Zhou Yingheng: Experience and Practice of Agricultural Modernization in Jiangsu Province

Jiangsu is a strong economic province, is also a large agricultural province. The sustainable development of agriculture in Jiangsu Province is not only an important part of sustainable development, but also the key to the sustainable development of economy and society.

As of the end of 2012, in terms of resource endowment, Jiangsu has about 70 million mu of arable land, 0.129 billion cubic meters of water resources, and the average arable land area per household is about 7.8 mu. In terms of comprehensive agricultural development, Jiangsu has high-efficiency farmland accounting for 1/3 of the total arable land and 1/10 of the facility agricultural area. In terms of industrialized management, the proportion of farmers participating in cooperatives is 61%, the area of agricultural moderate scale operation accounts for 61%, and the ratio of agricultural product processing industry output value to agricultural output value is 1.3:1. It can be seen that Jiangsu is not rich in agricultural resources, but through the efforts of the day after tomorrow, agricultural development has made certain achievements.

Jiangsu has made the following four main achievements in agricultural modernization:

(1) Continued increase in grain and major agricultural products. In 2012, the province's grain output reached 67.45 billion kg, exceeding the total grain output of the four coastal provinces and cities of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. The total output rose from the fifth in the country in 2005 to the fourth, and the grain yield reached a new high. The yield per mu reached 421.3kg, ranking fourth in the country. The per capita output of aquatic products increased from 52.1kg in 2005 to 62.4kg in 2012. The total output value of agriculture increased from 129.106 billion yuan in 2005 to 296.672 billion yuan in 2012. The output value of cereals, potatoes, beans, cotton, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits in agriculture also increased in different ways. Among them, the total output value of cereals increased from 49.504 billion yuan in 2005 to 94.887 billion yuan in 2012, and the output value of potatoes increased from 2.841 billion yuan in 2005 to 4.127 billion yuan in 2012, the output value of beans increased from 2.416 billion yuan in 2005 to 3.955 billion yuan in 2012, the output value of cotton increased from 5.731 billion yuan in 2005 to 9.378 billion yuan in 2012, the output value of oil crops increased from 6.406 billion yuan in 2005 to 8.943 billion yuan in 2012, and the output value of vegetables increased from 39.198 billion yuan in 2005 to 126.538 billion yuan in 2012.

(2) Agricultural mechanization is progressing rapidly, and the level of agricultural science and technology is constantly improving. By 2012, the coverage rate of agricultural informatization will reach 80%, and the level of comprehensive agricultural mechanization will reach 76%, ranking first in the country. The contribution rate of agricultural science and technology progress reached 62.3, ranking first in the country. The area of water-saving irrigation increased from 1423.5 thousand hectares in 2005 to 1733.33 thousand hectares in 2011. The area of mechanical tillage increased from 3923 thousand hectares in 2005 to 5845.67 thousand hectares in 2012; machine-sown area increased from 2123.44 thousand hectares in 2005 to 3887.94 thousand hectares in 2012; machine-harvested area increased from 3787.42 thousand hectares in 2005 to 4896.87 thousand hectares in 2012.

(3) The level of comprehensive agricultural development has been improved. The scale of high-efficiency agriculture has achieved remarkable results. The area of high-efficiency facility agriculture in the province has reached 9.6 million mu, accounting for 13.9 percent of the arable land, ranking first in the country; the area of high-standard farmland is 32.02 million mu, accounting for 46.5 percent of the arable land; the cumulative number of live pigs for the whole year is 30.431 million, of which the proportion of large and medium-sized pig breeding is 45%; the effective number of "three products (pollution-free, green and organic agricultural products) is more than 16000, ranking first.

(4) The quality of agricultural practitioners has been continuously improved, and the management of agricultural organizations has been continuously upgraded. Jiangsu's agricultural labor force has dropped from 10.5828 million in 2005 to 7.9603 million in 2012. The certified agricultural labor force accounts for more than 12%; the proportion of farmers participating in cooperative organizations reaches 61.4, ranking first in the country; the proportion of moderate scale operation of agriculture reaches 61%, ranking first in the country.

