THERE鈥橲alwaysgoodnewsforfarmersandtheruralcommunityatthebeginningoftheyear.Thisyearisofnoexception.OnFebruary5,2017,theCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChinaandtheStateCounciljointlyreleasedthisyear鈥檚鈥淣o.1CentralDocument,鈥漞ntitledOpinionsonDeepeningSupply-SideStructuralReforminAgricultureandAcceleratingtheCultivationofNewGrowthEnginesforAgriculturalReformandRuralAreas.Thisisthe14thstraightyearthatthe鈥淣o.1CentralDocument鈥漷argetsagriculturalandruraldevelopmentandfarmers.
The鈥淣o.1CentralDocument鈥漣sthenamegiventothefirstpolicystatementreleasedbycentralauthoritiesintheyearandisseenasamajorindicatorofpolicypriorities.Thisyear,themaingoalsofthedocumentaretopushforwardthesupply-sidereformintheagriculturalsectorandincreasethesector鈥檚comprehensivebenefitsandcompetitiveness.
Developingmulti-functionality
Oneofthebreakthroughsofthisyear鈥檚documentisitssuggestiontopromotenewindustriesandnewbusinessmodestopushforwardthesupply-sidereformintheagriculturalsector.Thenewmodesmainlyrefertothepromotionofruralmulti-functionality.Indeed,inrecentyears,theinternationalacademiccommunityhasidentifiedfourfunctionsplayedbyruralareas.Outofthese,China鈥檚ruralareasonlyhavetwo.
Traditionally,ruralareasweremainlyplacesforagriculturalproductionandresidentialcommunitiesoffarmers.ThesetwotraditionalfunctionsaregivenfullplayinChina鈥檚ruralareas.However,ruralareascanhavemorediversefunctionsandbecomethe鈥渂ackgarden鈥漮furbanareas.Theycanbeplacesfortourism,aswellasthedevelopmentbaseforthecities鈥檔ursing-homeindustry.Thesetwonewfunctionsarealreadyverymatureindevelopedcountries,butinChina,inspiteofgreatpotential,thereisstillalongwaytogotodevelopthetwodirections.
Withthisinmind,theCentralGovernmentislayingemphasisonthepromotionofnewindustriesandnewbusinessmodesintheagriculturalsector.Thenewfunctionsareexpectedtobecomeanewsourceofruralareas鈥檙apidgrowth.
China鈥檚ruralnaturallandscape,localcultureandspecialtyproductsareveryattractivefortourists.Everyyear,alargenumberofurbanresidentstraveltoruralareas.ButmanyofChina鈥檚villageswithbeautifulscener-iesremainunknowntotheoutsideworld.Thoughsomevillageshavegoodnaturalsceneries,duetoinsufficientcapitalinvestmentandinadequateinfrastructureandmaintenance,thetourismattractivenessofthesevillagesremainsunsatisfactory.Therefore,Chinesevillagesshouldpaymoreattentiontomulti-functionaldevelopmentinvariousaspects,includingpromotionandinfrastructureconstruction,intheirfuturedevelopmentprocess,soastotransformfromplacesofagriculturalproductiontoplacesofleisuretourismandnursingcare.
Supply-sidereform
Anotherhighlightofthedocumentistheimplementationofagreenmodeofproductiontopromotesustainableagriculturaldevelopment.Thismainlyinvolvesstrengtheningenvironmentalprotectionoftheagriculturalproductionareas.Atthesametime,effortsshouldbemadetoimplementenvironmentally-friendlyproductionpractices,preventandcontrolenvironmentalpollution,andincreasetheoutputofhigh-qualityproductswhichareinlinewithmarketdemand.
China鈥檚currentagriculturalstructureissufficienttomeetitsneedsoffoodandclothing.Initscurrentstage,producingthelargestoutputpossiblehasbasicallybecomethegoalofagriculturalproduction.ButChinanowhas300millionpeoplewhocanbeconsideredaswell-offconsumers,andtheyhavehigheranddiversestandardsforfoodproducts.Thus,consumers鈥檇emandforhighqualityandgreenagriculturalproductshassignificantlyincreased.
