The price subsidy is about to realize the soybean farmers' expectation of high quality and high price.

Editor's note: at present, spring sowing of soybeans in Northeast China is in full swing, and the target price reform of soybeans piloted in Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia Autonomous region in 2014 has entered the stage of subsidy payment. How is the target price subsidy policy implemented? What is the effect of its market guidance? What is the planting intention of soybean farmers this spring? Our reporter in Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces in the main soybean producing areas feel this spring soybean production "cold and warm".

The target price is limited to stimulate the enthusiasm of soybean farmers.

Heilongjiang: farmers' willingness to grow beans weakens

Due to the poor comparative efficiency of soybeans, untimely distribution of price subsidies, slow sales and other factors, this year, farmers in Heilongjiang Province have weakened their willingness to plant soybeans, and cooperatives have begun to focus on planting edible soybeans. I hope to ensure sales and increase income through the development of professional beans.

Jiamusi City is known as "the hometown of Chinese soybeans". In 2009, the planting area of soybean in the city reached 7.84 million mu, accounting for almost half of the sown area of grain, beans and potatoes in the city, which is the largest among the three major food crops of rice, corn and soybean.

In recent years, under the influence of domestic and foreign markets and comparative benefits of planting, the planting area of Jiamusi soybean has decreased year by year, to 1.94 million mu in 2014, accounting for only 12% of the total area of grain, beans and potatoes. It has become the crop species with the smallest planting area and the smallest proportion of the three major crops.

Although the state introduced the soybean target price subsidy policy in 2014, due to the influence of the introduction time, the speed of progress and the target price level, the release time of the subsidy was relatively delayed. At present, the implementation of the target price did not effectively stimulate the enthusiasm of soybean farmers, nor played an effective role in promoting the sale of commercial beans. Through a survey, about 30% of soybeans are still hoarded in the hands of farmers for sale.

In early April, the investigation team of the Ministry of Agriculture's "hundred townships and ten thousand households" also noticed the problems of soybean cultivation in Keshan County. Keshan soybean is a national geographical indication product of agricultural products, is a local advantage industry, the planting area once reached 3.02 million mu, accounting for 86% of the arable land. However, as soybean prices continue to fall, farmers are not optimistic about growing soybeans in recent years. In 2014, the actual sown area of soybeans was 1.95 million mu, accounting for 65% of the arable land; this year, it will drop to less than 1.2 million mu, less than 40% of the arable land.

Wang Lixin, a major soybean grower in Baoan Village, Gubei Township, Keshan County, planted 1000 mu of soybeans last year and plans to reduce it to 300mu this year. Guo Jin, a farmer in Yongsheng Village of the township, planted 105 mu of soybeans last year and plans to plant corn this year. Guo Jiancheng, chairman of the Zhuang Sanhe Corn planting Cooperative in Xicheng Town, said the cooperative plans to reduce the soybean acreage to 3000 mu from 7000 mu in 2014. Yang Yu, mayor of Xicheng Town, said that the soybean planting area of the town from 2012 to 2014 was 200000 mu, 180000 mu and 100000 mu respectively, and the intended planting area decreased to 80, 000 mu in 2015, 60% less than in 2012. Tian Wenbo, party secretary of Gubei Township, said that there are 178000 mu of arable land in the township, and soybean planting accounted for more than 85% of the total arable land in 2011, but the proportion will continue to drop to less than 70% in 2014 and will continue to drop to less than 50% in 2015.

It is understood that Keshan farmers are reluctant to grow soybeans for the following reasons:

First, the comparative benefit of soybean planting is poor. Meng Deli, director of Kunfeng Modern Agricultural Machinery Professional Cooperative in Shuanghe Township, Keshan County, calculated such an account: before 2007, the income per mu of corn planted by Keshan farmers was 1.5 times higher than that of soybeans, but because of the low input in planting soybeans, easy operation, labor-saving and time-saving, and convenient sales, farmers still have confidence in soybean production. Since 2007, the market price of corn has risen and the potential for increasing production has been released. Now the income per mu of corn is equivalent to 3-3.5 times that of soybean.

