Make up for the shortcomings of agricultural disaster prevention and mitigation work (Jintai line of sight, tighten the string of food security (3))

Source: People's Daily

Draft: Zhang Danfeng

■Strengthen capacity building and investment in agricultural disaster prevention, mitigation and relief

■ Repair the agricultural and water conservancy infrastructure damaged by flood damage, strengthen ditch dredging, and the construction and management of reservoirs and pumping stations

■ Strengthen the construction of monitoring and early warning systems for agricultural and rural areas, water conservancy, and meteorological disasters, and enhance the ability to respond to extreme weather

——Excerpted from the Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Key Work of Rural Revitalization in 2022

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in 2022, the total output of summer grain in the country will be 147.39 million tons, an increase of 1.434 million tons over the previous year, an increase of 1.0%, and the summer grain will achieve a bumper harvest.

As the summer harvest gradually enters the end, the summer sowing and summer pipe work is pressed forward, and the autumn grain production enters an important stage of growth and development and yield formation. At the same time, this is also a critical period for flood prevention and drought control, disaster prevention and mitigation. Recently, some readers have written to say that we should attach importance to and strengthen the work of preventing and reducing disasters in grain production, establish and improve the disaster prevention and reduction system, effectively deal with droughts, floods, diseases and pests, and other disasters, and ensure stable and abundant grain production throughout the year.

Improve the construction of agricultural water conservancy infrastructure, emergency material reserves and early warning mechanisms

A netizen in Shou County, Anhui Province, reflected on the "Leadership Message Board" of the People's Network that from the end of April to the beginning of May, the local area experienced two rounds of wind and rain, resulting in serious lodging of many wheat that had been filled. Mr. Cheng, a reader of Yongcheng City, Henan Province, reflected that xuehu town in Yongcheng City received heavy precipitation last year, and the water in the corn field was already serious, and the drainage ditch was not smooth, resulting in farmland being flooded.

While some places are suffering from floods, others are being affected by drought. Mr. Shu of Siqiaoping Village, Baoziba Town, Wenxian County, Gansu Province, reflected that this year's rainfall was relatively small, the shortage of crops was serious, and the villagers tried their best to water the land, "Some people had to use domestic water to water the land."

Meteorological changes are inevitable, but the long-term neglect of agricultural water conservancy infrastructure, insufficient reserves of emergency materials, and imperfect disaster early warning and forecasting mechanisms are also important reasons for the expansion of disaster losses.

Pei Yuwen, a reader in Lishu County, Jilin Province, wrote to say that since mid-to-late June this year, heavy rains have fallen in the local area, and crops have been seriously damaged. Pei Yuwen said that his area originally had good conditions for grain production, but decades ago, in order to control saline-alkali land and waterlogging disasters, the whole village built a large-scale farmland water conservancy infrastructure, and the drainage canals in all directions not only facilitated irrigation, but also alleviated the losses of flood disasters. However, in recent years, due to poor management and private occupation of farmland, water conservancy projects that were originally well-functioning have been destroyed, and the losses caused by disasters have been magnified. "The drainage ditches in the farmland and the drainage ditches in the villages lack the overall penetration, and when the rain is slightly heavier, the fields and villages will accumulate water, and some villagers' crops will be cut off or seriously reduced, and the houses in the villages will also be threatened." Pei Yuwen said.

At the beginning of this year, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Key Work of Rural Revitalization in 2022", pointing out that it is necessary to increase the capacity building and investment in agricultural disaster prevention, mitigation and relief. Repair the agricultural and water conservancy infrastructure damaged by flood damage, strengthen the dredging of ditches, and the construction and management of reservoirs and pumping stations. Strengthen the reserve of emergency materials for flood prevention and drought control. Strengthen the construction of monitoring and early warning systems for agricultural and rural areas, water conservancy, and meteorological disasters, and enhance the ability to respond to extreme weather.

