After completion, the high-standard farmland can generally increase the production capacity by about 10%, which has played an important role in stabilizing China's rice bowl
At present, the measures for the management and protection of high-standard farmland engineering facilities have solicited local opinions for many times, and are soliciting the opinions of relevant departments, and have an important guiding role in strengthening the management and protection of farmland construction in various localities after promulgation
"Lookout" Newsweek reporter Wu Jiangmin
In early spring, in Tongjiatun Village, Qinghe District, Tieling City, Liaoning Province, excavators swing their long arms to pick up canals, and workers carry stones to build revetments to build drainage and irrigation ditches for this sloping farmland. Before the official spring ploughing at the end of April, this high-standard farmland will alleviate the problem of soil erosion on sloping farmland.
The construction of high-standard farmland is a major measure to improve the overall quality of cultivated land on the mainland and consolidate the foundation of food security.
At present, the number of high-standard farmland construction in mainland China is increasing year by year, but there are still insufficient capital investment, poor construction quality, and lack of long-term management and protection in some areas.
In the field of Changtu County, Liaoning Province, agricultural machinery is carrying out straw removal operations (photo taken on March 27, 2024) Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Changtu County Party Committee
More than half of the cultivated land has been built into high-standard farmland
Walking into Guanyingzi Village, Yusi Town, Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County, Liaoning Province, the terraced fields wind along the mountain. This small mountain village in northwest Liaoning Province has been in drought for nine times in ten years, and the corn harvest is low all year round. Once the harvest encounters autumn rain, the mountain roads are muddy, and the agricultural machinery cannot be driven up the mountain, which will affect the grain production. In 2022, 2,950 acres of high-standard farmland will be built here.
"You see, it used to be all 'pimp fields'. Zhang Qingnian, secretary of the party branch of Guanyingzi Village, pointed to the terraced fields on the hillside and said that now, the original scattered small fields have been merged into large fields, dirt roads have become cement roads, and agricultural machinery can go up the mountain, digging ditches, ridges, and sowing seeds in one go. Now the grain output of some plots has doubled, and the yield of corn per mu has exceeded 1,600 catties.
Small fields and large fields, grain fields become fertile fields. In recent years, the pace of construction of high-standard farmland on the mainland has accelerated significantly. Data shows that in 2018, the mainland built more than 600 million mu of high-standard farmland, accounting for less than one-third of the cultivated area. In 2022, a total of 1 billion mu of high-standard farmland has been built across the country, accounting for more than half of the mainland's 1.918 billion mu of cultivated land.
Behind the acceleration of construction is the mainland's urgent need to build fertile land to ensure grain production. The quality of cultivated land in the mainland is generally not high, and in the context of the growth of domestic grain demand, it is particularly important to improve the infrastructure conditions of farmland and create high-standard farmland.
In 2021, the National Plan for High-standard Farmland Construction (2021-2030) (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") was announced, encouraging all localities to reflect local characteristics and carry out special, self-selected and creative work according to local conditions.
The salinization of cultivated land in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is more prominent. Over the years, the local government has promoted nine comprehensive utilization technologies of saline-alkali land in the three major irrigation areas of Hetao, Tumochuan and Xiliaohe, and gradually explored a variety of typical practices of high-standard farmland with regional characteristics, such as high-efficiency water-saving, dryland agriculture and land improvement.
In Henan Province, a major grain province, periodic droughts occur from time to time. In the construction of high-standard farmland demonstration area, Henan vigorously promotes water-saving irrigation, "retains water from the sky, uses more surface water, saves groundwater", and solves the "contradiction between grain and water". The 2024 Henan Provincial Government Work Report proposes to continue to build 4.5 million mu of high-standard farmland demonstration areas.
"These creative efforts to target weak links have made the construction of high-standard farmland in various places higher and more distinctive. Liu Yanhua, a professor at the College of Water Conservancy of Shenyang Agricultural University, said that from the practice of various places, the high-standard farmland after completion can generally increase the production capacity by about 10%, which has played an important role in stabilizing China's rice bowl.
In some areas, the construction and management of high-standard farmland is insufficient
Nowadays, the fragmented fields in the past are gradually connected and the yield is increasing, but the construction and management of high-standard farmland in some areas still needs to be improved.
