Ministry of Agriculture – Notice on Launching the 2018 Agricultural Quality Year Initiative

To the Departments (Bureaus, Commissions, Offices) of Agriculture (Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Rural Economy), Agricultural Machinery, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Medicine, State Farms, Agricultural Product Processing, and Fisheries of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government; to the Agricultural Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; and to the relevant departments and bureaus of the Ministry, as well as its affiliated institutions and industry associations:

To thoroughly implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, carry out the decisions and arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference, the Central Rural Work Conference, and the No. 1 Central Document, vigorously advance the rural revitalization strategy, deepen supply-side structural reform in agriculture, unswervingly pursue a path of agricultural development driven by quality, and guide agriculture to accelerate its transition toward green practices, high quality, distinctiveness, and branding, our Ministry has decided to designate 2018 as the Year of Agricultural Quality. Relevant matters are hereby notified as follows.

I. Fully Recognizing the Significant Importance of Promoting Quality-Driven Agriculture

In the new era, China’s agricultural and rural development has achieved historic accomplishments and undergone profound transformations. The foundational conditions and principal contradictions of the agricultural and rural economy have changed dramatically; the operating mechanisms and external environment have also undergone deep shifts; and the demands of agricultural producers and agri‑product producers have evolved significantly. Agriculture is now at a critical juncture—seeking to transform its development model, optimize its economic structure, and shift its growth drivers. The mode of development has transitioned from rapid expansion to high‑quality growth, and policy orientation has shifted from yield‑oriented to quality‑oriented. This calls for a major reorientation of work priorities and a fundamental realignment of focus: comprehensively advancing quality‑driven agriculture across farming, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, and the agro‑processing sector, with gradual integration into the operations of all production and business entities. Launching an “Agricultural Quality Year” and promoting quality‑based agricultural development are urgent imperatives for meeting the people’s aspirations for a better life, key measures for increasing farmers’ incomes, effective means of enhancing agricultural competitiveness, and the fundamental path toward transforming and upgrading the agricultural sector.

II. Uphold a quality‑oriented approach and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of agriculture.

To launch the Year of Agricultural Quality and advance quality‑driven agricultural development, we must fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guiding principle, and, in accordance with the requirements of high‑quality development, prioritize supply‑side structural reform in agriculture. With the goals of optimizing production capacity and increasing farmers’ incomes, and guided by a quality‑oriented approach, we will comprehensively elevate the green, high‑quality, distinctive, and branded standards of agriculture, thereby accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the sector. In advancing this work, we must adhere to the following principles.

(1) Uphold the principles of revitalizing agriculture through quality, green practices, and prioritizing economic returns. Firmly establish the conviction that quality equals profitability and quality is competitiveness; transform mindsets; innovate approaches, policies, and resource allocation; and accelerate the development of an evaluation system, a policy framework, an operational mechanism, and an assessment regime for quality‑driven agricultural development, thereby driving transformations in agricultural quality, efficiency, and growth drivers.

(2) Uphold the principles of government guidance, market-based operations, and social participation. Coordinate the overall planning and work arrangements for the Year of Agricultural Quality, leverage market mechanisms to mobilize diverse factors of production, stimulate the intrinsic motivation of market entities, and enhance public engagement.

(3) Uphold collaboration between ministries and provinces, vertical coordination, and concerted efforts to advance the cause. Strengthen overall planning and guidance, establish collaborative mechanisms, and support and encourage localities to implement quality‑driven agricultural initiatives tailored to their specific conditions, thereby forging a powerful synergy for promoting quality‑oriented agriculture and fostering a work dynamic characterized by comprehensive planning, breakthroughs at multiple points, and all‑round progress.

4. Adhere to a tailored, prioritized, and phased approach. In light of local industrial development realities, prioritize key links and critical sectors, emphasize leading by example and adopt differentiated strategies, and establish long-term mechanisms for enhancing industrial quality, thereby ensuring tangible results in the annual agricultural quality‑improvement campaign.

III. Solidly implement all initiatives under the Agricultural Quality Year

(1) Initiative to Promote Production Standardization. Newly formulated and revised maximum residue limits for pesticides.

A total of 1,000 standards have been established, including 100 maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs and 200 other industry standards, with additional efforts to develop quality standards for agricultural products. Public awareness and promotion of these standards, along with guidance on their implementation, will be strengthened to encourage large-scale operators to produce in compliance with them. A project to enhance the quality and efficiency of horticultural products will be launched, encouraging the establishment of standardized production bases for green food raw materials and demonstration sites for organic agriculture, with 100 demonstration bases for full‑process, green, standardized production of fruits, vegetables, and tea being developed. A new batch of modernized demonstration dairy farms will be established, and pilot programs to reduce the use of veterinary antimicrobial agents will be carried out at 100 livestock and poultry farms, while efforts to standardize pig slaughter will also be advanced. Furthermore, ecological and healthy aquaculture will be deepened, with more than 500 new healthy aquaculture farms established and pilot projects initiated to reduce the use of medications in aquaculture.

