AfarmerinGuolongzhuangVillage,XingtaiCityofHebeiProvincecheckshiswheatcropZHUXUDONGXieXifanisahappyman.NotonlybecausehissonhasreturnedforSpringFestivalafteratwo-yearworkstintinAlgeria,butalsobecausehisfarmlandearningsfor2016exceededexpectations.
The68-year-oldfarmerinDongliangVillage,DongpingCounty,ShandongProvincehas11mu(0.73hectares)offarmland,onwhichheplantswheatforhalfayearandpeanutsandcornfortheotherhalf.Bygrowinggrains,Xieearnedmorethan25,000yuan($3,600)inthepastyear,accordingtohiscalculations.Xiealsogrowspoplartrees,whichareanadditionalsourceofincome.
“Iamverysatisfiedwithmylifenow.It’sbetterandbetter,”hesaid.“Overadecadeago,wehadtopayagriculturaltaxingraintothestate.Butnow,wedonotneedtodothatandcanevengetsubsidiesfromthegovernmentforgrowinggraincrops,”XietoldChinAfrica.In2016,Xiereceived1,320yuan($191)ofsubsidiesforgrowingwheat.
“Machinessuchasplantingma-chinesandcombineharvestersarewidelyusedhereandwedonotneedmanypeopletodofarmwork,”hesaid.Currently,onlyXieandhiswifearetakingcareoftheirfields.“Sometimes,whenwedonothavefarmwork,wecaneventraveltootherplacesforsightseeing.”Twoyearsago,hissonwenttoAlgeriatoworkbecausehewasnotneededonthefarm.
“Wehaveagoodharvestalmosteveryyear,”saidXie.“Andmysoncanhaveadditionalearningsabroad.”
Reformingsupplies
Actually,2016wasagoodharvestyearnotonlyforXie’sfamily,butalsoforthecountryasawhole.FiguresfromtheNationalBureauofStatistics(NBS)releasedinDecember2016showChina’sgrainoutputintheyearreached616.24milliontons,meaningagoodgrainharvestfor13successiveyearsfrom2003,when430.65milliontonsofgrainswereproduced.Though5.2milliontonslessthantheyieldof2015,NingJizhe,NBSCommissioner,saiditwasstillagoodharvestintermsoftheproductionvolume.
Thereductionofgrainoutputin2016alsoputanendtoChina’ssuccessivegrowthintermsofgrainproductionsince2003.“Itisnotnecessarytopaytoomuchattentiontotheslightreductioningrainproductionthisyear.Chinacandefinitelyensureitsagricultureandfoodsecurity,”saidNing.
HebelievesthegrainproductionreductionistheresultofChina’sgraingrowingstructureadjustmentinthepastyears.“ThoughthequantityofChina’sgrainoutputcanmeetpeople’sdemands,thequalityandstructureofgrainproductionshouldbefurtherimproved,”saidNing.
TheCentralRuralWorkConference,heldonDecember19-20,2016inBeijing,stressedtheimportanceofpromotingsupply-sidestructuralreforminagriculturaldevelopment.AccordingtoNing,topromotethissupply-sidereform,itisimportanttoincreasetheoutputofhigh-qualityandorganicagriculturalproduceandreducelow-qualityproducewithhighstocks,suchascorns.
“This[obtainingagoodharvestfor13successiveyears]isamarvelousachievement.However,theunreasonablegrainproductionstructureisbecomingincreasinglyprominent,”saidXuMing,DeputyDirectoroftheStateAdministrationofGrain,addingthatatthemoment,cornandriceareoversupplied,buthigh-qualitywheatisinsufficient,whilesoybeanisingreatdemand.
WithChina’srapiddevelopment,peoplearenolongersatisfiedwith“havingenoughtoeat,”buthavediverserequirements.“Theyneedmoresafe,nutritional,healthyandgreenfood,butthesupplyinthisregardisdefinitelynotenough,”saidXu.“Wemustmeetpeople’sdiversifieddemands,insteadofsupplyingallthepeoplewiththesamewheatandrice.”
Xusaidoneofthemostimportanttasksingrainproductionsupply-sidereformistodestockcornbyreducingcorngrowingareasin2017.
