Supporting Henan's wheat harvest and loss reduction, the Ministry of Finance urgently issued a disaster relief fund of 200 million yuan for production | disaster affected | disaster relief

In response to the wheat disaster in some areas of Henan Province caused by the "rotten rain", the Ministry of Finance, in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, took swift action and urgently issued a central government fund of 200 million yuan for disaster prevention and relief in agricultural production, supporting Henan Province in carrying out agricultural machinery harvesting operations on the affected wheat fields, drying the harvested tidal grains, and other disaster reduction work, in order to minimize losses in grain production caused by disasters.

Economic Daily: Local Rotten Fields and Rain No Harm to the Grain Market

The biggest risk faced by agriculture is natural disasters, and relying on disaster resistance to achieve abundant harvests has been the norm in China's agriculture in recent years. We will continue to strengthen the construction of agricultural disaster prevention and reduction capabilities, and comprehensively consolidate the foundation of abundant grain harvest and increased income for farmers.

Recently, Henan province has been hit by rotten rain, causing some wheat to sprout and mold, which has attracted social attention. Some people are worried that this will affect the overall supply of the national grain market, and there are rumors online that some places have even engaged in buying flour in a hurry. In fact, China's food security is fully guaranteed, and such concerns are not necessary.

At present, the disaster is concentrated in the central and southern regions of Henan, mainly due to the sprouting of wheat that has entered the wax ripening period. From the current production situation disclosed in various regions, a bountiful summer grain harvest is expected in other major production areas. Anhui Province reported that the wheat area in the province is 42.916 million mu, an increase of 175000 mu compared to the previous year. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Shandong Province stated that wheat in Shandong Province is growing well and a bountiful harvest is in sight. According to the latest agricultural survey in Hebei Province, 33.771 million mu of wheat in the province is growing well and is expected to start machine harvesting on June 7th. The Shanxi Provincial Grain and Material Reserve Bureau predicts that the province's wheat production and purchase volume will increase year-on-year this year. Recent media reports on farmers in various regions have also shown that the situation in other major production areas is still good.

Agricultural disasters do not necessarily mean disasters or crop failures. For Henan, not all wheat that has been affected by rain and rain has suffered disasters or even failed to harvest. After entering the wax ripening period, the yield has basically formed, and the actual losses are closely related to the strength of remedial measures. Henan has formulated 10 response measures to strengthen agricultural machinery scheduling and emergency recovery, with a funding of 200 million yuan to support wheat mechanical drying, coordinate the opening of space to farmers for grain drying, and minimize disaster losses. Taking a step back, wheat that sprouts due to rain will indeed have an impact on its yield and quality. However, sprouted wheat that meets the national limit standards can be used as feed, and a few moldy wheat can also be used for industrial alcohol production. The essence of sunshine and rain is still the precious wealth of society.

The biggest risk faced by agriculture is natural disasters, and relying on disaster resistance to achieve abundant harvests has been the norm in China's agriculture in recent years. The reason why China's grain production has repeatedly achieved abundant harvests is due to two indispensable factors: first, disaster reduction and increased production, and second, balanced increase in production. The so-called disaster reduction and production increase refers to actively responding to various disasters. Agricultural production is the process of fighting against natural disasters, while modern agriculture is the process of achieving disaster resistance, loss reduction, and increased production. The so-called balanced yield increase refers to the pursuit of stable average yield per unit area from a large spatiotemporal perspective. Natural disasters are not subject to human will, but they also have their own patterns of occurrence. Often there is a disaster in one place and no disaster in multiple places; When there is a disaster, there is no disaster; A poor harvest in one place leads to a bountiful harvest in many places. All of these cannot be achieved without the support of agricultural technology and equipment.

Some netizens' concerns are actually related to the international food market situation in the past two years. In recent years, due to factors such as the delay of the epidemic, economic downturn, and geopolitical conflicts, the international food market has experienced significant fluctuations, and the number of hungry people in some countries has continued to rise. Compared to this, China's grain prices are generally operating steadily within a reasonable range, and the grain market has always maintained sufficient supply. From urban supermarkets to rural markets, "rice bags" are abundant and "vegetable baskets" are abundant. Specifically, for summer wheat, the national inventory is very abundant. In the past four years, there has been a continuous harvest of summer grain, and the existing inventory is close to the annual consumption level. Careful people will notice that flour prices have been steadily decreasing recently, which also reflects a sufficient guarantee of supply.

From a larger perspective, China's grain market is expected to maintain long-term stability, for three reasons. One is "produced", with strong production guarantee capabilities. The planting area of grain has remained stable at around 1.75 billion mu, and 1 billion mu of high standard farmland has been built. The level of agricultural technology and mechanization continues to improve. With the implementation of a new round of action to increase the production capacity of billions of kilograms of grain, the production foundation will become more solid. The second is "affordable", with strong supply guarantee capabilities. The layout of government grain reserves continues to be optimized, with finished grain and oil reserves in the main urban areas of 36 large and medium-sized cities and areas prone to market fluctuations reaching over 15 days; The inventory of various grain enterprises is at a high level, and coupled with the grain stored in the hands of farmers, the total supply is not a problem. Thirdly, it is "adjustable" and has strong regulatory and emergency support capabilities. Various enterprises purchase about 800 billion kilograms of grain annually, safeguarding the interests of grain farmers; The orderly distribution of policy oriented grain has met the grain demand of enterprises; The number of grain emergency support centers and emergency support enterprises continues to grow.

Of course, the above is a big deal. For individual farmers affected by the disaster, their losses still require high attention. Henan has introduced multiple measures, urgently allocating 500 million yuan of financial premium subsidy funds, requiring agricultural insurance agencies to include wheat sprouting damage in the scope of claims, establish green channels to achieve fast loss determination and quick claims, and launch plans to purchase excessive wheat. State owned grain storage enterprises and other entities have been designated to open up purchases, ensuring that all sprouted and sprouted wheat is purchased, with a listed price of 1 cent higher than the market price per kilogram. The provincial government has allocated 3.47 billion yuan to subsidize price differences, and sprouted and sprouted wheat is targeted for sale to feed and industrial alcohol enterprises. I hope that with the implementation of these measures, the losses of affected farmers can be further reduced.

Against the backdrop of global warming, extreme weather and climate events are increasing in China. We will continue to strengthen the construction of agricultural disaster prevention and reduction capabilities, and comprehensively consolidate the foundation of abundant grain harvest and increased income for farmers.