Development of Crop Farming in China in 2011
In 2010, China achieved a "seven-year consecutive increase" in grain production while maintaining steady development across all sectors of crop farming. In 2011, as the starting year of the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" and a crucial year for accelerating the transformation of agricultural development methods, how can we maintain the good momentum of crop farming development during this transformation? The recently held National Crop Farming Work Conference provided an answer: making every effort to promote stable development in grain production, increasing the production of scarce agricultural products, ensuring balanced vegetable supply, and enhancing agricultural product quality. The top priority is to strive for increased summer grain production, recovery of early rice, and stability in autumn grain production. Efforts will be made to ensure provinces with reduced yields recover and those with increased yields remain stable, ensuring that the total grain output remains above one trillion catties and striving for continued increases.
To ensure the implementation of these key tasks without compromise or deviation, the National Crop Farming Conference proposed eight key areas of work, including vigorously developing the production of scarce agricultural products.
Crop Farming - Unified Prevention and Control
In 2011, specialized unified prevention and control will be implemented first in 800 counties in the main producing areas of rice, wheat, and corn, 100 counties in key regions where pests and diseases occur severely in cotton, vegetables, and sugarcane, and 200 counties in source areas of migratory and epidemic major pests and diseases, actively promoting the full-process contracting model.
Vigorously Cultivating Specialized Service Organizations Support for specialized service organizations will be increased in terms of funds, pest information, and prevention techniques, cultivating a team that responds quickly, executes effectively, and operates efficiently for pest prevention. This year, the Ministry of Agriculture will formulate management methods for specialized unified prevention and control, unify service identification, announce a batch of qualified service organizations, and present plaques under the name of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Integrating Resources and Increasing Investment Continue to increase the scale of funds for purchasing agricultural machinery used for plant protection equipment, strive to include specialized unified prevention and control in disaster prevention and yield-increasing technical project subsidies, focusing on supporting the promotion of specialized unified prevention and control technologies and the development of new plant protection machinery. The use of emergency pest control funds should be combined with specialized unified prevention and control, supporting specialized service organizations in carrying out emergency control operations. Localities should actively seek fiscal support, especially seeking modern agriculture development and comprehensive agricultural development funds to support specialized unified prevention and control.
Strengthening Training for Professional Service Personnel Combine the implementation of projects such as the Sunshine Project to conduct skills training for employees, implement certification-based employment, and improve service levels. At the same time, green prevention and control technologies should be promoted extensively, focusing on large and medium-sized city vegetable bases, agricultural product export bases, standard gardens of horticultural crops, and off-season vegetable bases, promoting integrated prevention and control technologies such as biological prevention, physical prevention, and safe medication use to enhance the quality level of agricultural products.
High-Yield Creation in Crop Farming
Implementing whole-township, whole-county, and whole-system promotion covering a larger area to achieve greater balanced increases in production. In 2011, select 50 counties (cities) and 500 townships (towns) with good basic conditions and great potential for increased production to pilot whole-township, whole-county, and whole-system promotion. High-yield creation needs to be advanced deeply on a larger scale, wider range, and higher level, increasing investment, innovating mechanisms, and playing a greater role in radiation and driving effects. In 2011, arrange 10,000 high-yield creation demonstration plots for grain, cotton, oil, and sugar, doubling the number.
Innovating Mechanisms Emphasize the guiding role of administrative measures and the instructive role of technology, forming a working synergy; focus on the conversion and application of scientific research results, accelerating the promotion of new varieties and new technologies; explore new models of socialized services, advancing large-scale operation and professional services. Conducting Large Collaborations Whole-system promotion of high-yield creation requires strengthening coordination and cooperation, implementing large-scale collaboration among administration, scientific research, and production, advancing the implementation of various measures. Actively seek support from departments involved in agriculture such as finance, development and reform, comprehensive development, land resources, and water conservancy, fully utilizing the role of experts from scientific research institutions, guiding them to devote themselves to high-yield creation. Coordinately utilize various investment projects, concentrating resources, forces, and projects, collaboratively advancing.