(II) Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Monitoring Initiative. Adjust and refine the national agricultural product quality…

The routine safety monitoring (risk‑based monitoring) program has expanded its list of monitored parameters to 122, including pesticides and veterinary‑medicine‑derived antibiotics, while broadening its scope to cover five major product categories—comprising 110 specific varieties—across 150 large and medium‑sized urban bases and markets nationwide. Targeted special‑purpose monitoring is being conducted to address particularly pressing risks associated with certain products. In-depth risk assessments of agricultural product quality and safety have been carried out, and a quality‑evaluation initiative has been launched to promote the simultaneous improvement of both safety and nutritional quality. Deployment of the national agricultural product quality‑and‑safety traceability platform is being accelerated, with traceability linked to agricultural project planning and product‑brand certification; green, organic, and branded agricultural products are being prioritized for inclusion in the traceability system, and pilot programs are being implemented in ten provinces. Efforts are also being intensified to strengthen the capacity, resources, and operational capabilities of county‑ and township‑level agricultural product quality‑and‑safety regulatory agencies.

(3) Law enforcement actions on agricultural product quality and safety. Promote the formulation and revision of laws and regulations, including the Law on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products, the Regulations on Slaughtering of Live Pigs, and the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Crop Pests and Diseases. Conduct in-depth special campaigns to address prominent quality and safety issues such as pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, clenbuterol, illegal slaughter, and the use of prohibited substances in aquatic products, and severely crack down on illegal and non-compliant activities. Advance the establishment of a traceability system for agricultural and veterinary drugs. Launch targeted efforts to combat counterfeit agricultural inputs and organize initiatives to bring safe and reliable agricultural inputs to rural areas and villages. Establish credit records for agricultural product quality and safety, and implement a “blacklist” system for entities that violate the law or act in bad faith. Activate new media platforms—WeChat and Weibo—for publicizing agricultural product quality and safety, and carry out the “Quality and Safety Across the Country” campaign.

(4) Initiative to Establish Counties for Agricultural Product Quality and Safety. Leverage the role of the first batch of 107 national counties (cities) designated for agricultural product quality and safety, organize supply–demand matchmaking events, and encourage both online and offline markets to set up dedicated zones for high-quality agricultural products from these safe counties, thereby expanding their market influence. Conduct verification and acceptance inspections of the second batch of 215 pilot units designated as safe counties (cities); those that meet the standards will be officially recognized, promoting full traceability of agricultural products from these safe counties. Encourage localities with the necessary conditions to undertake comprehensive, province- or city‑level initiatives. Summarize the model for establishing safe counties and strengthen its demonstration and wider dissemination. Support national modern agriculture demonstration zones and national modern agriculture industrial parks in pioneering replicable and scalable models for revitalizing agriculture through quality. Harness the leading role of reclamation areas and large and medium-sized farms to build demonstration zones for green development in the agricultural reclamation sector.

(5) Actions to Purify Production Environments. Continue to promote the reduced use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; launch pilot projects in 100 major fruit, vegetable, and tea-producing counties and cities to substitute organic fertilizers for chemical ones, and implement full‑cycle green pest and disease management pilots in 150 counties. Support 200 large counties engaged in pig, dairy cow, and beef cattle farming to comprehensively advance the resource‑based utilization of livestock and poultry manure; carry out pilot programs for the comprehensive utilization of crop straw in 150 counties across Northeast and North China, and initiate pilot projects for agricultural film recycling in 100 counties in Northwest and Southwest China. Strengthen coordinated monitoring of farmland soils and agricultural products, conduct pilot projects to classify farmland soil into environmental categories, and restore farmland contaminated by heavy metals. Enhance resource protection: ensure that the nationwide area under deep loosening and intensive tillage exceeds 150 million mu, and select a group of key counties to launch pilot programs for the systematic promotion of black‑soil conservation.

(6) Agricultural Brand Enhancement Initiative. Issue guiding opinions to accelerate the development of brand‑driven agriculture, providing direction for localities to systematically advance agricultural branding. Establish a national-level catalog of agricultural brands and guide provinces and cities in setting up their own provincial and municipal catalogs. Formulate management measures for Specialized and Superior Agricultural Product Zones (hereinafter referred to as “Specialized Zones”), encouraging each zone to build a strong, regionally distinctive public brand, and launch the second round of designation for such zones. Strengthen the cultivation of agricultural brands, vigorously promote green and organic agricultural products, register and protect 150 geographical indications for agricultural products, and select and showcase a group of well‑known, high‑quality, and influential agricultural brands. Conduct a series of public‑interest campaigns promoting green food, and work to bring green food into supermarkets, communities, and schools. Enhance the assessment, management, and protection of regional public brands, and provide guidance to localities in developing policies and procedures for brand development, promotion, and regulatory oversight. Organize a series of ten major export‑promotion events for agricultural products to boost the international profile and competitiveness of China’s agricultural export brands.

