Farmers' Daily, farmer.com.cn:

China's grain output has seen bumper harvests for several consecutive years, with last year's total grain production hitting a record high. China has ensured absolute grain security, but is still facing production shortfalls in soybeans, oil-bearing crops and other varieties. This year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has also proposed stabilizing the production of grain and corn, and expanding the acreage of soybeans and oilseed crops. What new developments have there been in China's expansion in the cultivation of soybeans and oilseed crops? What measures will be taken next? Thank you.

Zeng Yande:

Thank you for your questions. One of the priorities regarding this year's agricultural and rural work is to expand the planting of soybeans and oilseed crops. Currently, everything is progressing well. It's a foregone conclusion that we will have a bumper summer wheat harvest and increased output, which is a highlight of this year's agriculture and rural development. At present, China has achieved notable progress in its production of soybeans and oilseed crops, marked by two factors: First, there was a significant rise in rapeseed output. Estimates show that the acreage of rapeseed plants will exceed 100 million mu (about 6.67 million hectares) this year, with a stable unit-yield level and a clear rise in yield. Second, the planting of soybeans is expected to expand this year. Currently, the planting area for soybeans for the whole year will be increased significantly after the application of belt-shaped intercropping of soybeans and corns, which is a remarkable result. Generally, we have full confidence in achieving the two goals of expanding the acreage of soybeans and oilseed crops.

Next, we still have work that needs to be continued: ensuring the expansion of the planting area of summer sowing soybeans during the summer harvest, while strengthening post management to achieve the expansion of soybean and oilseed crop cultivation, as well as growth in both the per-unit yield and total output this year, so as to support the effective supply of soybeans and oilseed crops.

Thank you.

Cover News:

For a long time, the gap between rural and urban areas in terms of infrastructure and public services has been relatively large. We know that in recent years, local authorities have stepped up efforts to strengthen the weak links, and have done more to improve the living environment in rural areas. Could you please share with us the progress that has been made in this regard? What steps will be taken to continue these efforts? Thank you.

Hong Tianyun:

Thank you for your questions. Improving the living environment in rural areas is an important task in the rural revitalization strategy. Since 2018, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have successively deployed and implemented a three-year action plan to improve the rural living environment and a five-year action plan to accelerate the improvement of the rural living environment from 2021 to 2025. All localities and departments have conscientiously implemented the action plans and worked hard for them. The rural living environment has been significantly improved, and the farmers' sense of gain and happiness has been continuously enhanced. On June 20, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua presided over a meeting on national rural construction work in Sanming City, Fujian Province. Various media outlets have made a lot of reports on the improvement of the rural living environment. I am happy and willing to brief you again about the relevant situation.

First, works related tothe rural living environment have been carried out in an all-round way. , and the three-year action plan goals and tasks have been completed as scheduled. By the end of 2021, the penetration rate of sanitary toilets in rural areas across the country will exceed 70%. Among them, the penetration rate of hygienic toilets in rural areas in the eastern region and the suburban areas of central and western cities with suitable foundations and conditions have exceeded 90%. Since 2018, more than 40 million rural household toilets have been renovated. The proportion of villages nationwide that can collect, transport, and treat rural domestic waste has remained stable at over 90%; the treatment rate of rural domestic sewage has reached about 28%.

Second, the appearance of dirty, chaotic, and poor rural areas has been significantly improved, and the village environment is now clean, tidy, and orderly. More than 95% of the villages across China have carried out cleaning actions, guiding farmers to focus on cleaning up for sanitation, cleaning up garbage, and cleaning up the environment, while promoting the resource utilization of livestock and poultry manures and crops straws. The rural countryside has been clean, tidy, and orderly, and localities have built more than 50,000 beautiful and livable villages as typical models based on their actual conditions.

Third, the philosophy of civilized life of farmers has been significantly elevated, and the quality of life has generally improved. The inside and outside of the farmer's houses are cleaner, the inside and outside of their courtyards are more beautiful, the farmer's living habits are cleaner, and the lifestyle is greener. It can be said that the improvement of the rural living environment has changed farmers' health philosophy, changed a new look of rural life, and established a new style of civilization in rural areas.

To achieve rural revitalization, it is necessary to improve agricultural and rural infrastructures according to local conditions and promote agricultural and rural modernization with infrastructure modernization. Next, we will focus on the following work: First, we will adhere to taking measures adapted to local conditions. We will fully consider the regional resource endowment conditions and economic development level and implement policies by division and classification. We will not match in the same step or hold that one size fits all. The second is to highlight the masses as the main body of the countryside. We will extensively mobilize the farmers to participate in the revitalization actions and form a good governance atmosphere where rural grassroots Party branch organizations, Party members, and cadres take the lead, and farmers participate. Third, we must focus on overall planning and promotion. We will advance key tasks such as developing rural industries, constructing infrastructures and ecological protection, coordinating planning and construction, and facilitating coordinated development. Fourth, we must strengthen the promotion of models and use them as reference and guidance. There are already many good examples and good experiences all over the country, such as Zhejiang's experience of its program to improve 10,000 villages and make 1,000 being models and Guangdong's experience of the "three cleanups, three demolitions, and three rectifications" campaign. It is necessary to establish several demonstration examples to drive the overall boost of the improvement work in the rural living environment. Thank you.