Grain prices at home and abroad are upside down and continue to reform and reduce costs

Last year, China imported more than 100 million tons of grain in one breath, including rice, millet, corn, soybeans, cotton, sugar, oil, pork, mutton, beef, milk and milk powder, according to Chen Zhangliang, vice chairman and member of the Secretariat of the China Association for Science and Technology at the forum on "exploring a new model for rural financial reform" held at the Boao Forum in 2015. At present, a large amount of grain stored in the warehouse is produced and purchased by our own country, but the purchase price is higher than the international price of import. Almost all agricultural products are now more expensive than the average price of agricultural products in the world.

There are many reasons why the price is upside down, but at least the labor force is expensive. The second is that the land is a small plot of land from one household to another, where productivity is reduced and mechanization cannot go up. China is facing a major reform, and as we all know, a very important land transfer was decided at the third Plenary session of the CPC Central Committee. Small pieces of land transfer into large pieces, so that tractors can go up, labor costs down, it is possible to compete with the world food market. Land transfer needs money and financial support is urgently needed.

Written record

Host Li Yang: thank you, President Lu. Next, please Chen Zhangliang, Chen Zhangliang, who has the title of "three sixes". I would also like to say that Chen Zhangliang is one of the founders of GM by global standards, or at least one of commercialization. Because people have complained about GM for so many years, they keep a low profile. Since the relevant leaders of the central authorities have formally and scientifically discussed the issue of genetically modified genes, we hope to hear you talk about this issue. But today, please talk about financial issues.

Chen Zhangliang: over the past decade, I have been paying attention to the issues of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, especially when I was president of Agricultural University. I happened to have this opportunity to be vice chairman in charge of agriculture in Guangxi. I have a deep understanding of the lives of 52 million people over the past six years. For example, in the China Association for Science and Technology, we have traveled to more than 20 provinces over the years and have been learning about the basic issues of agriculture, rural areas and farmers. One of the big problems is rural finance, so I am very happy today. Li Yang is an expert and I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss this matter with you. I would like to briefly mention it from three aspects: first, great changes are taking place in China's agriculture. This new round of change urgently needs financial support. Second, where is the important role that rural finance can play in the whole reform process? I will briefly talk about it with one or two examples. Third, rural finance, in terms of my own understanding and personal experience of the existing problems, how the next step can be better. Let's talk about it from these three aspects.

Chen Zhangliang: first, let's talk about the huge reform of China's agriculture, which is in urgent need of financial support. As a matter of fact, since 2012, we have seen this country suddenly enter grain on a large scale, and a country has inexplicably imported 80 million tons of grain. At that time, we said that the country could produce 95% of its own grain, and about 5% of imports were the safety line. Later, some people said that 90% was the safety line, but quickly broke through 90%. Last year, our country imported more than 100 million tons of grain in one breath. We all know that last year's grain was 1.2 trillion tons, but imported 100 million tons of grain. It has been noted that imported grain is fully imported from rice, millet, corn, soybeans, cotton, sugar, oil, pork, mutton, beef, milk and milk powder. People are beginning to think that there are so many imports in the 11th consecutive increase in agriculture. If we take a closer look at the grain stored in the warehouse, we can see that a large amount of grain is produced and purchased by our own country, but the purchase price is higher than the international price of import. Almost all agricultural products are now more expensive than the average price of agricultural products in the world. There are many reasons, but the least is that labor is expensive. The second is that the land is a small plot of land from one household to another, where productivity is reduced and mechanization cannot go up. China is facing a major reform, and as we all know, a very important land transfer was decided at the third Plenary session of the CPC Central Committee. Small pieces of land transfer into large pieces, so that tractors can go up, labor costs down, it is possible to compete with the world food market.

Chen Zhangliang: as we all know, the amount of smuggled rice and smuggled meat increased last year, and it is very difficult to control smuggling in the border areas because it is expensive at home and cheap abroad. In the face of this situation, we all know that small plots of land should be turned into large plots of land, so that labor costs can be reduced and labor efficiency can be improved. For example, transplanting rice seedlings, a hundred farmers transplanting rice seedlings is not as good as a machine, and a hundred farmers cutting sugar cane is not as good as a machine. But the transfer of land needs money, and farmers need to pay farmers 700 yuan per mu of land such as dry land and 1200 yuan a year for rice fields. If you have to pay for twenty or thirty years of circulation, no one can do it without money. When farmers cooperate, they also have to buy farm tools. The new round of agricultural reform in China will cost a lot of money.