Tomeetthesegrowingneeds,itisessentialtoconductsupply-sidereformintheagriculturalsectorandadjustagriculturalproduction.
Takewheatasanexample.Inthepastfiveyears,China鈥檚wheatproductionhasgrownatarateofmorethan2.5milliontonsperyear.Fromtheperspectiveofsupplyanddemand,China鈥檚totalwheatproductionandconsumptionareessentiallybalanced,andsometimeseventhereisaslightsurplus.Foralongtime,thegoalofChina鈥檚wheatindustrywastoincreasewheatproduction,mainlyformakingnoodlesandbuns.Asaresult,theproductionofgluten-richwheat,whichisusedformakingbreadsandcakes,hasbeensomewhatneglected.
However,theyoungergenerationofChinese,undertheinfluenceoftheWesternwayoflife,hasdevelopedatasteforbreadandcakes.Asaresult,people鈥檚demandforgluten-richwheathasgrownrapidlyinrecentyears,leadingtoanannualimportofover2milliontonsofhigh-qualitywheat.Tosolvethisnewimbalance,itisnecessarytoimprovetheagriculturesupplyandmarketingsystem.
Thecurrentwheatsupplyandmarketingsystemrunslikethis:farmersplantandharvestwheat,andthensellittointermediaryagents,whothenreselltheproducetothestate-ownedgrainreservesystemorprocessingenterprises.Thissystemissuitableforthegeneralneedsofwheatproduction,butitdoesn鈥檛workwhenthemarkethasahighdemandforspecifickindsofwheat,suchasgluten-richwheat.
Becausehigh-qualitywheatcannotalwaysgeneratehighrevenueanditsoutputisnotguaranteedduetopoortechnology,farmersareunwillingtotaketherisktotrynewvarieties.Theyprefertoplanttraditionalwheat,whichtheyknowtheycanalwaysselltothestate-ownedgrainreservesystem.
Hence,itisurgentforChinatodevelopahigh-qualitywheatplantingbase.Asolutiontocountertheproblemwouldbetoestablishawheatgrading,purchasingandstoragesystemonthebasisofqualityindicators.Unfortunately,atpresent,Chinahasyettoestablishsuchasystem.
Supply-sidereformisthemajormeasureboostingChina鈥檚agriculturaldevelopmentWANGJIANWEILearningfromexperience
YanjinCounty,locatedincentralChina鈥檚HenanProvince,isagoodexampleofdevelopinghigh-qualitywheat.
Atpresent,thecountyhas500,000mu(33,333hectares)ofhigh-qualitywheat.OnMay17,2016,China鈥檚High-QualityWheatIndustryTechnologyInnovationAlliancewasestablishedbythecounty,withthemainpurposeoffurtherincreasingthegrowingofhighqualitywheat.ThecountyalsosupportedthecreationofXinxiangWheatIndustryGroup,whichthenestablishedtwoindustrialchains:flour-noodles-pastry-frozenfoodchainandliquor-packaging-labelling-logisticschain.ThismodeisaninnovativewayofencouragingtheupgradeofChina鈥檚wheatproduction.
Processingenterprisesarealsolookingforsolutionstoimprovetheirproductswithhigh-qualitywheat.JinmailangFoodsCo.Ltd.,afamousChineseinstantnoodlesmanufacturerbasedinHebeiProvince,launchedtheJinmailangHigh-QualityWheatProjectin2005.Itcreateda1-million-mu(66,666-hectare)agriculturaldemonstrationparkinLongyaoCountyofHebeiProvince.
鈥淲edevelopedhigh-qualitywheatandraisedtheincomeoflocalfarmers.Webelievegoodcropvarietyisverygoodforfarmers,鈥漵aidFanXianguo,ChairmanofJinmailangGroup.
Despitetheseachievements,thereisstillalongwaytogoforafull-scaleupgradeofhigh-qualitywheatproductioninChina,withthebiggestdifficulties-suchasbreedingsystemreform-stillaheadofus.
(TheauthorisprofessoratSchoolofAgriculturalEconomicsandRuralDevelopment,RenminUniversityofChinaandresearcheratNationalAcademyofDevelopmentandStrategy)