Leading agricultural production mode of ecological agriculture

Since the beginning of the new century, ecological agriculture has developed vigorously all over the world. Ecological agriculture is developed in 162 countries around the world, and it is estimated that by 2020, the global ecological agricultural production area will account for up to 35% of the total agricultural production area.

Ecological agriculture is built in accordance with ecological principles and eco-economic laws, which not only promotes ecological protection, but also depends on the support of good ecological environment, sustainable agricultural production and management system. Ecological agriculture includes green agriculture and organic agriculture. The so-called green agriculture refers to the agricultural production mode of limited use of chemical compounds such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides and plant protective agents in accordance with regulations, and produces pollution-free products that are conducive to public health. Organic agriculture does not use any chemical compounds such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides and feed additives, nor does it use organisms and their products obtained by transgenic engineering. The former is ecological agriculture with somewhat relaxed requirements, while the latter is ecological agriculture with more stringent requirements.

Learning from the bitter experience, the agricultural production and management mode of "three high and one low" is not valued.

Since the 1950s, petroleum agriculture has developed rapidly in developed countries, resulting in heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural production, which not only causes air, water and soil pollution, but also leads to an increase in toxic residues in grain, fruits and vegetables, animal husbandry products and so on. In essence, this is a serious crisis of the imbalance between people, society and the natural environment. Learning from the bitter experience, people realize that the "three high and one low" agricultural production and management mode of "high input, high consumption, high pollution and low efficiency" is the fuse that leads to the outbreak of eco-environmental crisis.

Ecological agriculture first appeared in Europe in the 1920s, at first, only individual producers spontaneously produced certain products according to local market demand; in the 1930s and 1940s, ecological agriculture was developed in Switzerland, Britain and other places; in the 1960s, many European farms turned to ecological farming; after the 1970s, a variety of alternative agricultural thoughts aimed at protecting the agricultural ecological environment began to appear. France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and other developed countries in Western Europe actively carried out the organic agriculture movement, and established the International Organic Agriculture Movement Alliance in France in 1972. At the same time, Japan has also put forward a plan for the development of ecological agriculture, focusing on reducing farmland salinization and agricultural non-point source pollution.

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development issued the Rio Declaration and agenda 21, which established the importance of sustainable agriculture. So far, building ecological agriculture and taking the road of sustainable development has become the common choice of agriculture all over the world. Developing countries have also begun to actively study and explore green food production.

Ecological agriculture is not only the only way for the transformation of agricultural production mode, but also the inevitable outcome of the transformation of agricultural economic system. This transformation is mainly reflected in: from single to comprehensive, from extensive to intensive, from high-carbon to low-carbon, from pollution to environmental protection, from one-sided pursuit of "scale expansion" to comprehensive "quality benefit". On the basis of the inevitable transformation, we will form a virtuous circle of ecological and economic systems, as well as the sustainable development of economy, ecology and society.

The prospect is broad, and the annual sales of global ecological products have reached 62.5 billion US dollars.

Since entering the new century, ecological agriculture has entered a new period of vigorous development all over the world. In terms of the scale of development, there are 162 countries in the world to develop ecological agriculture. According to the statistics of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement, as of 2009, the total area of ecological agriculture in the world has reached 32 million hectares. It is estimated that by 2020, the global eco-agricultural production area will account for up to 35% of the total agricultural production area.

The country with the fastest development of ecological agriculture is Australia, with a planting area of 6 million hectares, accounting for 19 percent of the world's total area. China's total area of ecological agriculture is about 4.5 million hectares, ranking second in the world after Australia. Spain's total planting area of ecological agriculture is 1.8 million hectares, ranking third in the world and first in the European Union.

The annual sales of global ecological products have reached 62.5 billion US dollars, with large consumption in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy, covering crop products, dairy products, meat, fruits and so on. At present, the supply of EU-produced eco-agricultural products exceeds demand, and nearly 60% of the shortfall needs to be imported from emerging markets and developing countries, of which Argentina and China are the main suppliers. The market prospect of eco-agricultural products is getting broader and wider.

Compared with conventional agriculture, ecological agriculture has five characteristics: first, it is comprehensive, comprehensive planning, top-level design and optimization of structure in accordance with the principle of "integrity, coordination, circulation and regeneration", so as to promote the coordinated development of various industries, strengthen agriculture, invigorate grain and enrich the people, and optimize the environment. Second, diversity, using a variety of ecological models, ecological engineering and technology to equip agricultural production and management to give full play to the various advantages of different regions and promote diversified development; third, high efficiency, improving quality and efficiency through scientific and technological innovation; fourth, safety, improve the quality of agricultural products, and provide consumers with rest assured and safe food. Fifth, sustainability, closely combining agricultural production and operation with environmental construction and economic development, and carrying out recycling of resources and reuse of waste resources, so as to effectively reduce pollution and maintain ecological balance.

Policy support is essential to the success of sustainable agricultural development model.

Ecological agriculture has become the leading mode and main trend of global agricultural development in the 21st century. Since the new century, China attaches great importance to the development of green agriculture and has been rated as "one of the 20 most successful models of global sustainable agricultural development" by the World Association for Sustainable Agriculture. However, compared with some developed countries, there is still a big gap in the construction of ecological agriculture in China, and the advanced development experience of various countries should be used for reference.

Adopting active support policy to ecological agriculture is a measure to play a long-term role. Most countries have formulated special policies to support the development of ecological agriculture: include funds for the development of ecological agriculture in the national financial budget, implement preferential tax relief measures, reward the advanced ecological agriculture, and so on. In Germany, the government establishes and implements a variety of agro-ecological compensation methods, including financial transfer payment, direct payment, quota transaction payment and direct transaction payment. Germany implements compensation, mostly through projects to provide financial support to farmers in the transition to an eco-agricultural system, and mostly linked to the corresponding environmental protection measures.

Attaching great importance to the scientific research and education of ecological agriculture is the key to enhance the driving force for the development of ecological agriculture. Many countries attach great importance to the scientific research, teaching and promotion of ecological agriculture on the basis of modern science and technology. There are also many universities and scientific research institutes to train scientific research and technical personnel of ecological agriculture. Since 2002, the US government has implemented the organic agriculture research and extension program, with a total funding of US $93 million in the 10 years since 2003. the focus of funding includes the environment and effectiveness of organic agriculture, the production and socio-economic status of organic farms, and the use of field experiments to identify the characteristics of organic products.

We will strengthen the construction of the guarantee system of laws and regulations on ecological agriculture. Since the 1990s, some developed countries have established relevant laws and regulations on the production, product quality and sales of ecological agriculture. The United States has formulated the Organic Food quality Act, Canada has formulated the Canadian Agricultural products Act, the Canadian Grain Act, and the European Union has promulgated the European Community Ecological Agriculture regulations. On the basis of relevant EU laws, Germany has formulated its own "Ecological Agriculture Law", "Land Resources Protection Law", "garbage disposal Law" and so on. Through legal means, the development of ecological agriculture has realized the integration of favorable social external atmosphere and internal "soft environment", which has played a strong role in ensuring its healthy development.

Strengthen the socialized service of ecological agriculture. Social service refers to the provision of training, information and consulting services to producers. In order to encourage farmers to develop ecological agriculture, some governments have established technological demonstration and extension bases to make farmers truly understand the importance of promoting ecological agriculture and enhance their initiative and enthusiasm in developing ecological agriculture. Training and information services include how to use organic manure, planting green manure, crop rotation, biological control and other technologies, as well as a new understanding of the current food market. In addition, social services also help consumers understand the value and characteristics of ecological products and promote ecological consumption.