Regarding the reserve of emergency materials, readers in Chengdu, Sichuan Suggested to Qiu qiu that emergency resources should be optimally allocated, coordinated and efficiently linked, and a rescue synergy should be formed to minimize disaster losses. At the same time, we should improve the emergency material reserve system, strive to distribute disaster relief materials to the masses in the shortest possible time, and reduce the impact of disasters on the people's lives and production.

Some readers have written to reflect that meteorological warnings are not timely, and there is no professional guidance, and they do not know how to use early warnings to make judgments. In this regard, Zhang Chao, a reader in Zhijiang City, Hubei Province, suggested that meteorological early warning should be notified in place, report the risks that have occurred at the first time, and organize the masses to participate in the prevention and disposal of natural disaster risks in an orderly manner. "We can consider using text messages, voice prompts, etc., to strengthen the predictive role of prompts." At the same time, we should further strengthen the guidance on disaster prevention and reduction. Zhang Chao said.

Popularize the safe use of pesticides and scientific grain storage knowledge, and put an end to the artificial destruction of cultivated land

Floods and droughts not only directly affect crop cultivation, but also easily cause secondary disasters such as pests and diseases.

A villager in Jiangkou Town, Ganxian County, Jiangxi Province, reported that last year, the local sweet potato production was seriously reduced, and some plots even stopped harvesting, mainly because of serious insect pests, and the recovered crops were full of insect eyes. According to expert analysis, the local sweet potato production reduction is mainly due to the continuous drought from September to October, the soil cracks, which is conducive to the breeding of sweet potato small elephant beetles, and the concealment is strong, and farmers have not prevented it in time.

Pesticide spraying is an important way to inhibit the occurrence of pests and diseases. Some villagers believe that a large amount of medicine can play a role in eliminating pests and diseases, and the amount of medicine is often 2-3 times more than the actual amount needed.

Fan Jinju, a reader in Anyang County, Henan Province, wrote that after the wheat was harvested, villagers sprayed herbicides in the fields, but the pesticide bottles after use were littered everywhere. The environmental impact of pesticide waste threatens ecological safety, and the residual chemical agents such as powders, granules and emulsions in packaging will cause diffusion pollution to soil and water sources, and continue to endanger the safety of agricultural products.

In this regard, Yang Guangan, a reader in Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province, suggested that the relevant departments should arrange technical personnel to provide scientific guidance on the use of pesticides, and popularize the knowledge of the safe use of pesticides to villagers to reduce the side effects of pesticides. At the same time, it is recommended to do a good job in the green prevention and control of crop diseases and insect pests, promote biological control, reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, timely recycle agricultural film and pesticide packaging, and strictly implement the responsibilities of recycling units and personnel.

Some people's efforts to damage the arable land environment have aggravated the damage caused by disasters. Some readers have written to reflect that some local farmland is used to build farms, and aquaculture sewage is often discharged into ditches and farmland, resulting in a reduction in farmland production and more and more insect pests.

Disasters such as floods, droughts, pests and diseases occur not only during the harvest of food, but also during the storage of food. Many villagers are accustomed to storing grain at home, and it is of great significance to popularize the knowledge of scientific grain storage to the villagers. Yin Xiaogang, an associate professor at the College of Agronomy at China Agricultural University, said that storage schemes can be formulated according to the types of crops. For example, corn is harvested directly from the grain and can be sold directly; The moisture content of soybeans is low when harvested, and they can also be sent directly to the warehouse after harvesting to reduce drying links. For rice and wheat, supporting drying equipment is key. At the same time, it is recommended to improve the construction of agricultural auxiliary facilities, plan warehouses, grain drying yards and other sites to facilitate farmers to store grain.

Strengthen agricultural insurance claims, build high-standard farmland, and minimize disaster losses

The development of agricultural insurance is conducive to helping farmers withstand the losses caused by natural disasters. In recent years, the mainland's agricultural insurance has developed rapidly, but it is still facing many problems, and the peasants' willingness is not strong, the motivation of enterprises is insufficient, and the government does not attach enough importance to it.