(7) Science and Technology Support Initiative for Quality‑Driven Agriculture. The “Plan for a Green Agricultural Development Technology System (2018–2030)” has been issued. Efforts to strengthen innovation in quality‑driven agricultural technologies have been intensified, with the promotion of a range of production techniques that enhance quality and ensure food safety. Joint research on superior varieties of maize, rice, wheat, and soybeans has been deepened, accelerating the renewal and upgrading of green, high‑quality cultivars. In ten provinces and autonomous regions, joint programs for developing superior varieties of specialty crops have been launched, aiming to tap into high‑quality, regionally distinctive germplasm resources and breed new green, high‑quality varieties with outstanding traits. Progress in achieving full‑process, comprehensive mechanization of agricultural production is being expedited, with the establishment of demonstration bases and the designation of an additional 100 model counties where major crops are fully mechanized.

(8) Action to Enhance the Capacity of Production and Business Entities. Launch pilot programs for precision management services targeting family farms, fostering a cohort of high‑quality family farms that are appropriately scaled, operationally stable, and demonstrably profitable. Conduct evaluations to designate model farmer cooperatives, exploring the incorporation of compliance with safety‑interval and withdrawal‑period requirements as assessment criteria, and organize specialized training on quality‑driven and green‑oriented agricultural development. Implement operational monitoring of key national leading enterprises, cultivate a group of exemplary agricultural industrialization alliances, and refine mechanisms for sharing benefits. Throughout the year, provide training to one million new‑type professional farmers, including smallholder producers skilled in crop cultivation and animal husbandry. Fully roll out the direct reporting system for information on new types of agricultural business entities, ensuring coverage of more than 100,000 high‑quality users.

IV. Strengthening the Mechanism for Advancing the Agricultural Quality Year Initiative

(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. All localities and units must attach great importance to the Agricultural Quality Year initiative, making the promotion of quality‑driven agricultural development a key priority for the present and the foreseeable future. They should clearly define objectives and tasks, outline implementation pathways, and delineate responsibilities; intensify efforts to integrate projects, funding, and resources; and establish a coordinated working framework characterized by joint governance and seamless vertical linkage, ensuring that all measures are advanced in an orderly manner and yield tangible results.

(II) Strengthen top-level design. The Ministry of Agriculture will organize the formulation of a strategic plan for promoting agricultural development through quality, and accelerate the development of supportive policies to advance this strategy. All relevant departments and bureaus within the Ministry shall refine and concretize action plans, specifying concrete measures and timelines. Localities are required to, in accordance with the overall requirements of the “Year of Agricultural Quality,” formulate corresponding implementation plans or guidelines and meticulously organize the various initiatives under the Year of Agricultural Quality.

(3) Strengthen training and guidance. All localities and units should, in light of the challenges encountered in advancing quality‑driven agriculture, promptly organize specialized training sessions, enhance the exchange of best practices, promote collaborative efforts, and provide on‑the‑ground support to help address emerging issues in a timely manner. Furthermore, they should intensify the dissemination of green, high‑efficiency production technologies and models, bolster technical capacity‑building, facilitate technology‑sharing initiatives, and elevate the level of adoption and application of green technologies.

(4) Strengthen publicity and promotion. All localities and units should make active use of mainstream and new media to carry out promotional campaigns highlighting quality‑driven and green agriculture, with a focus on prioritizing economic returns, thereby showcasing the initiatives of the “Year of Agricultural Quality” from all angles and in a comprehensive manner. Innovative approaches are needed, employing interactive and outreach‑oriented methods that are engaging and dynamic, to deepen consumers’ understanding of high‑quality agricultural products. In addition, in-depth research should be conducted to identify and document exemplary cases, best practices, and successful experiences in promoting quality‑driven agriculture, with brief reports promptly submitted.

(5) Strengthen evaluation and assessment. Local authorities should intensify research on quality‑driven agricultural development indicator and assessment systems, promote the inclusion of key quality‑related indicators in government performance evaluations, enhance feedback on assessment results, and ensure their effective application. Rigorously investigate emergencies involving agricultural product quality and safety, step up oversight and rectification efforts, and severely crack down on illegal and non‑compliant activities in this field.

Original article link:

http://www.moa.gov.cn/govpublic/FZJHS/201804/t20180423_6140772.htm