An irresistible general trend in the reform of agricultural supply side

An irresistible general trend in the reform of agricultural supply side

Since the 18th National Congress, supply-side reform has become an important means and content for promoting economic growth. In terms of agricultural supply-side reform, how to produce agricultural products that are more needed in the market and how to make the unit benefits of agriculture more improved are the contents of everyone's attention.

In Hainan Province, in the southern part of China, the unique light and heat resources make tropical crops “a unique show” here. However, the market benefits of sugar cane, rubber, sweet potato, peanuts, coconut and rice, which were once the main source of income for farmers, are decreasing year by year, and individual industries have changed from “rich peasant” industries to “burden” industries. On the road of reform and adjustment, some people tried, some waited and some people questioned. Can new alternative crops become the new engine of farmers' income? Can their agricultural restructuring adjustment be successful? What kind of alternative industries are real and sustainable in the transition?

Hainan sugarcane farmers: 500 yuan per mu

The cane farmer Li Huanyu's face was dark and wrinkled, and his eyes were full of sorrow and helplessness. Faced with a large piece of sugar cane in front of him, his brows were wrinkled, and the words were full of anxiety: "The sugar cane produced is too high, and the sugar factory has a price of 450 yuan, which is not enough. It is borrowed when the child pays the tuition fee. So year after year, my debt may be 10 million."

Li Huanyu was born in Fuzhen Village, Mudu Town, Zhangzhou City, Hainan Province in the past fifty years. He has been planting sugar cane for nine years. He contracted 100 acres of sugar cane land, the cost of 7788 is reduced, and an acre needs 2570 yuan. According to the purchase price this year, the output value per mu is only 2015 yuan, and the average one acre will be 555 yuan. Li Huanyu recalled that from 2006 to now, labor costs have nearly doubled, and the purchase price has been falling. Sugarcane is more and more "unsweet".

Up to now, the sugarcane planting area in Hainan has only about 470,000 mu, which is nearly half of that in 2012. The reason for this is the low price of the sugar industry. Yang Benpeng, director of the Sugarcane Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, said that not only the impact of imported sugar, the low efficiency within the sugarcane industry in Hainan has always been a real problem that cannot be ignored: "Why is the benefit so poor? First, the cultivated areas are very poor and dry; Second, the sugar industry is basically unmanaged. The government does not have scientific research, training, and promotion. Farmers do not care, and they cannot produce high yields. Third, the varieties are degraded and the technology is backward."

Does the inefficient industry have to "retire all the way?"

The predicament of sugar cane is only a microcosm. A large number of farmers in Hainan have encountered the same problems as Li Huanyu. In fact, rubber, rice, coconut and other traditional industries in Hainan have low industrial benefits, extensive management, weak agricultural infrastructure, and unique natural resources. Farmers have no good returns.

In Hainan's 13th Five-Year Plan, it is proposed to build a tropical characteristic agriculture. In April this year, the Hainan Provincial Government clearly stated that in the next five years, efforts should be made to achieve the goal of basically withdrawing industries and products with an average yield per mu of less than 600 yuan.

Zhou Shiqiang, director of the planting department of the Agriculture Department of Hainan Province, said that the transfer structure of Hainan's agriculture is concentrated in three aspects: “This year, we are preparing to reduce the sugarcane by 150,000 mu; we will develop the rubber industry steadily and concentrate on the transfer to the central and western regions; Adjustment of rice and sweet potatoes."

However, the real question is: Should inefficient industries be “one-necked?” Yang Benpeng said that Hainan’s sugar industry has little impact on the whole country, but Hainan’s light and temperature conditions are abundant. It is one of the nationally suitable sugarcane areas. It has a long history and the development of the sugar industry is relatively mature. In contrast, is the exit of a traditional industry too sloppy? Yang Benpeng also expressed his concern: "If this really quits, it involves 100,000 farmers. It cannot be said that these 100,000 people are not settled, but a considerable number of people will have more difficult lives because they cannot grow anything else. In addition, more than 200 million assets of sugar companies will be scrapped, and more than 3,000 employees will be laid off. The adjustment of an industrial structure must first have new alternative crops and industries in a region. It must be scientifically and conscientiously demonstrated and practiced to achieve the planting effect, and then make up your mind to adjust. ”

At present, the more difficult problem for farmers like Li Huanyu is: If you continue to grow sugar cane, you will only get a meager income, but if you change the other, where does the capital and technology come from? This "canche chew more sweet" sugar cane, tasteless, abandon the pity. Replanting other crops, what to plant? How to change? How to avoid the risks? This is not only his own confusion, but also the problem of thousands of growers in Hainan.

