Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 20th Question: How to grasp the "rice bag" and "vegetable basket" under the challenge of epidemic situation?
Xinhua News Agency reporter Yu Wenjing
Grain Rain is busy planting grain in season. At present, the spring ploughing and sowing in China has entered a critical period, and the epidemic situation has brought challenges to agricultural production. How to ensure that the farming season is not delayed? How to grasp the "rice bag" and "vegetable basket"? How to ensure farmers’ employment and income increase? At the press conference held by the State Council Office on the 20th, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs responded.
Rice bag: spring sowing in spring tube is progressing well in general.
The recent epidemic situation has had a certain impact on spring ploughing production in many places. What is the current situation? Is the "rice bag" guaranteed?
According to the data released at the meeting, the progress of spring sowing in spring tube is generally good. At present, the proportion of first-class and second-class seedlings of winter wheat is 87.9%, which is 17.4 percentage points higher than before winter and 3.7 percentage points lower than the same period of last year. The growth is basically the same as normal, which has a foundation for winning a bumper harvest of summer grain. This year, the intended planting area of spring-sown grain is 940 million mu, which is an increase over the previous year. At present, over 20% of spring-sown grain, 70% of early rice planting and 70% of rice seedling raising in Northeast China are faster than last year.
On April 12, farmers in Yangwan Village, Cailing Town, duchang county, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province drove agricultural machinery to work in the field. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Fu Jianbin)
Some places have reported that the closure of the epidemic situation has caused the flow of people, the distribution of agricultural materials and the circulation of agricultural products to be blocked.
Pan Wenbo, director of the Plantation Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that the impact on spring ploughing production was partial and limited. This round of epidemic is mainly concentrated in cities, while farmers are working in the field, with less risk. At present, the preparation for spring ploughing has come to an end, the progress of agricultural materials has passed 90%, and the supply is generally guaranteed. The order of agricultural production in key areas involved in the epidemic has gradually recovered. For example, agricultural materials in Jilin have basically arrived at stores, rice seedling raising is coming to an end, and some areas are already scrambling to sow corn.
Pan Wenbo said that in some places, the prevention and control of epidemic situation has been simplified, which has caused inconvenience to agricultural production. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued relevant notices, put forward eight measures to solve outstanding problems, set up special classes for agricultural materials supply, set up hotline and WeChat WeChat official account to solve difficulties point to point.
He said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, under the leadership of the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, will work with relevant departments to make overall plans for epidemic prevention and control and spring ploughing production, and compact local territorial responsibilities. If spring ploughing production, agricultural materials and agricultural machinery transportation and the supply of "vegetable basket" products are seriously hindered due to overweight, simplicity and rudeness, and ineffective work, relevant localities and personnel should be seriously investigated for responsibility according to laws and regulations.
"Vegetable Basket": Five Measures to Stabilize Production and Ensure Supply
Recently, some vegetable varieties in some areas with serious epidemic have increased greatly. How to strengthen the stable production and supply of "vegetable basket" products?
Chen Ping, head of the Department of Market and Information Technology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that according to the perennial law, after the Spring Festival, as the temperature rises, the amount of vegetables on the market increases, and the price will fall seasonally. The fall of vegetable prices this spring is slower than normal, mainly due to adverse weather, rising costs and epidemic situation.
According to reports, in early April, the area of vegetables in China increased by nearly 3 million mu year-on-year, and the output increased by more than 1 million tons year-on-year. The total supply of meat, eggs, milk, fish, fruits and vegetables is sufficient.
On April 15, citizens bought vegetables in a supermarket in Chengbei District, Xining City, Qinghai Province. Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Huihuang photo
Due to the multi-point spread of the epidemic, some areas have encountered problems such as difficulty in harvesting fields and inadequate logistics and distribution. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, in conjunction with relevant departments, timely dispatched the production and supply situation of 36 large and medium-sized cities, and organized the wholesale markets of key agricultural products to ensure joint supply.
Chen Ping said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with relevant departments, will focus on five aspects: the production and smooth circulation of "vegetable basket" products, the supply guarantee in key areas, the docking of production and marketing, and the mayor’s responsibility system for compacting "vegetable basket".
In terms of strengthening production, agricultural and rural departments will rationally arrange mature varieties of vegetables and market stubble to promote the development of fast-growing leafy vegetables and sprout vegetables in large and medium-sized cities. Ensure the normal transportation and marketing order of livestock and poultry and aquatic products out of the pond, smooth the supply and transportation of livestock and poultry (seedlings) and feed and the transition of bee breeding, and guide the large-scale business entities to carry out mutual assistance and cooperation to ensure production and harvesting.
Increasing farmers’ income: industrial employment and entrepreneurship "catch three industries at once"
In the first quarter of this year, farmers’ income maintained a growth momentum, but the spread of the epidemic also brought a lot of uncertainty to the future employment income.
The data released at the meeting showed that the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the first quarter was 5,778 yuan, a real increase of 6.3% after deducting the price factor, which was 2.1 percentage points higher than the income growth rate of urban residents. The total number of migrant workers in rural areas and the wage level have achieved double growth. The total number of migrant workers has reached 178 million, up 2.2% year-on-year, and the average monthly wage has reached 4,436 yuan, up 5.9% year-on-year.
Zeng Yande, chief agronomist of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and director of the Development Planning Department, said that there were two factors for the rapid growth of farmers’ income in the first quarter: first, migrant workers brought back cash for the holidays before the Spring Festival, which increased their wage income; second, the market price of agricultural products increased steadily, which increased the family operational income.
He said that the current epidemic situation has had a certain impact on farmers’ employment and sales of agricultural products. The price of agricultural materials has continued to rise, pushing up production costs and affecting farmers’ income. The next step is to increase farmers’ income by developing rural industries, promoting farmers’ employment and stabilizing their jobs, and promoting rural entrepreneurship and expanding channels to stabilize farmers’ income.
On April 19th, farmers harvested Tricholoma matsutake in the bamboo forest of Huilong Village, Baoyuan Township, Chishui City, Guizhou Province. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zhang Peng)
Zeng Yande said that in terms of industry, it is necessary to develop agricultural products processing industry, at the same time, based on rural resources, expand various functions of agriculture, tap the diversified values of rural areas, promote the combination of agriculture and tourism, actively develop rural e-commerce, strengthen the development of characteristic industries in poverty-stricken areas, and speed up the shortcomings of technology, facilities, marketing and talents; In terms of employment, the number of migrant workers in the first quarter reached 178 million, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will work with relevant departments to increase skills training and strengthen employment guidance services.