How can the development of eco-friendly agriculture be accelerated?
Developing eco-friendly agriculture is an important way to ease resource constraints, prevent and control environmental pollution, protect agricultural ecology, and achieve sustainable agricultural development. Since the 1970s, along with the emergence of agricultural environmental problems, the concept and exploration of ecological agriculture gradually took shape and developed in China, demonstrating good ecological, economic and social benefits during the demonstration process. However, ecological agriculture has not become the dominant agricultural development model, facing multi-dimensional dilemmas in terms of development stage, institutional change, technological progress and policy orientation.
With the advancement of national ecological civilization construction and the improvement of residents' awareness of food quality and safety, developing eco-friendly agriculture has gradually become a consensus among governments at all levels and all sectors of society. The report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China discussed ecological civilization at the height of the "five-sphere integrated plan," and agricultural ecological civilization is an important component of ecological civilization construction. The 2014 Central "No. 1 Document" explicitly proposed developing eco-friendly agriculture. On July 30, 2015, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Transformation of Agricultural Development Mode," pointing out that we should "promote the shift of agricultural development from being primarily focused on quantitative growth to placing equal emphasis on quantity, quality and efficiency," and "shift from extensive management based on resource consumption to sustainable development, taking the path of modern agricultural development featuring high output, safe products, resource conservation and environmental friendliness." Against this backdrop, efforts should be focused on institutional improvement, policy guidance, technological innovation and market cultivation to accelerate the development of eco-friendly agriculture and seek new breakthroughs in transforming the agricultural development mode.
(1) Improve government regulation and management systems for eco-friendly agriculture. Improve the construction of laws and regulations in the field of agricultural resources and environment, and use institutions to guarantee the development of eco-friendly agriculture. Research and formulate laws and regulations such as the "Regulations on Farmland Quality Protection" and the "Regulations on Fertilizer Management," and strengthen the supervisory responsibility of agricultural management departments for farmland quality. Promote the revision of relevant laws and regulations such as the "Land Administration Law," the "Regulations on the Protection of Basic Farmland," the "Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law," and the "Law on Promoting Circular Economy." Strictly implement the "Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Pollution from Large-scale Livestock and Poultry Breeding," strengthen the law enforcement capacity of grassroots environmental protection regulatory departments, and reinforce judicial protection. Establish a property rights system for agricultural natural resource assets with clear ownership, well-defined rights and responsibilities, and effective supervision, and clarify and implement the owner responsibilities for natural resource assets such as farmland. Improve rural collective economic organizations and strengthen rural land supervision and management capabilities. Incorporate agricultural resource consumption, pollutant emissions and ecological environmental damage into the assessment and evaluation system for local leadership teams, especially at the county and township levels. Establish an agricultural ecological compensation system oriented toward intensive use of agricultural resources, prevention and control of agricultural environmental pollution, and protection of agricultural ecology.
(2) Strengthen planning guidance and policy support for eco-friendly agriculture. Optimize agricultural regional and industrial layout, and implement use control. Promote the construction of ecological agriculture demonstration zones and circular agriculture demonstration cities, and initiate the construction of modern ecological agriculture innovation demonstration bases. Optimize and adjust crop farming, livestock breeding and their internal structures, implement ecological absorption land for livestock and poultry breeding, and form an industrial structure featuring mutual industrial integration and multi-level material circulation. Establish agricultural circular systems at different levels and in different scopes to improve resource utilization efficiency. Adjust and improve existing agricultural subsidy policies, with new subsidies tilted toward eco-friendly agricultural development and agricultural ecological environmental protection. Explore using land transfer revenue to support farmland quality construction. Through measures such as fiscal reward subsidies, support the use of slow (controlled) release fertilizers, organic fertilizers and formula fertilizers, the use of high-efficiency low-residue pesticides, the use of high-standard agricultural film, and the recycling of residual film and discarded pesticide packaging. Deepen the promotion of soil testing and formula fertilization.
(3) Innovate the technological system and service methods of eco-friendly agriculture. Focus on developing intensive use technologies for land, water resources, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural film, and resource utilization technologies for livestock and poultry manure and crop straw. Strengthen the protection of agricultural cultural heritage, deeply explore traditional agricultural techniques and knowledge, and absorb the essence of traditional agriculture to promote modern ecological agriculture development. Establish an eco-friendly agricultural technology information release platform, and strengthen the promotion capacity of grassroots agricultural technology departments for eco-friendly agricultural technologies. Support farmers' cooperatives, professional technical associations, technical service companies and others in carrying out eco-friendly agricultural technical services. Support the development of specialized unified prevention and control organizations, and standardize specialized unified prevention and control service behavior. Integrate resources to build eco-friendly agricultural technology service centers, and promote the delivery of relevant technologies to farmers and fields.
(4) Improve multi-party participation and market mechanisms for eco-friendly agriculture. Guide professional large-scale farmers, family farms, farmers' cooperatives and agricultural enterprises and other new business entities to develop eco-friendly agriculture, encourage the production of pollution-free agricultural products, green food, organic agricultural products and other ecological agricultural products, support geographical indication of agricultural products and good agricultural practice certification, and give preferential policies in terms of initial investment, product certification and market development. Improve the radiation and driving capacity of farmers' cooperatives and agricultural enterprises, improve interest linkage and benefit-sharing mechanisms, and let farmers truly share the fruits of developing eco-friendly agriculture and protecting the agricultural ecological environment. Carry out eco-friendly technical training, and strengthen ecological agricultural product certification, supervision and market cultivation.