AnenterprisethatprovidescornstorageservicesforfarmersinLongyaoCountyofHebeiProvinceMOUYUReformingthepricingmechanismandgraincollectionandstoragesystemcanhelpfarmersoptimizetheirgraingrowingstructure.“TheStateCouncilhasdecidedtofirstlaunchsupply-sidereformincornproduction,andinthenextstep,wewillreexamineourcurrentpricingsysteminwheatandrice,”saidXu.“ButthereformwillbeconductedonthepreconditionofnotreducingChina’sgrainproductioncapacity,soastostabilizegrainproduction.”
ThoughthequantityofChina’sgrainoutputcanmeetpeople’sdemands,thequalityandstructureofgrainproductionshouldbefurtherimproved.
NingJizhe,CommissionerofNationalBureauofStatistics
FarmersinHanjiaoVillageofNanchangCity,JiangxiProvinceusemachinestoarvestriceWANXIANGCorngetsthechop
Becauseofthehighstockandoversupplyofcorninpastyears,thecropsgrowingareasinChinacontinuedtoseeareductionofmorethan20millionmu(1.33millionhectares)in2016.Farmersinsomecorn-growingareasareencouragedtogrowsilagecornforanimalfeedorgrowothergrains.
“Foruscorngrowers,itwasnotagoodyearthoughourcornproductiongrewcomparedwith2015becausethecornpricedroppedfrom2.4yuan($0.35)perkgin2015to1.6yuan($0.23)perkgin2016,”saidHuangJintai,afarmerfromWujiaziVillage,JiaoheCityinnortheastChina’sJilinProvince.TheprovincelocatesinChina’smajorgrainproductionbaseknownastheSickleArch,coveringnorthandnortheastChina.Ac-cordingtotheMinistryofAgriculture,theareasgrowingcornforfoodinthearchwerereducedby10millionmu(666,666hectares)in2016;in2017,afurther10millionmuwillbecut.
Theprovinceisalsointhe“goldencorngrowingbelt”oftheworld(40-42degreesinnorthlatitude),andcornfarmersarereluctanttoreducecorngrowingareas.Butowingtotheincreasinglylowercornprices,theyhavetomakechanges.
Huanghas150hectaresofcornfarmlands,withmostparthegotthroughland-userighttransferfromhisneighbors.Thelowcornpricehasbeenamajorconcernforhim.In2016,hedecidedtousehalfofhislandtogrowsilagecorn.“Isoldthesilagecorntonearbycowandgoatfarmsasanimalfeed.Thosewhoraisecowsandgoatswerealsopreviouscornfarmers,andnowtheyalsofoundawayout,”saidHuang.
Farmlandsgetamakeover
Besidesreducingcornproduction,promotinglandfallowingandcroprotationisanotherwayinsupply-sidereform.Accordingtoexperts,inthecurrentstagewhenthegrainsupplyinthedomesticandinternationalmarketsisadequate,itisagoodopportunitytopromotelandfallowingandcroprotationsoastoimprovethequalityoflandsandmaintainsustainabledevelopmentofagriculture.
TheMinistryofAgriculturelaunchedapilotprojectinJulylastyeartopromotecroprotationin5millionmu(333,333hectares)offarmlandandfallowingin1.16millionmu(77,333hectares),withrotationareasmainlyinnortheastandnorthChinaandfallowingareasmainlyinareaspollutedbyheavymetalandplaceswithseriousdeteriorationoftheecologicalenvironment.Ac-cordingtotheministry,thepilotprojectwillbeexpandedinthecomingthreetofiveyears.
“LandfallowingandcroprotationshouldbepromotedonthepreconditionofensuringChina’snationalfoodsecurityandnotinfluencingfarmers’income,”saidYuXinrong,ViceMinisterofAgriculture.
HebeiProvinceinnorthChinalaunchedapilotprojectofseasonalfallowingin2014.ShiFulin,afarmerfromYukeTown,ShenzhouCity,thinkstheprojectisgoodbothforfarmersandtheland.Forthepastyears,hehasgrownwheatforoneyear,andleftthelandfallowforthenextyear.“Whenmylandsareidle,Icanget500yuan($72.5)ofsubsidyforeachmu,”saidShi.“Afterall,Idon’thavetoworkonthefarmlandthatyear.”
InmostgrainproductionareasinChina,farmersplantandharvesttwocropsinoneyear;insouthChinawithhighertemperatures,sufficientsunlightandenoughwater,farmersevengrowthreecropsayear.“Itistimetoletourfarmlandshavearest,”saidShi.
Commentsto
FarmersinLiangshanVillageofJiningCity,ShandongProvincecollectwheatGUOXULEI