Liu Maosong: modern Agriculture and Food Security in the era of industrialization

The problems of agriculture and food security in China are both agricultural problems and food security problems that have arisen in the process of industrialization. The solution of this problem is to talk about agriculture in terms of agriculture, grain in terms of grain, and food security in terms of farmers. In terms of the agricultural sector, food security cannot be solved in the end. Therefore, the problem of agriculture in the industrialized society, the problem of farmers, including food security, is a social problem, which should be solved from the whole social level.

I. the basic characteristic of agriculture in an industrialized society is to decline and increase.

"one drop" means that the proportion of wealth provided by agriculture in the wealth of the whole society has declined. for example, in our country, the added value of agriculture accounted for 31% of the added value of the whole society in 1979 and 10.1% last year. The ability of agriculture to dominate the wealth of society as a whole has declined significantly, which is a decline, which occurred in the process of industrialization. The so-called "one increase" is what du Zhixiong, deputy director of the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said just now. due to the improvement of the income level of urban and rural residents in the industrialized society, people not only solve the problem of food and clothing, but also demand the diversification of consumption, including hedonistic consumption, developing consumption and so on. Therefore, the demand for agricultural products is not only food, but also food. But also leisure agriculture, cultural agriculture, ecological agriculture and so on, the field of agriculture has been greatly expanded, and the industrial chain of agriculture has been widened and lengthened. This "one drop" and "one increase" complement each other. In the "downfall", the labor force will be transferred out, where will it go? Of course, it is urban industry, and a more important thing is local transfer, that is, to digest the labor force transferred from traditional agriculture through multi-functional agriculture, which is a very important supplement.

Second, accelerate the industrialization of agriculture

At present, the employment of farmers remains at a very high proportion. For example, in 2012, China's agricultural labor force still has 300 million, of course, there are more professional labor force, then these 300 million account for 39% of the labor force of the whole society, and the proportion of agricultural added value provided is only 10%, so this is a contradiction. To solve this contradiction, we must do everything possible to improve agricultural labor productivity, how to improve agricultural labor productivity? There is no way out for the small-scale peasant economy, so we must use the large-scale industrialized mode of production to transform the traditional small-scale peasant economy and promote the industrialization of agriculture. The so-called industrialization of agriculture, the first is the industrialization of the agricultural production process, promoting the scale, standardization, specialization, mechanization, information and intelligence of agriculture. The second is the industrialization of agricultural production results. Agricultural and sideline products must be reprocessed by industry. At present, in developed countries, the proportion of agricultural products processed by industrial reprocessing has exceeded 70%, while our level is too low, which is only about 30%. The industrial processing of agricultural products has expanded the agricultural chain and promoted the employment of farmers. it has increased the income of farmers and increased local taxes. A corn raw produces more than a thousand kinds of corn industrial products; the processing of 15 million pigs by Shuanghui Group can provide an output value of 50 billion yuan and more than 100 varieties. So the processing of agricultural products is very important. The third is the modernization of the operation and management process of agricultural industry.

The industrialization of agriculture, if from its field, the first is specialized base agriculture, agriculture must promote the division of labor of the industrial chain, must promote the construction of base agriculture. The second is standardized brand agriculture, which must be promoted to ensure food safety, reduce the pollution of heavy metals to soil and agricultural products, create the economic value of agriculture and form the brand of agriculture. The third is factory-oriented finished product agriculture, that is, the intensive processing of agricultural products. These areas constitute the industrialization of agriculture.

III. Pay attention to several links in the transformation of traditional agriculture

Several links should be paid attention to in the transformation of traditional agriculture: first, superior varieties and superior products. Species is the key problem. Now, if we want to promote the industrialization of large-scale agriculture, we are faced with species restrictions. for example, why can't we do pig processing in Hunan? I have conducted a lot of investigations and studies, and there are many reasons, one of which is that the breed of pigs is not the best; there are too many hot peppers in Hunan, and there are also problems in industrial processing, so we need to go to Shaanxi to mix chili peppers for consumption. The cultivation of the species should be promoted according to the needs of the market and industrial processing. The second is the characteristics. Because there are differences in resource endowments in different regions and different counties and districts, agricultural development has its own inhibition because of the differences in resource endowments. Therefore, we should build characteristic agriculture and characteristic brands according to the differences in resource endowments and agricultural labor production habits. Third, aquaculture transformation. Transformation is very important. Plant protein is converted into high protein in animals, which can provide the high protein or healthy nutritional structure needed by healthy human body. Therefore, at present, only 30% of China's grain is transformed through animals, and there are people shouting that the food crisis is coming, while the developed countries have already exceeded 60%. Only through the transformation of animals to form a high protein, after industrial processing, its field will be greatly expanded. So one grain of corn can form more than a thousand kinds of industrial products.

Fourth, strengthen the innovation at the institutional level

We should allocate agricultural resources through the market, and the market should play a decisive role. To sum up, innovation at the institutional level must do the following things: first, the reform of the land system. Large-scale land circulation is an objective law. Large-scale agriculture must transform the land contract system of small-scale peasant economy, give farmers the property right of land, be able to mortgage and transfer, and be able to form a large-scale economy in the process of mortgage circulation. Farmers can also get the income of property, which is a major reform. Second, the drive of technological innovation. Today has entered the era of information and intelligence, agriculture must be engaged in intelligent agriculture. The third is organizational integration. Family farms, co-operatives, major professionals and agricultural enterprises should be chosen according to local conditions. For the family farm, is it to highlight the family, to control the farm with the family, to restrict the farm, or to highlight the farm and transform the family through the farm? Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to make it clear that the foothold of the family farm is the farm, the promotion of large-scale operation and professional production. The fourth is professional farmers. It is necessary to solve the problem of who will farm and who will engage in agriculture. Finally, there is public policy. The main responsibility for agricultural products, especially grain, must be borne by the state's finance.

(the author is an expert of Hunan Provincial Consulting Group on Major decision-making for Reform, a member of Hunan Academician expert Advisory Committee, chairman of the Provincial Economic Society, and a professor. this article is based on the recording of the author's academic report at the second Longping Forum. )