At present, the amount of agricultural insurance claims is limited, resulting in farmers' reluctance to participate in insurance. Sichuan Guang'an City, ChenShuxiang, reflected on the "Leadership Message Board" of the People's Network that he participated in agricultural insurance at the beginning of this year and thought it was a good thing, but he had not received a receipt and insurance contract after paying the money. In June, the local area suffered heavy winds and rain, and the seedlings in the fields were damaged. Yu Shuxiang went to the insurance company to settle the claim, but was told that "the conditions for the claim were not met". Mr. Bai of Qingyang City, Gansu Province, said that last year he bought agricultural insurance for 300 mu of white melon seeds planted, but later due to pests and diseases, the harvest was almost cut off. But in the process of settling the claim, he disagreed with the insurance company about the amount of insurance, "I went to the insurance company many times, they blamed each other, no one solved the matter, and so far there is no claim."

Yu Guozhu, a professor at the School of Finance of the Capital University of Economics and Business, said that the amount of insurance is the main factor affecting farmers' willingness to purchase agricultural insurance, and if the amount of insurance compensation after the disaster is low and the cash is not cashed in time, the willingness of farmers to participate in insurance will be significantly reduced. For the sake of operating costs, insurance companies are often unwilling to underwrite targets with higher risks, high insurance rates or high loss rates, which may reduce compensation, which is an important reason for the unspeakable development and promotion of agricultural insurance in some areas. New business entities such as large grain growers and cooperatives have a higher enthusiasm for insurance, and they have higher needs for risk management and control.

At present, the mainland has expanded the scope of implementation of the full cost insurance and planting income insurance for the three major grain crops of rice, wheat, and corn, which basically allows the insured peasant households to "guarantee the harvest from drought and floods," which has greatly increased the enthusiasm of the peasants to participate in the insurance. "However, the corresponding subsidy funds in individual localities cannot be in place, which affects the insurance coverage rate of these large grain-producing counties." Yu Guozhu believes that multiple measures should be taken to promote the development of agricultural insurance on the mainland. The central government should continue to increase its support for agricultural insurance, and at the same time, agricultural insurance in various provinces should also arrange appropriate financial subsidy funds, implement differentiated policies for rates, and meet and support local agricultural insurance development subsidy needs. When implementing it specifically, we should pay attention to standardizing participation in agricultural insurance activities, putting an end to forced insurance, interfering in pricing, intercepting and misappropriating subsidy funds, and maintaining the health and sustainable development of agricultural insurance.

On July 22, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs held a video conference to promote the work of agricultural disaster prevention and mitigation and autumn grain harvest, emphasizing the need to focus on improving the ability of agricultural disaster prevention and reduction in the long run, accelerate the construction and transformation of high-standard farmland, focus on improving irrigation and drainage capacity, and arrange construction tasks and project layout in a targeted manner. Strengthen the construction of agricultural disaster prevention and reduction systems and mechanisms, establish normalized emergency service teams, and build a long-term mechanism for agricultural disaster prevention and reduction.

In recent years, some local meteorological departments have cooperated with agricultural departments to strengthen agricultural meteorological early warning. The Jiangxi Provincial Agricultural Meteorological Center and the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly promoted the meteorological applicable technology of "early rice sowing", guided farmers to sow early rice scientifically and in a timely manner, effectively resisted the adverse weather effects such as low temperature, rain and lack of light, and achieved increased production and efficiency. The meteorological department of Jiangxi Province also uses the "Internet + Agriculture" action to realize the interconnection and interconnection of platforms such as "Jiangxi Micro-agriculture" and "Jiangxi Agriculture and Rural Areas", "12316", "Jiangxi Early Warning Release" and township meteorological workstations, promote the real-time release of agricultural meteorological service information through multiple channels, and expand the coverage of agricultural meteorological services.

(Guo Xuan participated in the writing)