Chen Zhangliang: second, financial support will have a great impact on the whole price of agricultural production. Let me cite two examples. in the first example, bird flu H7N9 appeared in several provinces around Guangxi, and several provinces around them began to kill chickens and ducks, making farmers miserable. Tens of thousands of chickens in a chicken farm are buried in the soil, and the government makes up one or two pieces of each chicken, demanding that bird flu should not be allowed to spread again. I am in charge of Guangxi, and I know that Guangxi has not entered H7N9 yet. But the provinces on the border began to kill chickens and ducks, and so did Guangxi. I know this is really stupid, Guangxi does not have, why kill? As a scientist, to detect tens of thousands of chickens and ducks, random testing must not be done. All farmers' chickens and ducks are killed now. After killing, they are not buried in the soil like other provinces, because it is good. People do not have bird flu, so why should they be buried in it? It's all frozen. When the common people passed for a while, and when the weather got hot, they began to eat, and I quickly took it out of the ice grottoes to sell it, which solved the problem of farmers' income, and the cost of the government was very low. I made this decision, and it was a good decision. Then they began to kill. They were buried in the earth, and we froze quickly. There is no problem with freezing chicken and duck meat internationally for several months. However, it is found that it cannot be frozen. No place can exceed 100,000 tons or 500,000 tons, and there is no equipment to freeze it. I remember that I went to the Rural Credit Cooperatives at that time. At that time, I asked Chairman Xie of Guangxi. I said that I needed to borrow money from the Rural Credit Cooperatives tonight, and the government came forward. Then each company is responsible for loans, and in less than a week, 700 million yuan needs to be taken out to save farmers. This 700 million yuan has severely saved so many chicken and duck slaughterhouses and normally purchased farmers' chickens after completion. Collect as soon as possible within a week, and there will be no chickens and ducks before the bird flu comes. Our chickens and ducks are not buried in the soil, they are all in the freezer. 700 million is not enough, another 700 million. This made me fully feel the important role of rural finance. After about one and a half years, I heard that I could eat chicken and duck. So many tons of chickens and ducks in Guangxi were quickly supplied to the whole country without losing money and earning a lot of money. Because the price is much higher.

Chen Zhangliang: the second example is that I am in the Association for Science and Technology. The Association of Science and Technology has 120000 agricultural technical associations in the National Agricultural Technical Association. Signed an agreement with the Postal savings Bank, which is based on the work done by the Agricultural Technical Association led by the Sichuan Provincial Association of Science and Technology, which makes it difficult for farmers to make loans, but the Agricultural Technical Association encircles farmers together and asks the Agricultural Technical Association to come forward and lend money to the Postal savings Bank. The most beautiful thing to do is Meishan City, Sichuan Province, and then give loans to farmers, small loans to be a father is very good. The secretary of Meishan City told me that hundreds of millions of loans are made from postal savings every month. Every farmer has it, which moves me very much. Why does it have anything to do with the Association of Science and Technology? Because the Agricultural Technical Association is in my hands, the people of the Agricultural Technical Association came forward to organize the farmers in the village to change the mountains into grapes, and now most of Sichuan is grape. One mu of grapes can be planted with 10,000 yuan. It is found that there is no money for grape trellis, barbed wire, seedlings, and management fees. When there was no money, the scientific and technological personnel came forward to find the China Postal savings, and the China Postal savings family went there, thus saving them the cost. Because we will determine which farmer is skilled and trustworthy, and then tell China Postal savings. According to the list provided by us, the people of China Postal savings went over and made a loan. This loan has been lent to Sichuan Province with more than 10 billion yuan a year, and it is still the case today. We want to spread this experience to the whole country, so we want to sign this agreement with the president in the past few years, send out 120000 agricultural technical associations across the country, and then follow the postal savings loan of China to help us develop. This is that financial support is vital to agricultural development.

