Rational Agriculture in France Promotes Sustainable Development of Agriculture

2013/12/11 Economic Daily

content Summary in the 1980 s, France used a large number of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which brought about a series of problems such as soil compacting, declining fertility, soil erosion, and destruction of biodiversity. To this end, France put forward the concept of "rational agriculture". In the process of modern agricultural planting, "rational agriculture" comprehensively considers and takes into account the economic interests of producers, consumer needs and environmental protection in order to achieve sustainable agricultural development.

After realizing the transformation from traditional agriculture dominated by small-scale peasant economy to modern agriculture characterized by mechanization, electrification, chemistry and improved varieties, France has become the second largest agricultural country in the world in terms of agricultural products and food exports on a par with the United States. What is most worth mentioning in this transformation is the "rational agriculture" development model that is unique and upheld in France. At present, "rational agriculture" has been incorporated into the EU's common agricultural policy, and this is also becoming the trend of world agricultural development.

France is currently the first in the European Union and the second largest agricultural country in the world. The number of agricultural producers in France accounts for 20% of the EU, ranking first in the EU, and 40% of the operators are large-scale operators. But if you go back to the 1950 s, France is an out-and-out backward agricultural country. In the 1980 s, France began the transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, and embarked on a development path of "rational agriculture.

" rational" consolidate the foundation of development

at present, the proportion of agricultural operations in France is 22.2 per cent for large areas of food and cash crops, 3.2 per cent for vegetables, 2.9 per cent for fruits, 13.4 per cent for wine, 3.4 per cent for other crops and the rest for aquaculture.

In the 1980 s, a large number of chemical fertilizers and pesticides were widely used in French agricultural farming, which increased the single yield of land to a certain extent, but also brought about soil consolidation, fertility decline, soil erosion, biological chain and biodiversity destruction, A series of problems such as the degradation of the ecological environment, the reduction of the quality of agricultural products and the decline of competitiveness in the international market. This production mode, which only pays attention to the output of agricultural products and ignores the quality and environment, has aroused the reflection of farmers and agricultural science and technology workers. With the wide recognition of the concept of ecology and environmental protection in the international community, French government departments are increasingly aware of the importance of food safety and agricultural ecological environment protection. For this reason, France put forward the concept of "rational agriculture", and took the development of "rational agriculture" as the foundation of the development of its own agriculture, forming the "rational culture" of French agriculture ".

The so-called "rational agriculture" refers to the comprehensive consideration and consideration of the economic interests of producers, consumer needs and environmental protection in the process of modern agricultural planting, in order to achieve sustainable agricultural development. France has also become the first country in the world to put forward and practice the concept of "rational agriculture", and has formulated a series of laws and regulations to protect the agricultural ecological environment and biodiversity.

As we all know, protecting farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain is the foundation of agricultural production. If farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain is not effectively protected, agricultural downstream industries will naturally become "trees without roots". At the same time, environmental costs and consumers' requirements for the quality of agricultural products can not be ignored: to meet consumers' demand for the output and quality of agricultural products, to strengthen the protection of agricultural ecological environment and original ecological culture such as soil quality, water quality and air, and to ensure biodiversity is also the meaning of "rational agriculture" in France.

Government and non-governmental work together

analyzing the development process of "rational agriculture" in France, it is not difficult to find its distinctive features, that is, on the one hand, it gives full play to the functions and supporting role of the government, on the other hand, it emphasizes the basic role of non-governmental cooperation organizations at all levels. at the same time, it highlights the important role of science and technology in agricultural development.

The role of the government in promoting the development of rational agriculture is crucial. In 1992, France formulated the land fallow system. In 1997 and 1999, France successively promulgated the "National Ecological Agriculture Plan" and the "New Agricultural Guidance Law", which proposed the construction of "a multi-functional agriculture that takes into account economic, environmental and social benefits and sustainable development." "goal. In 2000, France revised and formulated a new national agricultural development plan, and then launched the "French National Plan for 2020 Environmental Protection Agricultural Production."

the French government's management of agriculture is mainly reflected in the macro policy. The main responsibilities of the Government include the construction of agricultural infrastructure, the development of agricultural research and agricultural education extension, the settlement of agricultural credit funds, and the organization and coordination of national agricultural public services.

Avoiding Risks, Agricultural Insurance, Heavy Responsibility

agricultural breeding is vulnerable to natural disasters and other force majeure factors, is a relatively weak industry, France's approach is to effectively avoid the risk of planting through agricultural insurance. France implements a "low rate, high subsidy" policy for agricultural insurance. Farmers only need to pay about 20 to 50 per cent of the premiums, and the remaining 50 to 80 per cent are all borne by the government. This practice enables farmers to effectively avoid the risk of planting and production, and fully mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers in production. At the same time, policy support is implanted in agricultural insurance institutions, not for profit, so that agricultural insurance is different from commercial insurance in the pure sense. Therefore, the French government has established a policy-oriented agricultural insurance institution, and its administrative funds and agricultural insurance fund deficits are directly subsidized by the government. The state has to make an insurance budget once a year, with a total amount of 20% to 50% of the premium, which is used to meet the urgent needs of state-owned insurance companies when they cannot make ends meet, thus effectively ensuring the business development of agricultural insurance institutions. In addition, the French government has passed legislation to protect agricultural insurance. The government implements tax exemption policies for the capital, deposits, income and property of all agricultural insurance departments, and provides protection through laws. It has also formulated the "Agricultural Insurance Law", which stipulates that the items of agricultural insurance shall be stipulated by national laws, and insurance liabilities, reinsurance, Insurance rates, claims calculation and other matters are also determined by laws or regulations. Compulsory insurance is implemented for some bulk products related to the national economy and people's livelihood, such as rice, wheat, barley, etc.

The concept of "rational agriculture" has been put forward for more than 20 years, but it is still out of date. This is certainly due to the scientific nature of the policy, but on the other hand, France's "rational agriculture" can guarantee farmers' income, ensure the output and quality of agricultural products, and more importantly, achieve the goals of environmental protection and ecological construction.

Citation from Science and Technology World Network http://www.twwtn.com/Agriculture/53_214560_2.html

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