Where is the way out for grain that can't be sold at a good price?

In Baijian Village, Jixian County, Tianjin, which has a population of more than 1000, villager Liu Yongzheng is planning whether to raise some pigs or something else next year. The fall in food prices is undoubtedly a huge blow to Liu Yong. But what he doesn't understand is why food has fallen so much.

However, I heard that the village may be going to promote a "grain-free area". In the future, land that does not grow grain can be subsidized by 2,000 yuan per mu of land. Liu Yong cannot say why it will be implemented. He hopes to earn more money and subsidize his family.

The perplexity of farmers

This year should be the most difficult year for Liu Yong in recent years.

Looking at the corn harvested in front and back of the house, Liu Yong was not as excited as in previous years. At this time last year, the corn was one yuan per jin, but this year it was only more than 80 cents per jin, so it was not easy to sell. Although they sell cheaply, the cost of feeding them to sheep or pigs is too high.

"Grain is so cheap that with manpower and seed fertilizer, one mu of land basically earns little money. However, you have to plant even if you can't make money, and it's outrageous if you don't plant it properly! " Compared with his peers, he, who worked at home without graduating from junior high school, had a deeper affection for land than his peers. People of this age in the village either pass the exam or do something outside, and there are not many people who simply cultivate the land. Relatives and friends who have idle land, do not have the time or energy to grow, he has planted food.

"in previous years, I didn't just point to the income in the field, but this year there is no work outside, and the grain can't sell at a good price."

However, Liu Yong is not pessimistic. He thinks the government must find a way. Some time ago, we have been counting a few mu of land per household, so there may be some new policy. Liu Yong is full of expectation.

"Why is grain so cheap?"

What has always puzzled Liu Yong is why good food is getting cheaper and cheaper. Is there too much food? The country doesn't need that much food to do this? Will it be all right next year?

Foreign goods enter the market and domestic goods enter the warehouse, which is particularly obvious on corn. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the price of corn exports from the United States, which reached $324 per ton in November 2012, fell to $164 in September 2014, a drop of nearly 50%. However, the price of corn in China is relatively stable under the policy of supporting the market. In order to protect the interests of farmers, the corn harvested by domestic farmers was received by the state-owned grain depot at a temporary storage price higher than the market price, for which the state paid a huge price difference and storage costs, while imported low-cost corn became raw materials to enter the field of circulation and processing.

However, why is the price of agricultural products in China higher than that of similar products abroad? Ke Bingsheng, president of China Agricultural University, believes that one of the important reasons why domestic agricultural products are not competitive is the high price of labor. The price of agricultural products in the international market can rise and fall because of its high degree of mechanization and relatively small labor costs. He said, for example, "the cost of harvesting sugarcane in Guangxi already accounts for 1/3 of the price of sugar, and the cost of picking cotton in Xinjiang alone accounts for about 40% of the price of cotton. The above are all the advantageous producing areas of this agricultural product, and there is the problem that the labor cost is too high. The data show that the real wage of the labor force has increased at an average annual rate of about 8% in recent years.

The low productivity of agricultural labor is another reason. At present, the per unit yield of major crops in China is close to or even exceeds the world advanced level, but the agricultural labor productivity is far lower than the world advanced level, which shows that "one leg is long and the other is short". According to a report by the China Modernization Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the per unit yield of rice and wheat in China has reached the level of developed countries, and the per unit yield of corn has reached the level of moderately developed countries, but China's agricultural labor productivity is only 47% of the world average. In recent years, it is precisely in cotton and other varieties with low labor productivity that China's imports have greatly increased.

Over the years, although the state has taken a lot of measures, agriculture has not been out of the plight of rising costs and declining benefits. At present, the average import tariff level of China's agricultural products is only 15.2%, which is 1/4 of the world average level, and is one of the countries with the highest degree of agricultural openness. With the promotion of the construction of free trade zones between China and New Zealand and Australia, the degree of agricultural openness will be improved. In the future, China will face competition not only from developed countries with rich agricultural resources and high level of agricultural modernization, but also from developing countries with obvious labor advantages.

China implements quota management on imported grain, with 9.636 million tons of wheat, 7.2 million tons of corn and 5.32 million tons of rice. The import tariff is only 1% within the quota and 65% for the extra. At present, the import of grain is still within the tariff quota, but China is completely open to the import after levying non-quota tariff. If the price of agricultural products at home and abroad remains the same after breaking through the tariff quota and levying a high tariff of 65%, then it will bring consequences such as the reduction of farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain and the decline of the agricultural industry. According to expert estimates, according to the current production costs and price trends, in another five to seven years, the import of the three major grains at non-quota tariff rates will become a reality.

Grope for a new way out

Due to falling food prices, the cost of farming is rising, although there are government subsidies, but most farmers are no longer willing to grow wheat. Nearly 60% of the more than 10,000 mu of land in Baijian Town, Jixian County, Tianjin, is uncultivated and idle after the autumn harvest. For land, not planting is a great waste, but for farmers, planting is also a great waste.

"it is certainly not the way to go on like this. We are now implementing the policy of" one decrease, three increases ". The reduction is to reduce or even eliminate food crops, increase the number of seedlings, flowers and vegetables, and promote grain-free areas." Baijian town government staff Shao Huanwei said. He also said: "in order to promote the policy of 'one reduction and three increases', the government has also given a lot of subsidy policies. Facility agriculture involves the construction of facility sheds, and it must be subsidized for more than 100 mu, with a subsidy of 2,000 yuan per mu of land for four years. However, in order to carry out the project in an orderly manner, farmers will be trained in infrastructure and new varieties of seedlings. "

According to ou Xuesheng, branch secretary of Baijian Village, the soil in Baijian Village was particularly suitable for growing a new type of cauliflower, but because the content of agricultural chemical fertilizer exceeded the standard, we had to give up such a project and grow nursery flowers instead.

It is understood that at present, local land cultivation income only accounts for a very small part of farmers' economic income, although there are subsidies every year, it is also difficult to improve farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain, so now they are developing high-quality and efficient agriculture. Bangjun Town, next to Baijian Town, has formed one of the largest nursery flower markets in North China, while Baijian Town has not formed a scale. This is also a big reason why they want to develop nurseries. As for the issue of sales, it seems that they are not very worried.

However, they also said that the "grain-free area" plan is not necessarily the only path suitable for the development of Baijian Town, nor can it achieve immediate results, and it is only in the exploratory stage.