Perfecting Agricultural subsidy with the concept of Green Agriculture

On November 1, the Central leading Group for comprehensively deepening Reform examined and approved the "Reform Plan for establishing a Green Ecology-oriented Agricultural subsidy system." The meeting pointed out that it is necessary to take the reform and improvement of existing subsidy policies as a starting point, start with the important areas and key links restricting the sustainable development of agriculture, highlight the green ecological orientation, speed up the implementation of relevant agricultural subsidy policy reform, and shift the policy goal from quantitative growth to quantitative and qualitative ecology.

Since entering the new historical period of "industry to supplement agriculture and cities to lead rural areas", China's agricultural modernization has developed steadily. Grain production has increased for 12 years in a row, and the comprehensive production capacity has historically stood at a high level of 1 trillion jin, realizing the country's food security and the effective supply of important agricultural products. However, the increase in the output of some agricultural products in China is, to a certain extent, at the expense of resources and environment and sustainable development.

The destruction and deterioration of agricultural resources and environment in China are caused by many factors and multiple reasons. It is mainly shown in the following aspects: first, with the in-depth development of industrialization and urbanization, it not only attracts resource elements out of agriculture, but also exports a certain amount of pollution to the environment of agricultural producing areas. Data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection show that 300 million mu of arable land in China is polluted by heavy metals such as cadmium and nickel to varying degrees, mainly from industrial and mining enterprises. Second, the temporal and spatial distribution of water resources is uneven, some areas are overexploited, and the mode of agricultural water use is not sustainable. The temporal distribution of water resources in China generally shows drought in spring and waterlogging in summer, and the spatial distribution is also uneven. in the case of shortage of water resources, the rate of high-efficiency and water-saving irrigation is not high. Third, the problem of non-point source pollution in the process of agricultural production is aggravated, the quality and safety risks of agricultural products are increasing, and agricultural production is facing an unsustainable critical point. At present, the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides of major crops in China is low, and a considerable amount of crop straw is burned in the open air, breeding wastes are discharged at will without treatment, and the residual rate of agricultural film is high. Incidents of excessive residues of pesticides and feed illegal additives affecting the quality and safety of agricultural products also occur from time to time.

Appropriate adjustment of planting structure and scientific conservation of resources and environment are common policies implemented by countries all over the world in the stage of loose supply of agricultural products. In the 1980s, the United States had a bumper grain harvest year after year, while the worldwide economic crisis reduced market demand, and agricultural support policies brought a heavy burden on the government. The American Agriculture Act of 1985 passed a large-scale fallow program, which gave landowners rent subsidies and encouraged them to fallow their ecologically fragile land. At present, the fallow area of the United States remains at more than 14 million hectares all the year round. In recent years, Japan has overproduced rice and imported more and more other grains. The Japanese government makes timely production adjustments, encourages farmers to expand the sown area of bean wheat, feed crops and non-staple grains, implements a subsidy policy for farmland water and environmental protection, and supports agricultural production with low environmental load. Since the beginning of the new century, the European Union has put agricultural versatility in an important position in its previous common agricultural policy reforms, issued a minimum standard index system of agricultural ecological environment, and subsidized the main bodies engaged in agricultural production according to this standard.

It must be noted that despite the current ample grain supply in domestic and foreign markets, the tight balance between supply and demand and structural shortage of agricultural products in China has not changed, although the wage income of farmers has exceeded half. However, agricultural operating income is still the basis and "stabilizer" of farmers' income. Therefore, ensuring the national food security and the stable growth of farmers' income is the premise of the green ecology-oriented agricultural subsidy system. While adhering to this premise, we should also realize that blindly relying on the government to promote the sustainable development of agriculture is "unsustainable" in terms of policy and funds. Therefore, we should take subsidies as leverage, give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources, and stimulate farmers' innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative vitality. What needs to be further strengthened is that it is still unrealistic to rely on traditional small-scale farmers to promote green ecological development due to the current restriction of the quality of agricultural labourers in our country. Therefore, subsidies are used as incentives to promote the coordinated development of new business entities and traditional farmers, and promote the development of resource-saving, environment-friendly and ecological conservation agriculture.

On the basis of strengthening the understanding and renewing the concept, to establish a green ecology-oriented agricultural subsidy system, we should strive to improve the level of sustainable development of agriculture in accordance with the concept of green agriculture. We will regulate the cultivation of crops with high water consumption through subsidies and establish a reward and subsidy mechanism for agricultural water saving. On the basis of strictly implementing the laws and regulations on resource protection, we will explore a more effective subsidy policy of returning farmland to forest, grass and moisture. Take measures in accordance with local conditions, implement classified measures, implement subsidies such as grain and bean rotation, and carry out pilot fallow subsidies. Pilot first, step by step, explore effective mechanisms, carry out subsidies such as chemical fertilizer reduction and efficiency, pesticide reduction and control, organic fertilizer increase, straw resource utilization, agricultural film recycling and reuse, so as to achieve zero growth in the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We will promote the harmless treatment of resource utilization of agricultural wastes. While strengthening the source control of pesticides, veterinary drugs and feed additives, we should comprehensively use subsidies, incentives, credit and financial discounts, and preferential insurance premiums to increase support for new business entities and raise the level of agricultural production standardization.