On the morning of April 19, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the operation of the agricultural and rural economy in the first quarter of 2024.
According to the agricultural dispatch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, nearly two percent of the country's spring sowing grain has been completed, and the progress is slightly faster than the same period last year. Among them, early rice has been planted in seventy percent, and corn and soybeans have been sown in one percent. This year's winter wheat area increased steadily, with 91 percent of the first and second types of seedlings, and the growth was better than that of the previous year and better than that of the normal year; the area of winter rape increased slightly, and the proportion of the first and second types of seedlings was 85.1 percent, which was better than that of the previous year and was comparable to that of the normal year. On the whole, the grain and oil production situation this summer is good, and there is a good foundation for a bumper harvest.
According to the press conference, the development momentum of rural industries in the first quarter was good. From January to March, the added value of the agricultural and sideline food processing industry above designated size increased by 3.3% year-on-year. Rural leisure tourism continues to heat up, and e-commerce of agricultural products grows rapidly. In the first quarter, rural construction and governance were also making solid progress. As of the end of March, a total of 614,000 projects had been stored in the county-level rural construction project database, and 250.74 billion yuan of project funds had been implemented.
Li Jinghui, a member of the party group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, introduced at the press conference that since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has been guided by the experience of learning and applying the "Ten Million Project", making every effort to do a good job in agricultural production in winter and spring, keeping the bottom line of not returning to poverty on a large scale, and coordinating the promotion of rural industrial development, rural construction and rural governance, and maintaining a good momentum of development of agricultural and rural economy.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency
The foundation for a bumper harvest of grain and oil in summer is good
The area of grain sown in spring accounts for more than half of the whole year, and the output accounts for about 60% of the whole year. According to the agricultural dispatch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, as of April 18, the area of grain crops sown in spring across the country was 190 million mu, accounting for 19.8% of the planned area, and the sowing progress was 0.5 percentage points faster than that of the same period last year. According to the agricultural dispatch, the intended planting area of grain this year is more than 1.78 billion mu, an increase over the previous year.
Pan Wenbo, director of the Planting Industry Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, introduced at the press conference that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs focuses on three aspects: stabilizing the area, increasing yields and grasping disaster prevention, to ensure spring plowing and spring sowing production.
In terms of stabilizing the area, this year, the state will continue to increase support for grain production, increase the minimum purchase price of wheat and early indica rice, stabilize subsidies for corn and soybean producers, expand the scale of funds for grain yield improvement projects, and continue to implement the full coverage of wheat "one spray and three preventions", and subsidies for the construction of centralized rice seedling raising facilities in southern China, so as to stabilize farmers' expectations for grain income. At the same time, during the spring sowing period, the soil moisture in most areas of the country is suitable, and the reservoir pond water storage is relatively sufficient, which is conducive to full planting.
In terms of yield, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs anchored a new round of 100 billion catties of grain production capacity improvement action goals, focusing on soybeans, corn, wheat, rice, rape and other major crops, promoting the integration of good land, good seeds, good opportunities, good laws, and good systems.
In terms of disaster prevention and mitigation. The meteorological department predicts that this year's agricultural meteorological year will be generally deviated, and floods may be heavier than droughts, and extreme weather events will occur frequently. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, in conjunction with multiple departments and sub-regions, crops and disaster species, has formulated disaster prevention and mitigation plans and technical plans, made material reserves and technical preparations, and dispatched working groups and science and technology teams to the main producing areas and hard-hit areas in a timely manner to guide the implementation of key technical measures for disaster prevention and mitigation.
Summer grain and summer oil is the first season of annual grain production, and the summer grain output accounts for more than 1/5 of the annual grain output, and summer oil accounts for 4 percent of the annual oil crops.
Pan Wenbo said that at present, the winter wheat in the north is jointing and booting, the winter wheat in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has been tasseled and flowered, and the winter wheat in the southwest region has begun to fill and mature, and the winter rape has also entered the filling maturity period.
Pan Wenbo said that this year's winter wheat area is stable and slightly increased, and the winter rape area is expected to increase by more than 2 million mu, and the growth of winter wheat and winter rape seedlings is better than that of the previous year. The general judgment is that the grain and oil production situation this summer is good, and a good foundation has been laid for a bumper harvest.
At present, rapeseed has been harvested from south to north, and there are about 40 days before the large-scale harvest of winter wheat. Pan Wenbo said that in the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will focus on three things: insects and grains, fertilizer and water regulation and control, and grain harvest, and make every effort to seize a bumper harvest of grain and oil in summer.
Promote the upgrading of the whole chain of rural industries
Improving the level of rural industry development, rural construction and rural governance is an important direction deployed in the No. 1 Central Document this year.
Li Jinghui introduced at the press conference that rural construction and governance were solidly promoted in the first quarter. As of the end of March, a total of 614,000 projects had been included in the county-level rural construction project database, with a total of 250.74 billion yuan in project funds.
Li Jinghui said that since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has focused on key industries, built platform carriers, strengthened guidance services, and promoted the development of rural industries. The profit income of agricultural product processing enterprises above designated size has increased relatively rapidly, and the realized profits are also considerable. Rural characteristic industries such as fruits, vegetables, tea mushrooms, and medicines have developed rapidly, and rural leisure tourism such as flower viewing is relatively popular.
Judging from the data, the agricultural product processing industry developed steadily, and the added value of the agricultural and sideline food processing industry above designated size increased by 3.3% year-on-year from January to March. In March, the PMI of the national key leading enterprises of agricultural industrialization was 56.5%, and the confidence in the development of enterprises increased. Rural leisure tourism continues to heat up, and e-commerce of agricultural products grows rapidly. Optimize the implementation of agricultural industry integration development projects to drive more farmers to work in the local area.
Li Jinghui said that in the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will guide all localities to rely on rural characteristic resources to develop multiple functions of agriculture, explore the multiple values of rural areas, and promote the upgrading of the whole chain of rural industries.
The first is to develop the processing and supplement chain. The implementation of the national agricultural product processing industry promotion action, mainly grasp the bulk agricultural products and special agricultural products. In terms of bulk agricultural products, we will focus on the construction of primary processing facilities such as pre-cooling, fresh-keeping and drying, and selection and grading in the production area, transform and upgrade intensive processing, and promote processing transformation and value-added. In terms of special agricultural products, the focus is on promoting variety cultivation, quality improvement, brand building and standardized production, accelerating the supply chain extension, and promoting the integration of production and marketing, and the integration of agriculture, culture and tourism.
The second is to build a strong platform leader. Optimize the implementation of agricultural industry integration development projects, cultivate a number of specialized villages and towns with rural characteristic industries, strengthen leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, and guide the development of main body concentration, factor agglomeration, and industrial clusters.
The third is to expand functions and develop business formats. Implement the rural leisure tourism boutique project, carry out the construction of key counties for leisure agriculture, promote a number of beautiful leisure villages in China, and release a number of high-quality scenic spots to further activate the consumption potential of leisure agriculture. In-depth implementation of the "Internet +" agricultural products out of the village into the city project, the construction of a number of county-level agricultural and sideline products e-commerce live broadcast base, to promote the online sales of high-quality agricultural products.
Fourth, improve the mechanism to promote income growth. Cultivate agricultural industrialization associations, guide leading enterprises to purchase raw materials and invest in the main producing areas, and improve the mechanism of rural industries linking agriculture with agriculture. Drive farmers to develop standardized production and participate in industrialized operations, so that farmers can share more of the value-added benefits of the industrial chain. We will build rural entrepreneurship parks, introduce and retain a group of entrepreneurial talents who have returned to their hometowns, and cultivate new momentum for the development of rural industries.
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