The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture answered the reporter’s question on the policy of resuming the development of oil production

　　On August 23, farmers in chengxiang town, Wuming County, Nanning, Guangxi, applied fertilizer in the field. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Guangming photo

　　Xinhuanet Beijing, September 25th (Reporter Dong Jun) Xinhua News Agency was authorized to broadcast the full text of "Opinions of General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Development of Oil Production" on the 24th. The opinion requires all regions and relevant departments to adopt comprehensive and effective policies and measures to fully mobilize farmers’ enthusiasm for production and promote the rapid recovery and development of oil production. The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture was interviewed by a reporter on the 25th and answered the reporter’s questions on the relevant policies to resume the development of China’s oil production.

　　Q: What financial support policies does the state have for the promotion subsidies for improved oilseeds?

　　A: The state will further expand the scale of subsidies for the promotion of improved oilseeds and the scope of crops. Among them:

　　Expand the scale of subsidies for improved soybean varieties. Although soybean is counted in grain, its practical use is consistent with that of rape and other oil crops, and it is an important oil crop in China. Since the implementation of the improved soybean seed subsidy project for five years, the average yield per mu in the project area has reached about 175 kg, and the oil content of soybeans has also increased significantly. In order to promote the stable development of soybean in China, the scale of subsidy for improved soybean varieties is planned to be expanded from the current 10 million mu to 40 million mu in 2008. Continue to subsidize high-oil soybeans in the three northeastern provinces and Inner Mongolia.

　　New subsidies for the promotion of improved rapeseed varieties. Rapeseed is an important oil-bearing crop in China, and its oil-bearing output accounts for about half of that of domestic oil-bearing crops, ranking first among all crops. In order to encourage the Yangtze River valley to use winter fallow fields to expand the rape area and improve the quality and yield, subsidies for improved varieties of rape have been implemented since 2007. The subsidized areas are "double low" rape dominant areas in the Yangtze River valley (including Sichuan, Guizhou, Chongqing, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang), and the central government gives farmers a subsidy of 10 yuan per mu for planting rape.

　　Q: What are the incentives for oil-producing counties?

　　A: Starting from next year, the incentive policies for oil-producing counties and grain-producing counties will be studied as a whole. The specific subsidy policy will be separately studied and formulated by the Ministry of Finance.

　　Q: To promote the recovery and development of oil production, the construction of oil production base is an important content. What supporting measures are there?

　　A: During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, the state will expand the scale of funds for the construction of oil production bases, and build a number of production bases in three northeastern provinces, soybean producing areas in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and rape producing areas in the Yangtze River basin, focusing on improving the conditions of improved seed breeding and farmland infrastructure, and comprehensively improving the comprehensive oil production capacity.

　　Q: Will you consider including oil production in the scope of agricultural insurance?

　　A: The state gradually brings oil production into the scope of agricultural insurance and gives premium subsidies. Mainly to reduce the risk of oil production, stabilize farmers’ planting income, and further mobilize farmers’ enthusiasm for oil production.

　　Q: How to guide and promote the industrialized operation of oil products?

　　A: During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, we will actively guide a group of oil processing enterprises with large production scale and good benefits to establish raw material production bases in the main producing areas, sign production and sales orders with farmers, and develop low erucic rapeseed oil, high-quality soybean oil, peanut oil and other deeply processed products. Actively support the agricultural industrialization management mode of "enterprise+base+farmer", continue to support various forms of production and marketing convergence activities, vigorously promote the construction of farmers’ cooperative economic organizations, and strive to improve the degree of organization of oil production.

　　Q: How to improve the innovation ability of oil research?

　　A: The state will increase investment in oil crop "seed project" and other projects, actively promote the construction of national soybean crop improvement center and national soybean engineering research center, support the cultivation and industrialization of oil varieties on the basis of merit, and promote the breeding of new high-quality oil varieties and the construction of industrialization demonstration projects. Accelerate the cultivation of new varieties with high yield, high quality, high efficiency and multi-resistance, strengthen the integration and innovation of related supporting technologies, and accelerate the construction of oil crop breeding technology platform and new variety industrialization base.

　　Q: What is the key point of accelerating the popularization of new varieties and technologies?

　　A: Next year, we will increase the support of agricultural science and technology projects to major oil-producing areas, actively promote major oil-bearing technologies and excellent new varieties, focus on promoting new varieties of high-oil soybeans, "double-low" rapeseed and high-yield peanuts, speed up the popularization of technologies such as soybean close planting, simple rape cultivation and peanut plastic film mulching, establish high-yield demonstration areas by varieties, realize the matching of good varieties and good methods, and strive to significantly improve the oil yield per unit area.

　　Q: How to further improve the mechanization level of oil production?

　　A: Mechanized production is an important guarantee for the stable development of rapeseed production. Therefore, we should further increase the fund scale of agricultural machinery purchase subsidy projects and support the development of mechanization of oil crop production. Actively support the research and development of oil sowing and harvesting machinery, adjust the breeding objectives of oil varieties in combination with mechanical operations, promote the mechanization of oil production, and effectively solve the labor-intensive and time-consuming problems of oil production. We will promptly start the pilot project of full mechanization in key rapeseed producing areas.

　　Q: How to actively use the oil futures market to avoid market risks?

　　A: We will continue to support the futures trading of soybeans, soybean oil and rapeseed oil. Support the relevant commodity exchanges to set up futures delivery warehouses in the producing areas, and carry out futures knowledge publicity and training for leading enterprises, farmers’ professional cooperatives, large transportation and marketing households and farmers.

　　Q: What policy will the state adopt to produce biodiesel from vegetable oil?

　　A: China will insist on giving priority to food and strictly control the project of converting rapeseed into biodiesel. At the same time, strictly control the export of oil and edible vegetable oil.

Editor: Sun Jie