In a high-standard farmland built for more than ten years in a major grain-producing province, in order to meet the irrigation needs of local farmland, the project builder built several reservoirs with the standard of one reservoir on 600 acres of land. However, the reporter found that some reservoirs could not see water, and there were no pumps, water pipes and other supporting facilities. The secretary of the local village party branch said: "When the reservoir was built, there were no supporting facilities, and the farmers themselves could not use it, so the reservoir became a 'furnishing'." ”
Industry insiders said that the construction of high-standard farmland in some places on the mainland started early, and there are some problems left over from history. For example, the process lacks standardization and the construction system is immature. Before 2018, high-standard farmland was managed by multiple departments such as land and resources, agriculture, and water conservancy, and there was a lack of unified norms and standards for the construction process.
"Taking acceptance as an example, in the past, the acceptance of high-standard farmland was to extract 10% of the road section acceptance, and some construction entities only built part of the road section, which affected the quality of high-standard farmland construction. Agricultural grassroots cadres said.
Another example is that the investment standard is low, and the construction funds are not in place in time. The plan proposes that the average investment per mu of high-standard farmland construction in the country should generally gradually reach about 3,000 yuan. It is understood that in the actual construction, in some mountainous areas, the project is complex, and the construction demand of some plots is higher than 3,000 yuan. At present, the per mu input in some major grain-producing provinces is lower than this level.
In addition, after the issuance of high-standard farmland funds in a few areas, due to the shortage of financial funds, they could not be issued to the project party as scheduled. Some project parties leave 10% or key projects not completed, and wait for the final construction to be carried out after the project funds are in place, which affects the implementation of relevant policies.
Starting from the capital to achieve "good land and good use"
The key is to strengthen the management and protection of high-standard farmland after construction and ensure funding channels. In recent years, various localities have explored some useful experiences from the management and protection of funds.
In 2019, Shenyang innovatively implemented a high-standard farmland "damage project insurance", and the winning bidder needs to purchase the "damage project insurance" according to the requirements of the insurance rate of 5% of the winning bid amount and the insurance period of 10 years, and sign the insurance contract first, and then sign the construction contract. If something goes wrong, the insurance company is responsible for repairing the damaged works. At present, "damage project insurance" has been rolled out in all districts and counties of Shenyang.
The relevant person in charge of the Shenyang Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that before the reform of agricultural institutions, the financial department was responsible for the management and protection of high-standard farmland, and the state, city, and county levels set aside 7 percent of the total investment in the year to carry out engineering restoration of damaged high-standard farmland. After the institutional reform, the management responsibilities of comprehensive agricultural development projects have been integrated into the newly established Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and relevant policies are being formulated.
To this end, the relevant departments in Shenyang proposed to let the project party take the initiative to give up part of the profits to buy insurance, and this idea was initially opposed, believing that the project party had a heavy burden.
With the support of relevant departments of Shenyang City, the Shenyang Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs cooperated with insurance companies to create the first "damage project insurance", which was piloted in Shenbei New District and Liaozhong District, and then gradually promoted to the whole city, breaking the original interest barriers, and successfully launched after opening up and achieving results.
In Bianfeng Village, Magang Street, Shenbei New District, Shenyang City, heavy rain in the summer of 2020 washed away 2,300 meters of high-standard farmland operation road. Under the communication in the village, the insurance company sent people to survey and assess the damage in a timely manner, and paid more than 10,000 yuan in compensation.
Represented by Shenyang, focusing on the problem of high-standard farmland construction and management, all localities have explored good practices in combination with actual conditions. Shandong Province will broaden the sources of construction funds and encourage financial and social capital to participate in the construction of high-standard farmland; Guangzhou and other places will raise funds for post-construction management and protection through various channels such as village collective economic returns; and Chengdu will explore a management and protection model that combines socialization and specialization to ensure the standardized and benign operation of the project.
Guo Yongtian, director of the Department of Farmland Construction Management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that at present, the management and protection measures for high-standard farmland engineering facilities have repeatedly solicited local opinions and are soliciting opinions from relevant departments. The measures clarify the subject, responsibility, standard and content of high-standard farmland management and protection, and play an important guiding role in strengthening the management and protection of farmland construction in various localities after promulgation.