Second, the industrial chain is "thin" and short. Keshan County produces 300000 tons of soybeans all the year round, except for self-use, the commodity volume is about 280000 tons, but there are only three soybean processing enterprises in the county, which can only process primary soybean products, the processing capacity is limited, and the market competitiveness is not strong.

Third, the soybean target price subsidy policy failed to guide market expectations. Soybean market prices are low, sales are not smooth, and the market is going down all the way. The price of soybean in Keshan County has dropped from 2.2 yuan / jin of new beans listed to 1.8 yuan / jin now. At present, half of the soybeans in the hands of farmers in the county have not been sold.

These problems reflected by Keshan have something in common in the main soybean producing areas. According to agricultural statistics in Jiamusi City, the estimated planting area of soybean this year is 2.39 million mu, an increase of 450000 mu over the previous year, but according to the analysis of the local agricultural department, the growth is mainly due to the limitation of regional light and heat conditions and soil moisture conditions, rather than the effect of the introduction and implementation of the target price.

Faced with the problem of "must be planted", cooperatives began to take advantage of large-scale cultivation of edible soybeans to ensure sales and increase income. On April 29th, at the spring soybean production and marketing docking activity organized by Heilongjiang, 110 soybean planting cooperatives from 45 major soybean producing counties in the province were represented by the new business main body, which signed 900000 tons of soybean orders before sowing. The purchasers are basically edible soybean products processing enterprises, and this specialized planting brings hope for cooperatives to grow soybeans.

Li Fengyu, director of Heilongjiang Longlian Farmers' Professional Cooperative Association, said that they grow high-protein soybeans with a protein content of 40% and can be supplied in bulk. Such soybeans have received a large number of orders through production and marketing docking activities. Through the unified large-scale operation of cooperatives, the "high quality and high price" of soybeans is reflected.

Liaoning: soybean farmers look forward to the higher target price level

"I heard that soybeans are subsidized if they sell less than 2.4 yuan a jin, but they haven't given them so far." On April 23, Xi Liping, a villager of Gaotaizi Office in Mingshan District, Benxi City, Liaoning Province, told reporters that her family planted about 5 mu of soybeans last year. She still has a lot of questions about how much subsidy she can get and when it will be issued.

According to the monitoring data of Liaoning Province, the market price of soybean in 2014 has not yet reached the target price level. According to the "pilot implementation Plan of Soybean Target Price Reform in Liaoning Province", the soybean price subsidy mechanism will be launched.

The subsidy area shall be based on the soybean area calculated by the subsidy statistics of improved varieties in 2014.

It is understood that soybean production in Liaoning is mainly concentrated in northern and western Liaoning. In 2003, the soybean planting area in Liaoning was more than 4.5 million mu, and then began to decline, to 2007, it was only 1.95 million mu. At the beginning of 2008, the high yield of soybean was restored to 2.715 million mu, then decreased, and tended to be stable in recent years, about 1.725 million mu.

According to the person in charge of the Liaoning Provincial Price Bureau, the subsidy standard is the difference between the target price and the market price set by the state. The market price of soybean is the average market purchase price of the whole province during the purchasing period, that is, the purchase price of grain depots with large purchase volume and strong price representation, processing enterprises or traders with fixed purchase points all the year round, it is the average purchase price of medium soybean to the warehouse (to the factory) according to the national standard of the whole province.

The subsidy to farmers is based on the household soybean yield calculated according to the verified actual soybean planting area and the unified subsidy yield per mu (subsidized common yield). The actual planting area of soybean is the actual planting area of farmers' relatively concentrated planting of soybean on the registered cultivated land. The actual planting area is determined according to the soybean subsidy area counted in the improved variety subsidy work in 2014.

The subsidy funds will be fully paid to the growers by the end of May.

According to the guidance on Soybean Target Price subsidies published by the Ministry of Finance in 2014, the central finance will allocate subsidy funds to the pilot provinces (autonomous regions) by the end of April 2015; by the end of May, the pilot provinces (regions) will fully remit the subsidy funds to the actual growers.

