Thereformdoesn鈥檛focusonquantitybutstructuralandefficiencyissues[intheagriculturalsector].
YuXinrong,ViceMinisterofAgriculture
China鈥檚firstpolicydocumentoftheyearoutlineswaystostepupruraldevelopment
ByYuNan
China鈥檚firstpolicydocumentofthenewyearstressestheneedtopromoteagriculturalsupply-sidereformtoimproveproductionandboostagriculturalmodernization.
TheNo.1CentralDocument,releasedannually,focusesonagriculture,ruraldevelopmentandfarmersforthe13thyearinsuccession.
鈥淭hefocusonsupply-sidereformshowstheleadership鈥檚newunderstandingofChina鈥檚macroeconomicpolicyandemphasisonthefuture,鈥漵aidSongHongyuan,headoftheResearchCenterforRuralEconomyundertheMinistryofAgriculture.
Structureandefficiency
China鈥檚agriculturalproductioncontinuestogrow.Thetotalvolumeofagriculturalcommodities,includinggrain,oil,fruitsandvegetables,isthelargestintheworld.Buttheinternationalmarketsforagriculturalproductsarefacingseverecompetitionandovercapacity.Anirrationalindustrialstructure,excessiveinventoriesandincreasingimportsofagriculturalcommoditiesmeanitishightimeforstructuralreformintheagriculturalsector.
ThedocumentsaysChinashouldoptimizeproductionandregionaldistribution,coordinatethedevelopmentoffoodandcashcropsaswellasfodder,andprovideconsumerswithdiversifiedagriculturalproducts.Itshouldalsopromoteintegrateddevelopmentofagriculturalproduction,processinganddistribution,aswellasagriculturaltourismandnewindustriesinruralareas.
鈥淭hereformdoesn鈥檛focusonquantitybutstructuralandefficiencyissues,鈥漵aidViceMinisterofAgricultureYuXinrong.Accordingtohim,thereareseverestructuralproblemsdespitetheincreaseingrainproductionyearafteryear.
Whiletherewasabasicbalancebetweentheproductionofanddemandforwheatandrice,therewasaperiodicoversupplyofcornandshortsupplyofsoybeanandhigh-qualityforage.
Addressingshortcomings
Toadjusttheagriculturalstructure,Chinaplanstocutcornacreagebynearly3.3millionhectaresinthenextfiveyearsasitisundermountingpressuretoreduceitscornstocks.Instead,silagecorn,beans,othercoarsegrainsandforagegrasswillbegrownin13provincialareas,accordingtoPanWeibo,DeputyDirectorattheDepartmentofCropProductionundertheMinistryofAgriculture.
In2015,thefarmlandsutilizationrateoffertilizersandpesticidesforthethreestaplecrops-rice,wheatandcorn-reached35.2percentand36.6percentrespectively,a2.2-percentage-pointand1.6-percentage-pointincreasecomparedto2013.
鈥淲eshouldmakeunremittingeffortstoreduceinventoriesandcostsandaddressshortcomingstoboostsupply-sidereform,鈥漵aidChenXiwen,DirectoroftheCentralAgriculturalWorkLeadingTeamOffice.
Thebasicaimofthereformistoimprovefoodproductionandensurethesecurityofstaplefoods.Theproductionstructuremustmeetdiverseconsumptiondemands,thedocumentsays.
Theimportanceofinnovationisalsounderscored.Topromoteaninnovative,coordinated,green,openandshareddevelopment,thegovernmenthascalledforfastertransformationofagriculturalmodelsandvowedtomakeprogressinagricultureby2020toensureamoderatelyprosperoussociety.
Scalemanagement
Thelandreformmeasuresoutlinedinthedocumentwillallowthetransferofruralland-userightsonatrialbasis,whichwillhelpsomefarmerstoexpandtheirscaleofoperation.
鈥淗owever,onthewhole,agriculturalbusinessisstillrelativelysmallinscale,whichresultsinhighagriculturalcosts,鈥滳hensaid.
Apartfromland-userightstransfers,thereareavarietyofotherscalemanagementoptions.Forexample,Sichuaninthesouthwesthasadoptedanagriculturalmanagementsystemjointlyoperatedbyfarmers,cooperatives,careermanagersandprofessionalserviceorganizations.ShandongProvinceineastChinaisconductingagriculturalproductionundertrusteeship.
Theseunconventionalformsoflandtransferhaveenhancedagriculturalscalemanagement.CA