Sun Zhigang: Agriculture key to poverty alleviation

Sun Zhigang, deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), Party secretary of Southwest China's Guizhou province, and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial People's Congress, outlined Guizhou's poverty alleviation efforts during a recent interview with Economic Daily.

To improve the effectiveness of the rural industrial revolution, in early 2018 Guizhou reduced the planting of crops with low economic benefits and promoted the development of 12 characteristic agricultural industries, which led to an increase in farmers' income.

According to Sun, in 2019, the added value of agriculture increased by 5.7 percent, and the per capital disposable income of rural residents reached 10,000 yuan ($1,397.82) - an increase of 10.7 percent.

Guizhou aims to enhance its rural industrial revolution by accelerating the development of 12 characteristic agricultural industries, expanding the distribution channels of agricultural products, and improving the policy of purchasing agricultural products at guaranteed prices, to make sure nobody returns to poverty.

Guizhou is striving to cultivate key agricultural companies, attract investment to encourage its agricultural financing platform to establish business entities, support the cross-village or joint-village development of cooperatives, and enhance the cooperation of companies and cooperatives with farmers, said Sun.

Guizhou attaches importance to agricultural product circulation and has issued related policies to strengthen large-scale, standardized and green production, and to establish a market system integrated with supply, wholesale and consumption. It has also increased the provincial market share of agricultural products.

Sun said that as one of the national big data comprehensive pilot areas, Guizhou will this year establish an agricultural comprehensive service platform, develop intelligent agriculture and rural e-commerce, and realize the targeted coordination of production and marketing.

So far Guizhou has 131 brands with Agro-product Geographical Indications, 282 brands recognized as green food, 950 agricultural leading company brands above provincial-level, and seven brands listed in China's agricultural brand catalog.

Sun added that in the future, Guizhou will further build its green agricultural product brands, increase brand awareness, and turn its national agricultural product exhibitions into key platforms for agricultural product transaction and business cooperation in West China and the pan-Pearl-River delta region.