There are also some problems in the construction of agricultural modernization in Jiangsu. Mainly:

the concept attaches importance to planting and breeding, but ignores the pre-and post-natal links, the pre-natal links of agricultural materials services such as fertilizers and pesticides, and the post-natal links including circulation and processing are lagging behind, and cannot meet the needs of agricultural modernization; farmland infrastructure and supporting facilities Lack, in 2012, the proportion of high-standard farmland in Jiangsu Province was less than 47%, which is seriously incompatible with the superior agricultural environment of Jiangsu Province. Not only that, in the context of the current society's increasing requirements for the quality and safety of agricultural products, the commercialization of processing facilities, storage facilities and other post-natal supporting facilities in Jiangsu Province are still seriously insufficient, which hinders the process of commercialization of agricultural products; more people and less land, agricultural The industrial organization system is not well developed. Although Jiangsu Province has more than 60000 agricultural industrial organizations, the number is not small, but still has not solved the problem of small farmers and large market docking, the reason is that many organizations or not worthy of the name, or institutions are not sound, the function is not perfect, the agricultural industrial organization system needs to be improved; agricultural financial investment is insufficient, the mode and efficiency of the use of funds need to be improved. In 2012, the expenditure on agriculture, forestry and water affairs closely related to financial support for agriculture in Jiangsu Province still accounted for less than 10% of the public budget expenditure, which was far lower than the proportion of agricultural employment in employment (20%). As agriculture involves land, labor, resources and environment, science and technology and other fields, in addition to the agricultural sector, many relevant government departments have the task of supporting agriculture, which increases the cost of management and use of agricultural funds and the phenomenon of repeated construction, which hinders the efficiency of the use of financial funds for supporting agriculture.

To this end, the following policy recommendations are made for the modernization of agriculture in Jiangsu:

1. Break through the limitations of the planting and breeding industry and realize the comprehensive modernization of agriculture before, during and after production.

First of all, it is still necessary to ensure the support and attention to the planting and breeding industry. On this basis, all links before and after production should be incorporated into the construction of agricultural modernization. According to the requirements of "six industrialization", the secondary and tertiary industries should be integrated with the primary industry to improve the added value of agriculture, and at the same time, to ensure that farmers can obtain more income.

2. Strengthen the construction of high-standard farmland and post-natal process commercialization processing facilities.

High-standard farmland and commercial treatment facilities are the hardware foundation of agricultural modernization and the first step to carry out agricultural modernization. This requires the provincial government to clarify goals, scientifically plan, and use legal means to ensure that the construction of farmland infrastructure is promoted year by year; based on long-term, With government financial investment as the leading factor, actively mobilize all forces, and strive for capital investment through multiple channels; implement management and protection, organize innovation, and fully mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers with the goal of realizing agricultural modernization.

3. Cultivate all kinds of model agricultural business entities and reengineering agricultural business organizations, and upgrade the agricultural industrial organization system.

In areas where conditions permit, we should realize large-scale operation through land transfer, use modern inputs such as mechanization and high input to improve agricultural productivity and economic benefits, cultivate new business entities such as family farms and large professional households, and establish intermediate associations to provide services for them. More areas in Jiangsu Province are still dominated by small farmers, so it is necessary to carry out intensive cultivation, highlight regionality and characteristics, and improve the added value of agricultural products, by joining the farmer cooperative organization to improve the degree of organization of farmers, strengthen the market negotiation strength of small farmers, and realize the docking of small-scale farmers and large markets. These two roads are parallel and complementary. Jiangsu Province should take the lead in implementing these two models in the country, and finally realize the coordinated development of large-scale and characteristic agriculture.

4. Pay attention to the versatility of agriculture, increase financial support for agriculture, and improve the efficiency of the use of funds.

The realization of agricultural modernization is inseparable from the exertion of the new functions of agriculture. Therefore, the provincial government should attach great importance to this, introduce the new functions of agriculture into the construction of agriculture, continue to develop and utilize, and improve the added value of agriculture; because these The new function has a strong public nature, so it is necessary to increase investment through financial support for agriculture. In the process of using funds, it is necessary to clarify the functions of various departments to prevent "headless management" and "multiple management", so as to improve the efficiency of financial support for agriculture.

(the author is the dean of the School of Economics and Management of Nanjing Agricultural University and the chief expert of Jiangsu Agricultural Modernization Research Base)

source: Xinhua Newspaper Network-Xinhua Daily | Time: January 13, 2014 | Editor: Zhai Tianchang