Advancing Standardized Production Achieving standardized facilities, patterned technology, and standardized management, enhancing production levels at a higher level.
Cost Reduction and Efficiency Enhancement in Crop Farming
Actively Developing Water-Saving Agriculture Establishing key areas and dominant technical models for advantageous crops. Further improving relevance and applicability, establishing dominant technical models for different regions, focusing on key areas such as Gansu, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Shanxi in Northwest China, western Northeast China, and eastern Inner Mongolia, strengthening collaboration, increasing investment, and accelerating promotion. Establishing an investment mechanism led by the government with public participation. Seizing the opportunity of national strengthening of farmland water conservancy construction, striving to include farmland water-saving infrastructure and supporting equipment in the construction scope, increasing financial and project support. Fully utilizing agricultural machinery purchase subsidies, key technology subsidies, and various levels of fiscal agricultural support funds to support enterprises, specialized cooperatives, and farmers in applying water-saving technologies. Accelerating the construction of modern agriculture and transforming agricultural development methods have placed more urgent requirements on cost reduction and efficiency enhancement in agriculture and energy conservation and emissions reduction. In 2011, it is necessary to innovate working ideas, increase efforts, and strive to achieve new breakthroughs in soil testing and formula fertilization and farmland water-saving technology promotion.
Deeply Promoting Soil Testing and Formula Fertilization Implementing whole-system promotion. Taking demonstration county creation as the "handle," implementing whole-system promotion, achieving new breakthroughs in bringing technology into villages and households and scientifically fertilizing fields, truly increasing the coverage rate of technology. Leading the way in high-yield creation and standard gardens. Demonstration plots for high-yield creation and standard gardens for horticultural crops should lead the way in popularizing and highly applying soil testing and formula fertilization technology, playing a leading role, especially achieving new breakthroughs in the application of soil testing and formula fertilization in fruit trees and vegetables. Innovating service models and promotion mechanisms. Guiding fertilizer supply and marketing enterprises, farmers' specialized cooperatives, large-scale growers, science and technology demonstration households, etc., to participate in soil testing and formula fertilization, actively exploring the "unified testing, unified formulation, unified supply, unified application" service model. Accelerating the construction of a network for the production, supply, and application of formula fertilizers, encouraging places with conditions to establish and improve village-level and township-level formula fertilizer stations.
Regulatory Market Monitoring - Clarifying Facilities for Agricultural Land Use
The person in charge of the Department of Farmland Protection of the Ministry of Land and Resources told reporters that since the establishment of the Ministry of Land and Resources, a series of policies have been formulated regarding the management of land use for agricultural structural adjustments. Facilities for agricultural land are divided into two categories based on whether they involve temporary or permanent buildings: those classified as temporary structures are managed as agricultural land and do not require approval procedures for converting agricultural land, but must sign reclamation agreements and file at the county level; those classified as permanent structures are managed as construction land and require approval procedures for converting agricultural land, and if they occupy arable land, there must be a balance between occupation and supplementation.
According to him, currently, places like Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Chengdu have issued management methods and standards for facility agricultural land.
This official stated that the Notice clearly defines facility agricultural land as land directly used for commercial livestock breeding facilities, factory-style crop cultivation or aquaculture production facilities, and their corresponding ancillary facilities, as well as agricultural facilities such as drying yards outside rural residential land.
All regions should work together with the Administration for Industry and Commerce, Public Security, Quality Supervision, and other departments to continuously carry out special actions against counterfeit agricultural supplies during critical agricultural seasons, always maintaining a high-pressure stance, and resolutely combating all kinds of fake goods, frauds, and harm to farmers.
Strengthening supervision of production and business entities The focus of regulation should be on production enterprises and business units, moving the checkpoint forward, controlling at the source, establishing production and business records, and enabling product traceability. Especially strengthen supervision of highly toxic pesticide production and business units, and promote pilot programs for designated sales of highly toxic pesticides in key production counties in vegetable advantage zones, ensuring real-name drug purchases and tracking the flow of highly toxic pesticide sales.