Chen Zhangliang: third, the current difficulties and the hope of reform. There are many difficulties. For farmers, as long as they investigate the past, as our Wu Xiaoling and others said, loans are difficult and expensive. Loans are difficult because farmers have all aspects of their own knowledge, so it is difficult to talk directly with bank lenders. For example, it takes money to buy seeds, to raise pigs, and it is difficult to raise money for seeds and breeding pigs, and farmers cannot do so without money. Second, the interest on the loan is high, the loan is expensive, and the farmers are afraid. But the third problem is that it is difficult to guarantee a mortgage. President Li Yang is the clearest, because the research report is very clear. When I was in charge of the countryside for six years, it was nerve-racking to lend some money for the farmers. As soon as the bank opened its mouth, it was a mortgage guarantee. In the property law, farmers' dilapidated houses on the homestead can not be used for loan, because it is not allowed to mortgage. The farmer has nothing but the dilapidated house at home. What can he use to mortgage it? The bank says you don't have a mortgage. How can I give you money? Finally, the bank invented a way to co-guarantee. What does it mean? With a loan of 5000 or 10,000 yuan, several buddies in the neighborhood and a dozen families jointly guarantee this person, and you guarantee for others. This is a joint guarantee. Co-insurance is very common in rural areas, and this is a good opportunity. However, the practice of joint insurance can be promoted, but for those with a little amount, no one is willing to undertake the guarantee, so we dare not bear it.

Chen Zhangliang: I have been waiting for a major reform at the third Plenary session of the CPC Central Committee for more than a year. The third Plenary session of the CPC Central Committee finally decided that homestead can be mortgaged and guaranteed, and this will be discussed at the Boao Financial Forum. This is the fourth major reform, that is, the issue of homestead property rights and farmers' mortgage guarantee. Because the property Law does not allow farmers to buy and sell their houses, our citizens can buy and sell them, but farmers are not allowed to sell their homesteads and houses on the ground, but they can be mortgaged and guaranteed. It sounds to me that there is great hope that rural finance has finally been invigorated, which is very good.

Chen Zhangliang: but I have traveled 30 provinces, and the decision of the third Plenary session of the CPC Central Committee has not been made. It is empty. I went from house to house, and the president said that he was in big trouble. It wasn't worth much, and he had to evaluate how much it was, such as a loan of 100000 yuan, and he came to guarantee it. The eastern and western parts of the countryside earn money, but if all the things planted are dead due to floods and droughts, the money cannot afford to pay me back. The president asked me again that I went to his house to take away the homestead and the dilapidated house, which should be taken away according to the law. And tell me, can you take it away? The dog came out to bite me before I got to his house. Drove the dog away and said you were legally required to pay me back the money you owe. Suddenly saw his parents, grandparents lying in bed sick, almost every family is the same, do you want to get out? There are very young children who hold on to their trouser legs and pull one leg at a time. Just leave quickly. There is no way to get it back. After taking it back, the whole family moved to your house.

Chen Zhangliang: the third problem is to say that there are indeed these difficulties in the operation of rural finance. Before the meeting, I told Li Yang that not long ago I went to Taiwan to see Taiwan's rural areas. how did the farmers make loans, and why did the farmers in Taiwan operate so smoothly? Also peasant associations, peasant associations have cooperative credit, in the peasant associations can make their own loans, know which family to grow grapes, now the grape rack needs 60,000 yuan, will directly lend him 60,000 yuan, without going through so many complicated procedures. This rural finance is doing very well, and so is Japanese rural finance. Their own cooperatives operate there on their own, and every peasant association has a lot of money, and they are running the financial system like a bank.

Chen Zhangliang: I think this meeting today is very important, especially as Wu Xiaoling said, consider carefully from the macro level, how to lend money to farmers. As Yunus said about micro-loans, I mainly feel that his spirit moved me, the spirit of the Nobel Prize. They can't get a loan just like us. He goes from family to family. If you want to raise three pigs, you can't get a loan. For example, if you need 1000 RMB, you can find 1000 RMB for him. Only a family of land helps farmers survive and live like people. I think it's not how much money we borrow, but it's the spirit that moves us. I think it's very good that only money goes to farmers.

Chen Zhangliang: finally, Li Yang just said that pigs represent China's CPI. Pork prices are high and pork prices are low. This is indeed a fact, and it also has something to do with loans. The Chinese government only subsidizes sows, but the Chinese government never subsidizes boars. But not without boars, not sows. I am a biology major, always asking me that chicken comes first and egg comes first. No one has a good answer. Is there a chicken or an egg in the world first? I said, Damn it, there is a rooster before there is everything, and there is no such thing as a rooster. But we only supplement sows, not boars, boars also need the support of banks, so financial support is very important. Thank you!