It is understood that the Liaoning Provincial Department of Finance will allocate and allocate subsidy funds to each city according to the subsidy standard, the municipal soybean output provided by the statistical department and the scale of funds issued by the central finance; the Municipal Finance Bureau will allocate and allocate subsidy funds to each county (city, district) according to the subsidy standard, the soybean output provided by the statistical department and the scale of funds issued by the provincial finance. The county (city, district) finance bureau calculates and determines the unified subsidy yield per mu of the whole county according to the actual planting area of farmers' soybean verified by the agricultural departments at the same level, the scale of funds issued by the municipal finance and the subsidy standard, and calculates the subsidy output and subsidy amount of household soybean, and pays subsidy funds to farmers in accordance with the prescribed procedures.

Liaoning has established a strict supervision mechanism. The subsidy funds shall be managed closed through the special account of the grain risk fund. Establish the system of publicity, file management, supervision and inspection of subsidy area and subsidy, and publish the telephone number for supervision and reporting.

Farmers expect to raise the target price level

The reporter learned from the Tieling Municipal Committee of Agriculture that the planting intention of soybeans in the city this year is 144000 mu, slightly lower than the actual planting area of 149600 mu last year.

Zhao Jingxia, Taiwan Village, Gaotaizi Office, Mingshan District, Benxi City, told reporters: "if I hadn't been able to move the corn sticks alone, I wouldn't have grown soybeans." Zhao Jingxia's family planted 4 mu of soybeans. Last year, due to drought, the harvest of less than 300 jin per mu of land, soybeans were sold to tofu makers, the highest is only 2.3 yuan per jin, less than 2 yuan, the benefit is obviously not as high as planting bracts. She hopes that the government will set the target price higher.

Cao Zhenyun, secretary of the Taiwan Village Branch of the Gaotaizi Office in Mingshan District, Benxi City, says that there are not many families in the village who grow soybeans, and the net profit of planting soybeans per mu is only a few hundred yuan, while those who grow rice can reach 700 to 800 yuan per mu of land. If you raise the target price to 3 yuan per jin, you may consider a variety of soybeans.

The planting Department of Benxi Municipal Committee of Agriculture calculated according to the target price of soybeans in 2014, according to the city's average output of 140 kg, the output value per mu is 672 yuan. According to statistics, the cost of soybean per mu is 410 yuan (mainly including 80 yuan for chemical fertilizer, 50 yuan for seeds, 10 yuan for pesticides, 100 yuan for machine ploughing, 150 yuan for labor, and 20 yuan for others), and the profit per mu is 262 yuan. The average yield of corn is 500kg, the output value per mu is about 1000 yuan, the cost per mu is 560yuan (mainly including 150yuan of chemical fertilizer, 50yuan of seeds, 20yuan of pesticides, 120yuan of machine tillage, 200yuan of labor, 20yuan of other 20 yuan), and the profit per mu is 440yuan, which is higher than that of soybean.

Moreover, corn has strong drought resistance and disaster resistance, the price is also stable, and the sales channel is smooth, so most farmers choose to plant corn, this policy is not very strong to encourage farmers to develop soybean production. Wang Limei, deputy director of the planting Department of Benxi Municipal Committee of Agriculture, believes that the target price should be raised. "signal" should be transparent in time.

The original intention of the reform of agricultural product target price policy is to establish a market formation mechanism of agricultural product price, release price signals to guide market expectations, and protect the interests of producers through price difference subsidies. Since it is a price signal, it should be timely and transparent.

Generally speaking, the signal significance of the target price mainly lies in "what is the target price"; combined with the reality at the beginning of the pilot project, "what is the average market price" may be more critical, which is directly related to how many subsidies farmers can get and directly affect their planting intention. On April 28th, the National Development and Reform Commission announced a target price of 4800 yuan per ton for 2015. In the case of the reduction in the target price of cotton, the maintenance of soybean prices is a positive signal, but it is not specific enough for farmers' production choices. The fact that some soybean farmers "cherish the sale" during the sales period and wait and see during the sowing date shows that the effect of the target price "reassurance" is a little slow when the "average market price" is uncertain and unannounced.

With the deepening of the reform, the relevant parties should not only publish the relevant information about the target price in time, but also strengthen the market information service to guide farmers to seize the opportunity of sales and enterprises to actively enter the market.