developed, Henan occupies an advantageous position in the agricultural industry chain and earns more profit.
Insufficient development of deep processing is a prominent weak point in our province's agriculture. Affected by the macroeconomic situation, in recent years the growth rate of our province's agricultural product processing industry has declined noticeably. From January to June this year, the province's agricultural product processing output value was 458.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. In the same period of 2014, the growth rate was as high as 14.1%. Holding the Agricultural Trade Fair is precisely to draw on advanced factors from outside the province and even abroad to find new momentum for the development of the agricultural processing industry.
Du Xianfeng, president of the Provincial Agricultural Product Processing Technology Association, emphasized that for Anhui to build itself into a strong province in the agricultural product processing industry, it must closely follow trends such as technologicalization and equipment automation in the industry, while also keenly seizing the currently booming industrialization of staple foods. "As urbanization accelerates, people's pace of life is getting faster and faster. Many people do not have time to spend several hours in the kitchen preparing meals, which provides an opportunity for the industrialization of staple foods." Du Xianfeng said, for example, standardized shredded pork with fish flavor, braised spare ribs, or beef noodles, egg fried rice, and so on, can be eaten immediately after being heated in a microwave and opened.
The factor limiting the industrialization of staple foods is science and technology, such as how to achieve consistent and stable taste and how to package so that the flavor remains fresh after opening several months later. In this regard, Du Xianfeng introduced that with the development of technology, cooking robots have already appeared, which not only improve efficiency but also produce delicious taste. "I expect that soon hotels in Hefei will introduce cooking robots."
Packaging technology is also advancing by leaps and bounds. According to Du Xianfeng, a technology R&D team is currently cooperating with an enterprise producing Fuliji roast chicken to test new material packaging. This kind of packaging is well sealed while also allowing light and oxygen to pass through, preserving to the greatest extent the taste of the food just after processing. "For example, with the current packaging, the bones of the roast chicken are all soft and mushy, with no chewiness at all, while the new packaging will not have this problem."
The reporter learned that at this Agricultural Trade Fair, our province held an exhibition of agricultural product processing machinery and new technologies and new achievements, as well as matchmaking activities for the display and connection of agricultural high-tech industry-university-research, concentrating on promoting new technologies, new processes, and new materials, and signed 47 strategic cooperation framework or technical cooperation agreements.
Tap into rural scenery and farming culture, develop agriculture's leisure function, and turn green mountains and clear waters into "mountains of gold and silver"
At the Agricultural Trade Fair, a farmhouse built of straw ignited the enthusiasm of visitors. Over several days, batch after batch of city residents lined up to take photos. The reporter saw that this house completely restored the style of a traditional farm dwelling, with snow-white garlic heads and fiery red chili peppers hanging on the walls, and various traditional farm tools placed in the courtyard.
"The strong leisure demand of urban residents provides the best opportunity for developing rural tourism." According to the person in charge of the Special Products Division of the Provincial Agricultural Commission, a trend in current agricultural development that cannot be ignored is that rural tourism and leisure agriculture are rapidly growing and are also a "new blue ocean" of modern agriculture. As a traditional agricultural province, low grain-growing returns trouble farmers' income growth. It is necessary to use the concept of "integration of the three industries" to develop modern agriculture, tap into rural scenery and farming culture, and rely on resources such as rural green mountains and clear waters, pastoral scenery, and local culture to vigorously develop leisure agriculture and rural tourism. Only then can the value of agriculture be maximized and farmers' incomes be increased.
In recent years, all parts of the province have combined local natural features, locational advantages, cultural heritage, and ecological environment to develop leisure agriculture models and types that are diverse in form, multifunctional, and distinctive. By the end of last year, the province had created 9 national leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration counties and 20 demonstration sites; 6 five-star leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration enterprises, 23 four-star, and 6 three-star; and 3 China leisure agriculture and rural tourism premium routes. There were 34 provincial-level leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration counties and 100 demonstration sites.
Quanshan Forest Farm in Feidong County, with lush trees and beautiful scenery, is an untouched virgin land awaiting development. In recent years, many enterprises have taken the initiative to come knocking, requesting to develop tourism projects, but the local government has not easily made a move. The person in charge of the county's tourism department said that rural tourism must upgrade from the initial nongjiale, raise its quality, and only then can it become bigger and stronger. "The county will certainly do a high-standard job in planning this project, choose capable partners, and build a leisure backyard for the citizens of Hefei."
Wang Hua introduced that judging from the signing situation at the Agricultural Trade Fair, leisure agriculture has also become an investment highlight, with signed projects involving large investment amounts and strong driving force. The "Smart Agriculture Industrial Park" project signed between He County and Hangzhou Zhaigeng Agricultural Technology Company, and the Baihua Valley Style Town project signed between Jiangnan Baihua Valley Investment Company and the Bengbu Longzihu District Government, also involve investments as high as several billion yuan. "The implementation of these projects will rapidly elevate the level of our province's leisure agriculture development."