What signals has the Ministry of Agriculture sent on agricultural mechanization development? Read this article to understand
A few days ago, the Ministry of Agriculture issued several consecutive announcements, giving detailed replies to the issues and suggestions concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers raised by deputies at the Fourth Session of the Twelfth National People's Congress. We have compiled the relevant policies in the field of agricultural machinery. Let us take a look at what important signals the Ministry of Agriculture has sent on agricultural mechanization development.
◆Increase investment in agricultural machinery subsidies in major grain-producing areas and encourage open subsidies for machinery in key links
In implementing the agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy, the state has always adhered to determining subsidized machinery around the development needs of leading agricultural industries, and has effectively increased subsidies for agricultural machinery and equipment such as large deep plowing, straw incorporation, and grain drying equipment. At the same time, it has further strengthened guidance for all localities, continuously optimized the range of machinery eligible for agricultural machinery purchase subsidies, required a green and ecological orientation, increased subsidies for mid-to-high-end, advanced and applicable machinery needed for the application of green yield-increasing technologies, strived to subsidize all that should be subsidized and to provide open subsidies. It also required all localities to gradually remove from the subsidy scope some machinery that is low-end, low-value, in low demand, and difficult to supervise. In addition, provinces included in the National Agricultural Machinery Deep Loosening and Land Preparation Operation Implementation Plan may, in light of actual conditions, arrange subsidy funds from the agricultural machinery purchase subsidy funds (not exceeding 15% of the total subsidy funds) for subsidizing agricultural machinery deep loosening and land preparation operations in suitable areas, and encourage qualified large agricultural machinery households, agricultural machinery cooperatives and other agricultural machinery service organizations to undertake operation subsidy tasks and carry out socialized services such as cross-regional deep loosening and land preparation operations.
Regarding the deputies' suggestions to adjust the structure of agricultural machinery subsidies, give priority support to large deep plowing, straw incorporation, and grain drying equipment, and appropriately raise the proportion of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies to focus support on major grain-producing areas, existing policies already reflect these points. Next, the Ministry of Agriculture will persist in placing equal emphasis on standardized implementation and reform and innovation, and, in light of the suggestions raised, carry out in-depth investigations, strengthen top-level design, further improve the agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy, establish and improve a comprehensive support policy system for agricultural mechanization, increase investment in agricultural machinery subsidy funds in major grain-producing areas, encourage major grain-producing areas to implement open subsidies for machinery in key links, and strengthen the creation of support policies such as fuel, agricultural machinery credit, tax incentives, and agricultural machinery insurance, so as to provide material and equipment support for grain production.
◆Use science and technology to improve the "hard and soft power" of grain production
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance successively launched the construction of modern agricultural industry technology systems for 50 major agricultural products including rice, wheat, and corn. In response to the bottlenecks constraining grain production development, joint research, integration, and demonstration promotion were carried out in key technologies such as breeding of new high-yield, stress-resistant, and machine-harvestable varieties, full-process mechanized equipment, mechanized no-till cultivation, and early warning and control of pests, diseases, and weeds. A total of 1,056 varieties at or above the provincial level were approved, more than 560 new technologies were developed, and more than 110 new pieces (sets) of equipment were developed.
The Ministry of Agriculture vigorously carried out agricultural science and technology education and training, and together with the Ministry of Finance implemented 1.39 billion yuan in subsidy funds for farmer education and training in 2016. Relying on the new-type professional farmer cultivation project, targeting key groups such as specialized large households, family farm owners, backbone members of farmer cooperatives, and professional managers of agricultural enterprises, it implemented the rotation training plan for leaders of new-type agricultural business entities and the modern young farmer cultivation plan, improved the "three-in-one" cultivation system of education and training, standardized management, and policy support, and cultivated various new-type professional farmers in an all-round and multi-level manner. It strengthened the construction of the new-type professional farmer education and training system. By coordinating and utilizing public welfare training resources such as agricultural broadcasting and television schools, agricultural vocational colleges, agricultural mechanization schools, agricultural technology extension service institutions, and agricultural research institutes, and by developing socialized education and training institutions such as cooperatives and leading enterprises, it built a new-type professional farmer cultivation platform combining specialization and diversification.
◆The Ministry of Science and Technology supports research on agricultural mulch film cleanup machinery
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Science and Technology have always attached importance to scientific research investment in the environmental friendliness of agricultural mulch film. During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, "agricultural film" was listed as an independent direction in national science and technology plan rural field projects for support, and relatively large breakthroughs were made in fields such as recyclable mulch film, supporting recovery machinery, new degradable materials, and crop-specific degradable film. In the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" national key research and development plan projects launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology this year, a project titled "Low-cost manufacturing technology for agricultural covering materials with controllable function and service life" has already been arranged under the key special project "Improvement and Industrialization of Key Basic Materials Technology," with innovation in degradable mulch film materials and products as a research focus. Next, support will continue for the development and research of degradable mulch film and agricultural mulch film cleanup machinery, summarizing technological research and development results and accelerating the promotion of mature technologies.