Bird flu setbacks aquaculture experts call for increasing subsidies for large-scale agricultural production

A sudden outbreak of bird flu highlights the importance of increasing agricultural subsidies.

According to the reporter, since April this year, the aquaculture industry has been significantly affected in the areas where the bird flu epidemic has occurred. Many small farmers are struggling, and large farmers are supported by coolies. Some farmers not only lose all their money, but also accumulate for several years. Experts appeal that if the poultry industry under the influence of bird flu does not have corresponding supportive policies and measures to remedy and keep up, not only farmers will be badly hit, but the poultry consumption market in the second half of the year will also be greatly affected.

Therefore, it is very necessary to increase agricultural production subsidies, including farmers, timely and appropriately. Judging from the subsidy measures in various places after the outbreak of bird flu this year, some places give certain compensation to each poultry culled in the live poultry market, basically ensuring that they will not lose money; some places give corresponding subsidies to farms at one time to minimize the losses of farmers; and some places give certain subsidies to breeding birds in order to reduce the impact of poultry supply after the market resumes, but there is no subsidy for non-breeding birds. These measures, to a certain extent, made up for the loss of farmers, so that the confidence of farmers will not be seriously hit, and played a positive role in the recovery and development of the market in the later stage.

Financial subsidy has an obvious, direct and positive effect on farmers. However, after all, the strength and breadth of direct financial subsidies are limited, especially when dealing with sudden "natural and man-made disasters" such as bird flu, how to increase agricultural subsidies needs several more ways and means. Agricultural insurance is the most effective and direct path. In this bird flu epidemic, some places have made certain compensation to farmers through agricultural insurance. However, generally speaking, at present, the strength of agricultural insurance is limited and its coverage is narrow, so it does not play a great role in ensuring agricultural production.

Why is this? In addition to the inherent weak characteristics of agricultural production, such as being easily affected by natural factors such as weather and various diseases and insect pests, this time bird flu is an example, as well as various factors such as small income from agricultural insurance and difficulties in compensation. Therefore, as a commercial insurance company, it is lack of enthusiasm for agricultural insurance. In order to solve these problems, China regards agricultural insurance as policy insurance, and the government finance has different amounts of support for agricultural insurance. However, in practice, due to the different degrees of financial wealth and understanding of the importance of agricultural insurance, the support and support for agricultural insurance is also uneven. As an insurance company, there are also problems such as different degrees of understanding of the importance of agricultural insurance, so in practice, it has formed a positive development of insurance types with large profits, and a lack of enthusiasm for the promotion and development of agricultural insurance, such as relatively small profits. resulting in agricultural insurance policies, lack of means.

It is a common practice for countries all over the world to increase support and protection for agriculture through agricultural subsidies. In recent years, the intensity of agricultural subsidies in China has gradually increased, but compared with the developed countries, the subsidy rules allowed by the WTO, and the actual requirements of China's agricultural development, there is still a large distance and more space. The relative lag of agricultural insurance is only one of them. Therefore, the outbreak of avian flu should promote our understanding of how to cope with the high cost of agriculture and defuse the high risk of agriculture. With the continuous growth of national and local financial resources, we have more conditions to gradually expand agricultural subsidies and improve the subsidy mechanism, and various localities should also take measures in accordance with local conditions to make agricultural subsidies an effective policy tool for agricultural development and farmers' benefit. Qu Changfu