Small-scale agricultural products need more targeted development

With economic development, consumers' demand for agricultural products has gradually become more diverse, and some specialty agricultural products are increasingly favored by the market. Compared with bulk agricultural products, these crops have a wide variety of types, lower output, and strong regional concentration in production, yet they often have higher economic added value. As people's living standards improve, the market prospects for specialty agricultural products will become broader and broader.

However, in the production of specialty agricultural products, there is the awkward problem that quality and safety management has nowhere to take root. First, specialized inputs are lacking, and many varieties do not have suitable pesticides or fertilizers. The reasons are, first, that the needs of many varieties have not yet been noticed by the agricultural inputs market, and second, that because their output is small, the inputs market is also relatively small; by contrast, the cost of research, development, and promotion for enterprises is too high, making agricultural inputs companies not very motivated. Second, the input registration system is lacking. Many varieties have no registered pesticide use, which not only creates difficulties for scientific pesticide use, but also hinders the next step of formulating a standards system. Third, there is a lack of operating standards and product standards, leaving the quality and safety of specialty agricultural products without a basis. If this continues over time, it will affect the competitiveness and sustainable development capacity of the entire agricultural product industry chain, and will also hinder the market from providing more safe, high-quality agricultural products.

Precision supervision of specialty agricultural products is both a powerful lever for ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products and an important means of supporting the industry and promoting its healthy development. Zhejiang Province took the lead in promoting a whole-industry-chain safety risk management and control system across the province, and this year carried out pilot trials first in several varieties such as strawberries. The "one product, one policy" mentioned above refers to, through integrated efforts in administration, scientific research, and technology extension, researching and sorting out by variety a set of quality and safety supervision measures and a set of support policies for specialty agricultural products. It requires both macro-level coordination, establishing a comprehensive supervision network and incorporating all relevant operational institutions into one system; and attention to detail, not only being able to "carry through to the very end" and establish a strong enforcement system, but also having a comprehensive grasp of possible hidden dangers and problems in all stages before, during, and after production; at the same time, it also emphasizes strong flexibility, being able to grasp the risk situation of specialty agricultural products in real time.

Meeting current consumer demand for the quality and safety of agricultural products is an important aspect of advancing agricultural supply-side reform. To improve the management and control system for specialty agricultural products, it is necessary both to improve supervisory functions at the government level, establish standards and institutional systems, and conduct routine hidden-danger screening, law enforcement supervision, and public education, and to focus on stimulating the enthusiasm of market entities, letting the "hand of the market" contribute to the quality and safety of specialty agricultural products.