Adjustment and replanting, Hainan has a pioneer

In the context of the low efficiency of sugarcane planting, the structural adjustment of Hainan's agriculture has become an urgent need. In the local area, there are such a group of pioneers who have begun to take the initiative to find new industries that can replace the original crops.

In the Runde cooperative base in Chenzhou City, Hainan, 150 acres of Brazilian bananas have grown to one person tall, bright and broad under the banana leaves, faintly visible green bananas that have been hung. Zheng Jiacai, the chairman of the board of directors, told reporters that the cooperative was established in July 2015 to develop banana production using the model of “cooperative farmers”. Since the sugarcane benefit is very low, the withdrawal of the sugarcane industry is a spontaneous and motivating idea for many farmers.

Zheng Jiacai said: "Last year, after discussing with the technicians, we decided to switch from sugar cane to bananas and use this low-efficiency land. When we replanted, everyone was very motivated. In the past two years, we saw bananas. The income is quite good. If we provide technology to them, they will dare to plant."

The banana farmer Zhang Jide calculated the account for the reporter. The original sugar cane was removed from the high physical and labor costs, and the annual net income per mu was only about 200 yuan. Now, my own land joins the cooperative. According to the current growth, the yield per mu can reach 6,000 kg. According to the market price of 3 yuan, the net income per mu can reach 2,500 yuan, which is higher than the original planting of sugar cane per mu. 2,300 yuan, the economic benefits are very impressive.

However, the reform was not smooth sailing. Zheng Jiacai also encountered the problem of yellow leaf disease when he led the farmers in Zhangzhou to switch to Brazilian bananas. Huang He, the chief agronomist of the China Science Reporting Group, said frankly: "The sugarcane has been replanted with bananas. It was still a natural condition at first. Because sugar cane used to be grown in places where there is no water, it is a place with inconvenient transportation, and the investment is not very big. Bananas are high-input, high-income, and some people may not be able to afford it.

Agricultural supply side reform, an unstoppable trend

The search for alternative industries, in the final analysis, depends on whether it can bring the ideal benefits to farmers. The reporter survey found that winter melon and tropical fruits are the “hot” for farmers to choose alternative crops. However, Yang Bencheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, believes that the traditional industries that Hainan has today are not suitable for large-scale planting. If the area of ​​bananas has expanded, is there still? This point, people in the industry are well aware.

The adjustment of agricultural structure in a region involves the water and soil resources of one party, the peasant income and the food, the stability of the region, and the social harmony. The difficulties, pressures and uncertainties facing the development of new industries can be imagined. Zhou Shiqiang, director of the Planting Division of the Agriculture Department of Hainan Province, said that in order to ensure the bottom-up, spontaneous enthusiasm and subjective initiative of Hainan Province, the government's sophisticated top-level design and support is indispensable.

Zhou Shiqiang said: "The government guided the demonstration by the model, requiring the city, county and agricultural departments to establish demonstration points for structural adjustment, and through typical demonstrations to promote structural adjustment, so that farmers can see and feel, knowing that the government is supporting What industry to do, rather than adopting a forced order. Second, we must encourage the introduction of some support policies. For example, if you reduce one acre of sugar cane and develop other industries, the government can subsidize how much money to develop a new industry. Some subsidies for farmers."

Improving the structure, improving quality, and adapting to the market are all core elements of the reform of the supply side of agriculture. At the same time, the reform of the supply side of agriculture is not only a matter of planting, but also closely related to the entire agricultural reform and even to the overall economic situation of the country. Gradually reforming the main structure of agriculture, gradually unblocking the circulation channels, and gradually constructing the integration and coordinated development of the first, second and third industries are all issues involved in the supply side of agriculture, and all need to be considered comprehensively.

The revitalization of the economy starts from consumption and drives consumption from the supply-side reform. As the foundation of the entire national economy, the reform of the supply side of agriculture is duty-bound.

(Original title: Focus on the reform of the supply side of agriculture: When the “rich peasant” industry becomes a “burden” industry, how can farmers bear the pain of reform?)