Agricultural Supply-side Structural Reform in Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner
Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner, one of the only three ethnic autonomous banners in China, has carried out agricultural supply-side structural reform, increasing farmers’ income and promoting agricultural modernization.
Established in 1958, Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner under the administration of Hulunbuir City of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is one of the only three ethnic autonomous banners in China. Located in one of the only three black soil areas in the world, the banner is gifted with abundant water resources and fertile land, providing good conditions for agriculture and livestock production.
In the Daur language, “Morin Dawa” means “mountainous region that even fine horses cannot traverse.” Due to inconvenient transportation conditions, the banner cannot be reached by plane or train and remains only accessible by car or bus. It takes five to six hours to reach the nearest major city, Harbin. In the past, poor transportation impeded the development of local agriculture and hindered improvements in the quality of life of local farmers.
At the Central Rural Work Conference held from December 24 to 25, 2015, the Chinese government pledged to take steps to promote “agricultural supply-side structural reform.” Under guidance and with assistance from the government and through efforts of farmers, the reform aims to enhance the quality and output of agricultural products to meet consumers’ demand, thus increasing farmers’ income and promoting agricultural and rural modernization.
In the process of implementing the agricultural supply-side structural reform, the government of Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner appraised its own conditions and placed reform focus in the following areas: First, adjust the structures of planting and livestock production to better meet the demands of consumers and to industrialize both planting and livestock production. Second, build the “internet + agriculture” mode, establish agricultural cooperatives in various s forms, set up online sales platforms, ms, and break restrictions caused by poor oor transportation conditions. Using the he internet and logistics to connect the he banner with the outside world, Morin orin Dawa has improved the quality of its agricultural products and raised local cal farmers’ income significantly.
Morin Dawa is the base for the e
pork industry, the breeding base for Simmental cattle and a hub for husbandry of fine-wool sheep and the poultry industry in Hulunbuir. “The focus of our structural reform is to combine farming and animal husbandry, and make farming serve the animal husbandry,” explains Tian Yuanshan, head of the agricultural bureau of Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner. In 2017, the banner began to replace its grain crops with fodder cultivation and planted around 5,333 hectares of feed grains. Additionally, the banner planted more than 20,000 hectares of annual and perennial forage grasses. Herding on the grasslands was no longer the only avenue, and dry-lot feeding and semi-confinement feeding began to emerge. Now, the banner is home to 777 large-scale livestock farms and 54 villages specializing in livestock production. Through the efforts of these livestock farms and farmers, the banner’s development in animal husbandry has reached a new level and its ecological protection is much stronger.
The banner is dubbed the center of soybeans thanks to its annual cultivation area of around 266,667 hectares and average annual yield of 600,000 to 750,000 tons. Soybeans produced in the banner were exported to Japan and South Korea. In recent years, facing stiff competition from imported soybeans, locally produced soybeans witnessed a drop in cultivation area and are now plagued by difficulties related to pricing, storage and transit. In 2013, the banner changed its practice of only planting soybeans to be processed into oil and began to promote a new variety of soybeans fit for human consumption. High in protein, soybeans occupy an important place in the Chinese diet. Both soy milk for breakfast and tofu at lunch and dinner require soybeans. The banner now specializes in producing soybeans suitable for making food and processes the soybeans to be used as raw materials for health products such as lecithin and isoflavones.
In 2017, the banner proposed the “internet + agriculture” strategy, which is also known as smart agriculture. One of the projects under its framework involved soybean cultivation. A total of 67 farming households from 38 villages, most of whom were poverty-stricken, were organized by the government to plant organic soybeans, mung beans, and other beans near their homes. The entire production process remained under the guidance and supervision of 38 agro-technicians. To guarantee the quality of these beans, no pesticides or fertilizers were allowed.
Internet technologies are now widely used in the banner. On each piece of land, cameras monitor the entire agricultural production and management process. Through online promotion, some urban residents looking for a better-quality life rent pieces of land from local farmers. They pay the farmers rental in advance and “hire” them to perform plantation and management. After the harvest, they pay farmers fees for their work and receive the yields. Unrented pieces of land return to the management of local agricultural cooperatives.
In 2016, the banner government established an innovation and creativity experience museum to promote and sell its local agricultural and peripheral products, ethnic costumes and jade products, as well as to establish a platform for its household service industry and health industry. The ultimate purpose of establishing the museum is to increase