France has superior natural climatic conditions, suitable for the growth of a variety of crops, it is the largest agricultural producer in the European Union, but also the world's second largest exporter of agri-food. Its degree of agricultural specialization and scientific and technological development is in the leading position in the world. France's agricultural business model is mainly based on small and medium-sized farms with an area of less than 80 hectares, and the "intensive farming" business model puts forward higher requirements for the degree of modernization of agriculture.
At present, France's agricultural information system presents the characteristics of "trinity", the government, agricultural cooperative organizations and private enterprises jointly undertake the service function of agricultural information construction, the division of labor of these three parties has its own focus, farmers can choose one of the information technology support according to their actual needs. In this issue<现代农业服务全球展播>, focus on France~
Complete information infrastructure
After years of development, the French agricultural information database is now very complete, and its domestic agricultural information is mainly collected, summarized and published by agricultural departments at all levels. In terms of categories, the database covers various agricultural fields, including planting, fisheries, animal husbandry, agricultural processing, etc. Judging from the development trend in recent years, French agricultural information is focusing on creating a "big agriculture" data system, including high-tech research and development, commercial market consulting, legal policy guarantees, and Internet applications and other industries that seem to have nothing to do with agriculture are included in this "big agriculture" data system.
Under the impetus of the French government, French farmers can learn about basic agricultural information on the Internet without leaving their homes. At the same time, the market spontaneously produced a number of agricultural professional associations, and the websites of these associations will also provide paid, more detailed and professional agricultural information. As a result, French farmers can adjust the categories and yields of farm products in a timely manner after obtaining detailed agricultural information to maximize efficiency.
Specialized production has contributed to the increase in the rate of agricultural commodities
French agriculture used to be dominated by a subsistence smallholder economy, and the degree of specialization of agricultural production was very low. After the Second World War, agricultural modernization was carried out in an all-round way, and the degree of specialization of agricultural production also increased. French agricultural specialization can be summarized into three types: regional specialization, farm specialization and operational specialization. In terms of regional specialization, in order to make full use of natural conditions and agricultural resources, different crops and livestock production will be rationally laid out to form specialized commodity production areas. For example, wheat production in the Paris Basin wheat produced 1/3 of the country's wheat production, and the Nord-Picardy-Champagne beet region accounted for the sugar beet planting area in the country. The area of sugar beets is 73.2%, the Livestock Production Base in Brittany provides 40% of the national pork production, 30% of the poultry meat and 32% of the beef, and the potato production of the northern Picardi potato producing region accounts for 50% of the total national production.
In terms of farm specialization, according to the business content, it can be roughly divided into livestock farms, grain farms, grape farms, fruit farms, vegetable farms, etc., and most of the professional farms operate a product. The operation of the specialized farm is to complete all the work completed by a farm in the past, such as farming, field management, harvesting, transportation, storage, marketing, etc., which are undertaken by enterprises outside the farm, so that the farm changes from the original self-sufficient production to commercial production.
Develop agricultural industries and promote agricultural mechanization
From 1950 onwards, France actively promoted agricultural mechanization, and by 1970 it was fully mechanized. In 21 years, French farmers have nearly 9-fold increase in tractors and 32-fold harvesters. The mechanization and automation of agriculture has greatly improved the labor productivity of farmers, reduced the intensity of labor, and enabled farmers to carry out diversified operations. In order to continuously improve the performance of agricultural machinery, France has set up a special research center for clothing machinery. Unlike many other countries with market economies, the French Government is directly involved in the production of agricultural means of production, and agricultural machinery sold on the French market must hold a license issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Attach importance to the popularization and popularization of agricultural science and technology
After the Second World War, France actively adopted advanced agricultural science and technology, and reached a high level in agricultural technologies such as fine seeds, agricultural machinery, and fertilization. The Government attaches great importance to investment in agricultural intelligence, including agricultural education, vocational training, development, research and technical assistance. Between 1982 and 1986, the total amount of intellectual investment in agriculture increased from 3.53 billion francs to 5.09 billion francs, and its share in the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture increased from 34.5 per cent to 36.8 per cent. France's central and local governments, agricultural industry organizations and industrial enterprises have all participated in the promotion and popularization of agricultural technology from their own different perspectives, and a three-dimensional promotion network of agricultural machinery, pesticides, fertilizers, fine seeds and advanced agronomy has been formed throughout France. Between 1949 and 1968, French farmers spontaneously organized more than 1,300 "agricultural technology research centers" to learn new agricultural technologies. In addition, the State has established the National Agricultural Progress Fund, the National Council for Agricultural Extension and Progress and the provincial committees, and in 1959 the Agricultural Extension Charter was promulgated.
Diversified agricultural services
In France's "trinity" model, the government, agricultural cooperative organizations and private enterprises as the main body of service provision, cooperate with each other, learn from each other's strengths, give full play to their respective advantages, and make France's agricultural information service system meticulous and comprehensive.
First, the French government dominates public agricultural services, including the regular publication of agricultural production information, the control of the normal order of agricultural production and marketing, and the provision of the latest production recommendations to domestic farmers according to the price changes of international commodities and major agricultural products. The French Ministry of Agriculture is mainly responsible for this area, but other ministries, including the French Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will also provide information support.
Secondly, the forms of agricultural cooperatives in France are diverse and numerous, but each organization has a clear functional orientation and a semi-official color. Due to the flexible form of agricultural cooperatives, most of them are in the "front line" of exchanges with farmers, which has played an indispensable role in the development of French agriculture.
Finally, private enterprises do not occupy a major position in France's agricultural information service system, but they are still an important supplementary force. In recent years, private enterprises serving agricultural informatization have gradually highlighted their importance, and the more "customized" service model of private enterprises has exempted many farmers from the worries of production and further improved agricultural production efficiency.
【Source】Modern agricultural services
【Edit】Luo Jianrong