Strict registration and approval, perfecting variety elimination and exit mechanisms For administratively licensed products, strictly review registrations and strictly control market entry. Based on scientific arguments, stop new registrations for highly toxic pesticides, legally ban some highly toxic pesticides. Legally eliminate some unsuitable crop varieties. Increase supervision and enforcement Strengthen the 'inspection-enforcement linkage' and 'major case joint investigation' mechanisms, further increase supervision of pesticide, fertilizer, and seed markets, and promptly communicate inspection results. For illegal enterprises found during inspections, impose legal penalties.
Strengthening legal system construction The revision of the 'Pesticide Management Regulations' is being actively promoted, aiming for early issuance and implementation. Cooperate with the Agricultural Committee of the National People's Congress to initiate research on revising the 'Seed Law', striving to include it in the legislative revision plan. Speed up the revision of supporting regulations such as the 'Crop Variety Approval Measures', continue to conduct research on fertilizer legislation, and promote rule-of-law governance in agriculture and rule-of-law construction in agriculture.
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Crop Farming
On the one hand, promote the extension of yield-increasing technologies, and on the other hand, implement disaster prevention measures. These are two tasks that act in the same direction, and also important routine work for agricultural departments.
Early Warning Adapt to the new trend of climate change and formulate and improve disaster prevention plans. Strengthen communication with meteorological departments and release warning information appropriately. Comrades engaged in crop farming management must always keep disaster prevention in mind, closely follow each important farming season and each significant weather change, carefully analyze possible impacts, accurately grasp soil moisture, seedling conditions, and disaster situations, and take targeted measures in time. All regions should actively analyze and schedule, serve as good advisors to local governments, and timely report information to higher-level agricultural departments for scientific guidance in disaster relief. This is a basic requirement.
Quick Response For sudden disasters, start emergency responses appropriately, scientifically formulate response technical routes, provide technical services, guide farmers to scientifically combat disasters, and restore production. According to the needs of disaster relief, timely adjust and supply seeds, fertilizers, and other production materials. At the same time, publicity and mobilization work should be carried out to guide farmers to rescue in time, mobilize all aspects of strength to jointly combat disasters, and create a good atmosphere for disaster prevention and relief.
Practical Measures Disaster prevention and resistance must be both timely and scientific. Different types of disasters have different impacts, and the same type of disaster affects crops differently at different growth stages. Technical solutions should be formulated according to time, place, and disaster type, strengthen categorized guidance, and vigorously promote scientific disaster resistance. This is a summary of practical experience and also an advantage of agricultural departments. At the same time, widely promote mature disaster prevention and yield-increasing technologies, accelerate the establishment of long-term mechanisms for disaster prevention and mitigation, and transform passive disaster relief into active disaster avoidance.
Creation of Standard Gardens in Agriculture
In 2011, the arrangement for the creation of standard horticultural gardens is 1000, an increase of 800. The creation of standard gardens should make efforts to expand its scope and improve its level.
Promote Expansion from Production to Sales Not only should standard gardens achieve standardized production, but also branded products, realizing integration of production, processing, and sales. Leverage the quality and brand advantages of standard garden products, strengthen cooperation between standard gardens and large retailers, and first achieve direct connections between farms and supermarkets. In the future, standard garden products and marks will be visible in supermarkets in large and medium-sized cities. Expand large enterprises, strengthen farmers' professional cooperatives, create renowned product brands, broaden marketing channels, establish a risk-sharing and benefit-sharing connection mechanism, comprehensively improve the quality and efficiency of horticultural products. Promote Expansion from 'Garden' to 'Area' Change the concept, don't just limit the scale of standard horticultural crop gardens to a small garden of a thousand acres, but rather focus on expanding the scale, gradually expanding from 'garden' to 'area', improving the level and quality of standard garden creation. Gradually expand the implementation scope from 1000 acres to over 5000 acres, implement whole-village promotion in specialized villages of horticultural crops, and implement whole-township promotion in advantageous production areas with conditions.