What does the Anhui township government think? , please provide free food and accommodation to the agricultural machinery operators
In May, it’s the busy farming season again, and wheat begins to bloom. At this time of year, the government compound of Guantun Township, Yingshang County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province is always open, providing food and accommodation services, as well as washing machines and bathrooms for agricultural machinery operators working across districts. This initiative has been implemented for four consecutive years. Word of mouth spreads, and more and more agricultural machinery operators come here.
Yingshang County is located in the northwest of Anhui Province. Guantun Township is close to the Huaihe River and is in a low-lying land. The wheat maturity period is always connected with the rainy season every year. There is also the risk of flooding from the Huaihe River. In order to avoid affecting the wheat harvest, Guantun Township will To harvest wheat.
It's easy to say. Guantun Township has 33,000 acres of wheat fields, but it only has more than 50 harvesters. The harvesting situation is urgent and the efficiency is far from enough. To this end, harvesters must be mobilized from other areas to provide support, but because Guantun Township is located in a remote location, there are not many agricultural machinery operators willing to come.
In 2021, the township government, through the agricultural machinery professional cooperative, coordinated more than 40 harvesters and dozens of agricultural machinery operators from Xuzhou, Huaibei and other places to cut wheat in Guantun Township. During this period, the issue of security was discussed. Since you want people to come, you must show full sincerity.
On the one hand, village cadres took the initiative to carry out coordination work. In the past, agricultural machinery operators had to go door-to-door to negotiate prices, and then go door-to-door to harvest wheat. Some people have wheat fields in the east and west, and the harvester has to pass through other people's wheat fields, overwhelming them, often causing disputes. Nowadays, the township adopts the method of continuous harvesting, unified planning, determining the operating area and charging standards. When agricultural machinery operators from other places come, they just cut wheat, and in the end, township government cadres collect and pay farmers. This greatly reduces the communication costs spent by agricultural machinery operators and increases efficiency by nearly one-third.
On the other hand, there is the guarantee of food, clothing, housing and transportation. The township government canteen is open to non-local farmers free of charge. You only need to sign a book to eat. No guarantee is required. The food you eat is also authentic local food. You can eat no matter when you go. When the canteen is at its peak, you can eat. Nearly a hundred people. Even if the agricultural machinery operators are working in the fields at noon and have no time to return to the township government canteen, they can still eat hot food at the homes of each village cadre. There are also 4 shower stalls in the township government compound for everyone to take a bath. Free hot water is also provided. Some people use their own buckets to take a shower.
As for sleeping at night, the corridors, auditorium, and cultural station in the government compound are also open. Many agricultural machinery operators rest here. When the weather is not cold, some people even bring small tents. At the same time, the government also arranged for local gas station owners to deliver diesel and provide fuel cards. There will also be people from nearby agricultural machinery maintenance points to help agricultural machinery operators solve problems with their machines.
Last year, there were only 60 or 70 harvesters from other places coming to Guantun Township. This year, more than 120 harvesters came. "The harvesting efficiency has been greatly improved. The concentrated operation only lasted three or four days, and the wheat harvest has basically been completed." Zhou Xinhai, secretary of the Guantun Township Party Committee, said. Zhou Xinhai did some calculations and spent about 20,000 yuan to provide meals for the agricultural machinery operators. Including the rice harvest season in October, that is 40,000 yuan. The electricity and water bills are not that much, so let's not count them. "But the accounts cannot be calculated so simply. It also depends on the benefits brought by these measures." Zhou Xinhai said.
If wheat is not harvested in time, farmers will suffer greater losses, which will seriously affect national food security. As soon as this move was made, it not only solved the urgent need of farmers to harvest, but also won the reputation of agricultural machinery operators from other places, and everyone's recognition of the government was increased. Today, everything has embarked on a virtuous cycle, and some agricultural machinery operators from other places have even taken the initiative to vaccinate large grain farmers and are willing to come to Guantun Township to harvest.
"The common people see that our government sincerely thinks about them and solves their problems. This measure actually wins the hearts and minds of the people." Zhou Xinhai said.
To solve the problems of grassroots governance, what is often needed is to put the people at the center and respond to and care about public opinion. Guantun Township’s approach achieves a win-win situation for agricultural machinery operators, farmers and the government precisely through this kind of response and concern.
Nowadays, more and more governments are willing to “open their courtyards.” The Shitai County Government Courtyard in Anhui Province has been fully open to citizens since its establishment nearly 60 years ago to facilitate people's work; in order to facilitate farmers to dry their crops, the Wagangzhai Government in Hua County, Anyang, Henan Province took the initiative to remove vehicles from the government compound and posted a sign at the door Heart-warming notice: "You can dry food in the courtyard"; during peak tourist periods, many government compounds open their canteens and parking spaces to tourists.
The open government compound changes the thinking of grassroots governance and narrows the distance between the government and the people.
