One "increase" and one "subtraction" promote income increase and integrate resource elements to ensure farmers make money growing grain.

News from CCTV:

Now, it is the time for spring plowing preparations. In Yueyang County, a major grain-producing county in Hunan, there are new changes in spring plowing in 2024. If large grain growers want to rent land for farming, it is no longer the one with the highest price, but the one with the highest technology. Whoever wins.

　　Buxian Town, Yueyang County divided 600 acres of high-standard farmland that was transformed during the winter fallow period into six bidding sections, each of 100 acres, and invited public bidding.

The bidding process is not based on price but technology. This novel bidding method allowed the 11 major grain growers participating in the bidding to show off their special skills.

　　But in fierce competition, it's not just about who can get away with it.

　　In the percentage assessment list of professional assessors, the ability to operate various agricultural machinery accounts for only 40%, and the assessment of comprehensive professional knowledge in farming accounts for 60%.

After rigorous assessment, the top six major grain growers finally signed a five-year land transfer contract with the local village collective.

Pilot new business models to calculate farmland benefit accounts

　　As the main rice-producing area in Hunan, more than 80% of the farmland in Yueyang County is located in hilly and mountainous areas, and most of the farmland is separated by mountains, rivers and roads.

Under this circumstance, in order to improve farming efficiency, Yueyang County piloted a new business model last year. How effective is this model?

　　This new business model is simply called the 100-acre intensive farming business model, which means that the average farmland contracted by farmers is no more than 100 acres.

　　In 2023, 1,523 farmers in Yueyang County will participate in the 100-acre new grain planting model pilot. The agricultural department not only provides them with expert assistance, but also provides them with variety selection, insect monitoring, water conservancy facilities, agricultural machinery supporting equipment, and yield improvement. Through hard work, these farmers have increased their double-cropping rice yield by an average of nearly 200 kilograms per mu.

　　In Yueyang County, the reporter saw a comparison table between contracting 500 acres of land and contracting 100 acres of land, which also confirmed the effect of this new model.

In 2023, farmers who contract 500 acres of land will have an average double-cropping rice yield of 1,700 kilograms per mu, while farmers who contract 100 acres of land will have an average double-cropping rice yield of 1,800 kilograms per mu, which is 100 kilograms more millet per mu than large households.

　　From this table, the reporter saw that farmers who transferred 100 acres not only had higher yields per mu, but also worked intensively so that the input costs per mu of land were less than those who contracted 500 acres. Among them, the biggest savings were in manpower.

After a year of piloting, this new model of increasing production and efficiency that is visible and tangible has won the trust of farmers.

One “increase” and one “subtraction” promote income increase and ensure farmers’ grain-growing benefits

　　The problem of who will plant and how to plant has been solved, and increased production and income are guaranteed.

While the local government is doing a good job of "increasing", it is also working together to do a good job of "reducing".

　　The Hunan Yueyang County Supply and Marketing Cooperative brought several representatives of large grain farmers to negotiate with fertilizer manufacturers, hoping to negotiate down the price of agricultural inputs, but the companies also had difficulties.

　　Although companies claim small profits, they cannot withstand the huge demand from supply and marketing cooperatives and large grain growers. This is their leverage in negotiations with companies.

After multiple rounds of negotiations, the company finally offered the lowest ex-factory prices for the two fertilizers with the greatest demand, reducing fertilizer costs by 50 yuan and 250 yuan per ton respectively.

　　In addition to agricultural supplies, agricultural machinery expenses are another major component of farming costs.

Yueyang County has also taken new measures to reduce the cost of agricultural machinery. They have united the agricultural machinery service cooperatives that used to be distributed in various towns and villages to form a joint cooperative to unify orders, prices, and service quality.

　　"Didi Agricultural Machinery" not only makes it convenient for agricultural machinery cooperatives to provide services nearby, but at the same time, farmers enjoy unified service prices that are lower than when each cooperative "worked alone" in the past.

　　In order to further reduce production costs, Yueyang County has also introduced a package of policies covering logistics, oilseeds, warehousing and other fields to ensure the benefits of farmers growing grain.