Farmers survive in the gap between falling prices and rising costs

This year's autumn harvest is as busy as in previous years, but the difference is that the farmers' hearts are empty. The reason is that the temporary storage price of corn, which has habitually risen for seven years, has suddenly dropped by 10% this year, causing corn growers across the country to lose more than 1 million.

Heilongjiang, a major grain-producing province, is currently in the busiest autumn harvest season. However, for local farmers, this year's autumn harvest is very different from previous years, because after seven years of implementation, the national corn temporary storage price, which has been habitually rising, suddenly put on the brakes and lowered for the first time this year. It dropped to 1 yuan per jin from 1.11 yuan last year.

It is understood that Heilongjiang has a corn planting area of 100 million mu. As the province with the largest planting area in the country, the sudden drop in temporary storage prices will have any impact on the income of local farmers and the adjustment of planting structure. What local measures have been taken to deal with the sharp decline in farmers' income?

Longjiang County in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province is known as the first county of corn in the country. The local corn planting area is as high as 4.2 million mu, and the planting area of growers is generally large. For them, the price of corn fluctuates by a dime or even a penny. When it comes to income, it's a big difference. Dongfanghong Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in Longjiang County has planted 5000 mu of corn. Ma Jinsheng, director of the cooperative, told reporters that based on the current temporary storage prices, it is estimated that this year's income will be reduced by more than one million.

Ma Jinsheng: now the price difference is more than 10 cents per jin. 30 pieces of water can give you 70 cents. At this time last year, 30 water sold for 84 cents and 85 cents. With more than 5000 mu of land, 1,300 jin per mu of land, the income of one mu of land will be reduced by 200 yuan, let alone more than 1 million.

Ma Jinsheng said that the price of corn has fallen, but the cost of farming has gone up year after year: 450 yuan per mu for dry land, more than 300 yuan for growing medicine and fertilizer, including oil and wages, basically for nothing. In the coming year, the co-operatives will have to think about how to adjust the planting of crops.

Ma Jinsheng: we don't make any money this year. We are not very good this year. The drought is still low, and the bracts are not so good. Now there are 34 or 5 water harvested. You have to look at the Spring Festival, see what the price of corn is in the future, and think about other key points, so you will grow less. We decided to change some rice for the Spring Festival to ensure the harvest by drought and waterlogging.

The reporter learned that the national temporary storage corn purchase policy in Northeast China was introduced on September 18, and the temporary storage price of corn has been tightened across the board, falling to 1 yuan per jin from 1.11 yuan last year, and the future trend may continue to decline. The space for farmers to rely on planting corn to increase their income has become narrower and narrower. With regard to the change in temporary storage prices, Wu Hao, director of the Qiqihar Committee of Agriculture, believes that this seriously reflects that China's grain production is suffering from the double challenge of "ceiling" capping of agricultural product prices and rising production costs "floor".

Wu Hao: in the face of the current problems facing the agricultural and rural economy, especially the gradual increase in production costs, and the state subsidy policy has basically reached the ceiling level, how can agriculture focus on quality and benefit in the future to enable farmers to improve economic benefits? to cope with market changes and price adjustments, to meet market challenges.

Corn temporary storage price has been launched since 2008, according to the usual practice, it is steadily increasing every year, but this year's price adjustment has a great impact on farmers. Among the more than 200 million mu of arable land in Heilongjiang Province, there are 106 million mu of corn, which is calculated according to the yield of 1000 jin per mu. The province will reduce its income by 12 billion yuan, which will be converted to farmers, resulting in a per capita income reduction of about 700 yuan. Li Shirun, deputy inspector of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of Agriculture, said: the new situation is forcing Heilongjiang to deepen the adjustment of its agricultural structure and "cannot be hanged from a tree." it is necessary to change the pattern of relying solely on growing grain to increase income and broaden the channels for farmers to get rich.

Li Shirun: "change the way, adjust the structure, and increase income." from the reality of Longjiang, it is also necessary to change from the dual structure of grain economy to the three-yuan planting structure, that is, a large-scale and efficient three-yuan planting structure of grain economy and feed, so as to increase the income of farmers.

But "changing the way, adjusting the structure" is not easy. Since 2010, the grain output of Heilongjiang has been stable at more than 100 billion jin for five consecutive years, but most of the grain purchased in the field has been transferred to the state storage and rarely digested in the market. Jiao Jiang, the general economy of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, pointed out that with the price of collection and storage going up all the way, while the corn processing industry has been depressed, enterprises either stand still in front of "high-priced grain" or seek other substitutes. although the temporary storage of corn enriches farmers, it interferes with the market and increases the financial burden of the country.

Jiaojiang: at present, in the market economy, enterprises do not store grain. From 2005 to now, the country's annual output exceeds sales, accumulated up to now, where has it gone? The country has saved it. How much has it been saved so far? At least 40% of the total. Heilongjiang has stored a total output of one and a half years, and the state should carefully study the scientific storage of grain.

According to data released by Heilongjiang, as of April this year, the province's grain reserves reached 170 billion jin, equivalent to a year's grain output in the warehouse "sleep." A survey conducted by the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of Agriculture also shows that since August, the price of corn starch has rapidly dropped from 2900 yuan per ton to 2200 yuan per ton, with a loss of about 350 yuan per ton of starch processing, and most local enterprises have stopped production one after another to reduce production. There is a lack of driving force for the rise in corn prices.

Li Shirun, deputy inspector of Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of Agriculture: the profit space of enterprises in the processing of downstream products has been reduced. There are still some losses, so the profit margin is reduced, so in the acquisition, the processing enterprises are also slowing down.

With the adjustment of subsidy policy and rising production costs, Heilongjiang is looking for a way to crack under the double squeeze of price "ceiling" and cost "floor". If we continue to develop agriculture in the traditional way, Heilongjiang's grain yield advantage will gradually disappear, and even the more grain we produce, the heavier the burden will be. Xu Xueyang, deputy director of the Heilongjiang General Administration of Land Reclamation, pointed out that corn will be a major focus in adjusting the planting structure in Heilongjiang.

Xu Xueyang: the contradiction between bumper harvest and storage, which is the main contradiction, followed by the contradiction between storage and sales, and the third contradiction between bumper harvest and income. These three contradictions should be the most important problems that should be adjusted and solved in the reclamation area. At present, the planting area of corn in Heilongjiang reclamation area is 13 million mu, mostly concentrated in the high-dimensional areas of the northwest, which is also the focus of corn adjustment in the province, taking the lead in making an appearance in terms of structural adjustment.

The purpose of the country's change is to solve the abnormal relationship between the current corn price, inventory and supply and demand. Although Heilongjiang's agricultural development and farmers' income will bear a new impact, the day of agricultural transformation will come sooner or later, and only when we gradually find the right direction of development in labor pains will a major agricultural province become a strong agricultural province.

Wang Zhonglin, director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of Agriculture, said that in the next step, Heilongjiang plans to shift extensive management that relies on resource consumption and super-ecological load to sustainable development, so as to reduce the impact of price reform on farmers.

Wang Zhonglin: strengthen the research on the terminal market, do a good job in the docking of production and marketing, improve the degree of industrialization, specialization and organization, increase farmers' income, and improve market competitiveness at the same time.