Beijing, 10 Oct (Zhongxin Net) -- The second deliberation draft of the draft law on food security will soon be submitted to the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 19 th National People's Congress for deliberation. Yang Heqing, spokesman for the Legal Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said in Beijing on the 19th that the second draft of the draft intends to stipulate that local people's governments at or above the county level should promote the treatment of wasteland in accordance with local conditions and categories, and take measures to guide the resumption of farming.
On the same day, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress held a press conference in Beijing. Yang Heqing introduced at the meeting that in June 2023, the third meeting of the Standing Committee of the 6th National People's Congress conducted the first review of the draft food security law. In accordance with the opinions of various quarters, the Second Deliberation Draft of the draft submitted to this Standing Committee meeting for deliberation is proposed to make the following major revisions:
First, it is necessary to increase the stipulations on mobilizing the enthusiasm of grain farmers and local governments to protect cultivated land and grow grain and grasp grain, and clarify the regulations on agricultural insurance.
Second, strengthen the provisions on cultivated land quality protection and high-standard farmland construction; Increase the comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali land; Put forward requirements for local governments to carry out wasteland management and related measures.
Third, it stipulates that people's governments at or above the county level shall make overall plans for the stable supply and scientific and rational use of agricultural production materials such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural films.
Fourth, it is stipulated that organs, groups, enterprises and institutions should strengthen the management of their own canteens and correct wasteful behavior.
Fifth, increase the provisions for countries to strengthen international food security cooperation and give play to the role of international trade in grain.
Sixth, the scope of coarse grains should be further clarified in the definition of grains.
Arable land is the lifeblood of food. In recent years, China has formulated and improved relevant laws and implemented a series of measures to maintain the red line of cultivated land and initially curb the continuous decline of the total amount of cultivated land. However, China's basic national conditions of small per capita arable land, low total arable land quality, and insufficient reserve resources for cultivated land have not changed.
In terms of improving the quality of cultivated land and tapping the potential of cultivated land utilization, Yang Heqing said that the second deliberation draft has made the following revisions and improvements: First, it stipulates that the state establishes a strict cultivated land quality protection system, strengthens the construction of high-standard farmland, adheres to the principles of government leadership and social participation, overall planning and step-by-step implementation, and equal emphasis on use and maintenance and construction and management in accordance with the requirements of equal emphasis on quantity and quality, systematic promotion and sustainable utilization, improves the investment guarantee mechanism, and improves construction standards and quality.
Second, it stipulates that local people's governments at or above the county level shall promote the management of wasteland in accordance with local conditions and categories, and take measures to guide the restoration of farming. The contracting party for household contracting may, in accordance with law, use the wasteland for agricultural production by organizing substitute cultivation and planting.
Third, it stipulates that the state promotes the comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali land, formulates relevant planning and financial support policies, encourages and guides social capital investment, taps the potential of saline-alkali land development and utilization, carries out the treatment and improvement of saline-alkali cultivated land by region classification, accelerates the selection and breeding of salinity-tolerant characteristic varieties, popularizes effective practices for improving saline-alkali land, and curbs the trend of salinization of cultivated land. (End)