State Council presses for high-quality development of animal husbandry

The State Council recently issued a circular to promote the high-quality development of the animal husbandry and ensure the security of livestock and poultry products.

Concerned departments should expedite modern livestock breeding, animal epidemic prevention, and product processing and circulation, and constantly step up the quality benefits and competitiveness of animal husbandry, in an effort to meet various consumption demands for animal products.

With epidemic prevention as the priority, the development of animal husbandry should stay market-driven, eco-friendly, and policy-led, the circular said.

The self-sufficiency rate of hog products, beef and mutton, and dairy products should stay at about 95 percent, 85 percent, and 70 percent, respectively.

The circular also set the goal that the rate of large-scale livestock and poultry breeding and comprehensive use of waste should reach beyond 70 percent and 80 percent, respectively, by 2025 and 75 percent and 85 percent by 2030.

To build a modern livestock and poultry breeding system, more efforts will be made to boost the cultivation and promotion of fine breeds.

Also, the circular stressed breeding of lean meat pigs and specific cattle and sheep breeds, as well as planting of badly-needed forage for a higher self-sufficiency rate.

Animal husbandry will be further mechanized, with moderate-scale operation seeing sound development. Small and medium-sized livestock farm owners will get more support, the circular said.

Concerned departments should urge all involved in livestock and poultry production to fulfill the main responsibilities for epidemic prevention in animals.

The capacity of animal epidemic prevention should be further boosted with the improvement of interdepartmental joint epidemic prevention and control.

To build a modern processing and circulation system, the overall quality of the slaughtering and processing industry should be further improved, with large-scale, privately-owned slaughtering enterprises established or revamped and small slaughtering stalls removed or merged.

A cold-chain processing and transportation system for livestock and poultry products should be efficiently improved, the circular said.

Cutting-edge technologies, including big data, artificial intelligence, cloud-computing, the internet of things, and alike should play a bigger role in animal husbandry, it added.

More sources and breeds of imported meat products should be welcomed, with premium and safe livestock and poultry products imported in an appropriate range, in a bid to supplement domestic market supplies.

Departments concerned should also push forward the utilization of waste generated from production, cyclic development of farming and grazing, and scientific layout of livestock breeding.

The circular also presented measures to ensure that provincial governments and mayors take on the responsibilities of animal husbandry development and non-staple food supplies.

And land use, financial support and services for animal husbandry development will be guaranteed, according to the circular.