China’s first policy document of the year outlines ways to step up rural development
By Yu Nan
China’s first policy document of the new year stresses the need to promote agricultural supply-side reform to improve production and boost agricultural modernization.
The No.1 Central Document, released annually, focuses on agriculture, rural development and farmers for the 13th year in succession.
“The focus on supply-side reform shows the leadership’s new understanding of China’s macroeconomic policy and emphasis on the future,” said Song Hongyuan, head of the Research Center for Rural Economy under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Structure and efficiency
China’s agricultural production continues to grow. The total volume of agricultural commodities, including grain, oil, fruits and vegetables, is the largest in the world. But the international markets for agricultural products are facing severe competition and overcapacity. An irrational industrial structure, excessive inventories and increasing imports of agricultural commodities mean it is high time for structural reform in the agricultural sector.
The document says China should optimize production and regional distribution, coordinate the development of food and cash crops as well as fodder, and provide consumers with diversified agricultural products. It should also promote integrated development of agricultural production, processing and distribution, as well as agricultural tourism and new industries in rural areas.
“The reform doesn’t focus on quantity but structural and efficiency issues,” said Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Xinrong. According to him, there are severe structural problems despite the increase in grain production year after year.
While there was a basic balance between the production of and demand for wheat and rice, there was a periodic oversupply of corn and short supply of soybean and high-quality forage.
Addressing shortcomings
To adjust the agricultural structure, China plans to cut corn acreage by nearly 3.3 million hectares in the next five years as it is under mounting pressure to reduce its corn stocks. Instead, silage corn, beans, other coarse grains and forage grass will be grown in 13 provincial areas, according to Pan Weibo, Deputy Director at the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture.
In 2015, the farmlands utilization rate of fertilizers and pesticides for the three staple crops - rice, wheat and corn - reached 35.2 percent and 36.6 percent respectively, a 2.2-percentage-point and 1.6-percentage-point increase compared to 2013.
“We should make unremitting efforts to reduce inventories and costs and address shortcomings to boost supply-side reform,” said Chen Xiwen, Director of the Central Agricultural Work Leading Team Office.
The basic aim of the reform is to improve food production and ensure the security of staple foods. The production structure must meet diverse consumption demands, the document says.
The importance of innovation is also underscored. To promote an innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, the government has called for faster transformation of agricultural models and vowed to make progress in agriculture by 2020 to ensure a moderately prosperous society.
Scale management
The land reform measures outlined in the document will allow the transfer of rural land-use rights on a trial basis, which will help some farmers to expand their scale of operation.
“However, on the whole, agricultural business is still relatively small in scale, which results in high agricultural costs,” Chen said.
Apart from land-use rights transfers, there are a variety of other scale management options. For example, Sichuan in the southwest has adopted an agricultural management system jointly operated by farmers, cooperatives, career managers and professional service organizations. Shandong Province in east China is conducting agricultural production under trusteeship.
These unconventional forms of land transfer have enhanced agricultural scale management. CA