An incident in Weiqiu Township, Yanjin County, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, sparked widespread discussion and controversy over farmers' rights and regulations and local government management policies. During the busy autumn harvest season, some farmers decided to use agricultural machinery to harvest peanuts, hoping to improve the harvesting efficiency to ensure that the peanut pellets of peanut ripening could be returned to the warehouse in time. However, local government workers stopped the farmers, giving a series of reasons, such as claiming that leaders had come to inspect and that the dust was too big. This led to confusion and questioning among farmers.
The farmers' point of view is clear, they believe that the use of farm machinery is justified. This practice not only improves production efficiency, but also helps to ensure the quality of agricultural products. If they are not allowed to use agricultural machinery without providing replacement measures, then who should bear the responsibility for the peanuts that ripen and rot in the ground when they miss the farming season?
The reasons given by local government workers seem untenable. They claim that the operation of agricultural machinery produces fugitive dust, which can have an impact on the environment, especially on air quality. However, this view lacks scientific basis and is inconsistent with the actual situation. Agricultural machinery operations produce a certain amount of dust, but it is difficult to think that this will pollute the atmosphere. On the contrary, modern agricultural machinery has been designed with reduced environmental impact in mind, using efficient filtration systems and technologies to reduce emissions. Therefore, it seems unreasonable to link agricultural machinery operations to air pollution.
In addition, if farmers do not have access to farm machinery, they will have to resort to traditional human labor, which is not only inefficient, but can also have a negative impact on the health of farmers. Therefore, local governments should take this into account and provide reasonable support and guidance to farmers, rather than simply banning them from using agricultural machinery.