Is it cost-effective to grow soybeans? Experts call for more subsidies

Now there are three common staple grains: Rice, wheat and corn. In ancient times, the staple grains of our country were millet, wheat and rice, that is, yellow rice, sorghum, soybean, wheat and rice. Among them, soybeans are very popular. Because of its good taste, high nutritional value and rich protein content, it is even called "meat in the field". During the Western Han Dynasty, our ancestors mastered the method of grinding tofu and making soybean milk. More importantly, in the era of small-scale peasant economy, growing soybeans is very much in line with the characteristics of self-sufficiency and circular economy: beans can be used as delicacies, bean stalks can be used as fuel, and after burning into plant ash, they can be returned to the soil to become fertilizer. But now, farmers are reluctant to grow soybeans, which are traditionally superior crops.

Soybean acreage is shrinking.

China is the country of origin of soybean, which has been planted for more than 5000 years. The United States, which began growing soybeans in 1804, became the largest producer and exporter. Last year, the output exceeded 90 million tons, accounting for nearly 1/3 of the world's total output. In China, the annual soybean output has dropped from 18.05 million tons in 2004 to 11.8 million tons last year, but with the high consumption of soybean oil, it has become the largest importer of soybean in the world.

Over the past 20 years, rice, wheat, corn and other crops have increased year by year, but the development of soybean industry has stagnated or even shrunk. By 2014, the sown area of soybeans continued to hit a new low of only 660 hectares.

Why are farmers less and less willing to grow soybeans? Professor Zhu Junfeng, School of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, said: first, the per unit yield of soybean varieties in China is generally not high, which is the deadliest factor for farmers. The per unit yield of soybeans in the United States is about 230kg per mu, while the difference in China is about 1/3. Second, our imports are mainly high-oil soybeans, with an oil production rate of 18-20%, while China's soybeans are high in protein, with an oil production rate of only about 15%.

Is it true that Chinese soybeans lack market competitiveness? From the two aspects of average income per mu and market benefit, domestic soybeans are lack of competitiveness, and farmers' income is not high, which is precisely the reason for the continuous shrinkage of soybean acreage in the past 20 years.

Average income per mu: now the market price of domestic soybeans is 3.7 yuan per kilogram, according to 160 kilograms per mu, the gross income per mu is less than 600 yuan, after deducting the cost, I am afraid there is little left. As the pilot project of soybean target price reform, the three provinces in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous region have implemented the separation of price compensation. Last year, the target price was set at 4800 yuan per ton, which means that the income of farmers per mu of land is close to 800 yuan. If corn is planted on the same plot, even if calculated according to the market price after the cancellation of temporary storage, it is about 1.50 yuan per kilogram of corn, the yield per mu is 700kg, and the average gross income per mu is more than 1000 yuan, which still has obvious advantages over soybean.

Market benefit: domestic soybeans produce less oil, while imported soybeans from the United States and Brazil are mainly high-oil genetically modified varieties, which are mainly used to extract oil, high oil yield and relatively low price, which quickly occupied the Chinese market. A barrel of 5 liters of genetically modified soybean oil is about 10-40 yuan cheaper than traditional soybean oil. It is especially easy to be favored by ordinary Chinese families, especially small restaurants and snack stalls.

However, this year, the Ministry of Agriculture clearly put forward the structural adjustment idea of "reducing corn and increasing soybeans," which is also a measure to implement supply-side reform in the agricultural sector at the national level.

With the marketization of corn price and the change of consumption concept, domestic non-GM soybeans are becoming more and more popular. I hope everyone can recognize the reality and seize the opportunity.

Which country should use soybeans instead of corn?

Corn is already the staple grain crop with the highest total yield in China, and it is also a "iron crop" in the eyes of farmers, but now there has been "excess capacity". In 2014, the Northeast of China began to carry out a pilot project of "grain and bean rotation" to encourage some local corn growers to grow soybeans and give them appropriate subsidies.

However, some people may still have questions: why do countries encourage the cultivation of soybeans in areas where corn is reduced? 1. The extroverted dependence of soybeans reaches 80%. 2, where we can grow soybeans, we are growing things we don't need. From a policy point of view, although the state attaches importance to grain production, it does not encourage farmers to grow grain as soon as they have land. On the one hand, contradictions arise: from the perspective of national industrial support, soybean is a traditional industry, and it is necessary to protect the competitiveness of domestic soybeans; while from the perspective of increasing farmers' income, the price of soybean is not high and the yield per mu is low, if there are other better choices, no one wants to plant soybeans. On the other hand, this is not contradictory: if the state wants to support the soybean industry and let domestic high-quality high-protein soybeans occupy a place in the market share, it must let farmers reap real benefits. In recent years, the state has also made efforts, such as relying on science and technology to increase the yield per mu of soybeans.

According to Professor Zhu Junfeng, at present, the soybean experimental field of Northeast Agricultural University has achieved a yield of more than 400 jin per mu, and the yield gap between the Northeast Agricultural University and the United States is narrowing.

In addition to being suitable for growing soybeans in northeast China, Shandong is also very suitable, and its protein content is 3% higher than that of northeastern soybeans. Therefore, as long as the use of high-quality varieties, we can achieve better benefits.

In addition, "grain and bean rotation" can not only look at the benefits of soybeans. On the one hand, reducing the use of chemical fertilizer, on the other hand, giving full play to the effect of soybean nitrogen fixation field is also good for improving the fertility of black soil. Through "grain and bean rotation" to achieve the goal of "storing grain in the ground".

A packet of spicy gluten points out the upgrading direction of domestic soybeans

During this year's G20 summit in Hangzhou, photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin holding up a bag of "made in China" spicy gluten with a smile on his face went viral. In fact, spicy gluten has long been exported to South Korea, Japan and Russia, and it may become popular all over the world in a few years. In this sense, the soybean industry, as a raw material of spicy gluten, is ushering in spring.

The fundamental reason for farmers' complaints about soybeans not making money is that they have not done a good job in the integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries.

And what are the specific ways of deep processing? Including tofu, soybean milk, bean paste, soybean products, soybean protein powder and so on. As long as we can find more "next" and "export" for soybeans and process them into more high-quality and delicious processed foods, soybeans will have a good market and their prices will rise.

Future policy subsidies may be expected

Judging from the current situation, based on the experience of three years' experience of soybean target price pilot in the three provinces of Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, it does not rule out that it will be promoted throughout the country in the future, and the standard of subsidy will be further raised.

Zhu Junfeng, a professor at the School of Economics and Management of China Agricultural University, believes that farmers think that the price of soybeans is not cost-effective, so even if the national slogan is loudly shouted, ordinary people still do not grow. So I think the target price can be set a little higher and give more subsidies to the common people. However, under the dual conditions of market pricing, separation of price and compensation, and corn disaster this year, the proportion of soybeans planted should be increased.