Mechanization of vegetable planting development needs to cross the "three hurdles"

[China Agricultural Machinery Industry News] China is a large vegetable producing country in the world. It is understood that in the planting industry, vegetables rank second only to food crops. However, the vegetable growing industry is not as vibrant as it seems, and many problems restrict the development of this industry.

“The data shows that in 2015, the total area of ​​vegetable sowing in China reached 330 million mu, the total output was about 785 million tons, and the output value was about 1.5 trillion yuan. It contributed more than 1,000 yuan to the per capita net income of farmers across the country, accounting for 15% of the per capita income of farmers. About 90 million people produce vegetables," said Du Yongchen, a researcher at the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Mechanization of vegetable planting development needs to cross the "three hurdles"

Developing mechanization of vegetable production is imminent

"At present, there are three characteristics of vegetable production in China. First, the degree of organization is low, production is unplanned; second, the degree of mechanization is low, and labor costs are high; third, the degree of standardization is low, and the output and quality are unstable." Du Yongchen said, Of course, the problem that currently exists in China's vegetable growing industry is that labor costs are too high. According to the survey, labor costs have become a major part of vegetable production costs. “The labor costs currently directly engaged in the production of solanaceous vegetables account for the total cost. About 50%, the labor cost of leafy vegetable production accounts for about 60% of the total cost, which leads to the situation of vegetable price and interest 'middle laugh, two heads'." Ma Zheng, a researcher at Jiangsu Agricultural Machinery Development and Application Center, said frankly. . With the transfer of rural population, the problem of aging of rural population is becoming more and more prominent. The problem of shortage of rural labor is becoming more and more serious. The labor force capable of engaging in vegetable cultivation, field management, and harvesting production is becoming less and less. Difficult problem. According to statistics, the male labor force currently engaged in vegetable production is around 60 years old, women are over 50 years old, and there is almost no young labor. “In Jiangsu Province, for example, vegetables are large crops with high output value in Jiangsu. However, many vegetable bases in southern Jiangsu and central Jiangsu invite farmers from northern Jiangsu and Anhui to eat and pack. The shortage of personnel not only increases the cost of vegetable production. And will gradually restrict the scale of vegetable production." Ma Zhengqi said.

Although labor costs continue to rise, vegetables are still one of the industries that increase farmers' incomes. Under the triple pressure of the growth of rigid demand for vegetables, the reduction of suburban bases and the loss of high-quality labor, it is more and more difficult to ensure the increase of vegetable production, quality and safety, and price stability. The problem of labor and labor is difficult in vegetable production. It is also more prominent. Therefore, China urgently needs to accelerate the process of mechanization of vegetable production. In this regard, Du Yongchen pointed out: "Accelerate the process of mechanization of vegetable production. First, this is an urgent requirement for saving labor costs and improving production efficiency. Second, this is an urgent requirement for reducing labor intensity and improving the working environment. Third, It is an urgent requirement to adapt to urbanization and solve labor shortages. Fourth, it is an urgent requirement to improve operational efficiency and develop new business entities. Fifth, it is an urgent requirement to change traditional operations and realize industrial informationization and intelligence. Mechanization can truly achieve the rate and low cost of vegetable production.

Three "cans" facing the mechanization of vegetables

The issue of mechanization of vegetable production in China has attracted the attention of experts in the industry. At this year's China International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition, Li Yanyun, a researcher at the Planning and Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, put forward his own opinions on vegetable machinery. "It can be seen through the exhibition that China's food crops The types and quantity of agricultural machinery have developed very well, but the machinery and tools in this area are still quite scarce. As far as I know, in Japan, the degree of mechanization of vegetable production is already very high, and almost every production process has corresponding machinery. There is still a big gap in China in this respect. The reasons for the low level of mechanization of vegetable production in China are many, but the core problem is still three “canes”.

There are many kinds of vegetables, and the differences are large. The non-standard planting system is the way to promote the mechanization of vegetable production. According to statistics, China has produced more than 150 varieties of vegetables in 14 categories. In addition, China's vast territory, the north-south latitude range, climate differences lead to a variety of vegetable cultivation mouthwash, usually in the northern region to produce 2-3 years of vegetables, the southern region produces 3-4 years of vegetables. There are so many kinds of vegetables, and the differences in planting habits between regions are also large, which leads to the lack of uniform planting norms for vegetable cultivation from land preparation to sowing and transplanting. “Agricultural techniques vary from ploughing to transplanting and harvesting. There is no uniform planting standard, and it is difficult to achieve mechanized scale production. From the perspective of commercial value, it is difficult for any agricultural machinery manufacturer to achieve more than 150 kinds of vegetables. The whole process of mechanization of production. Compared with large-scale food crops, the research and development and promotion of vegetable production machinery is more complicated.” Faced with the difficulty of vegetable mechanization promotion, Chen Yongsheng, a researcher at the Nanjing Agricultural Mechanization Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture explained.

The field is scattered, the space is small, and the construction of the park is not the standard. It is the second hurdle on the road of mechanization of vegetable production. According to statistics, more than 50 million farmers are engaged in the production of commercial vegetables in China, but 75% of the vegetable growers are less than 0.5 mu. For this reason, Chen Yongsheng said, “At present, China’s vegetable production is mainly concentrated in small farmers, according to statistics on the area where farmers produce vegetables. More than 5 mu only accounted for 1.4% of the total number of farmers. The traditional small field planting mode is not conducive to the promotion of mechanization. In recent years, vegetable growing farms and parks that have sprung up in recent years mostly ignore mechanized production in the early stage of construction. Matching. A lot of vegetable facilities have small space and are not standard. The phenomenon of working machinery is difficult to walk, difficult to enter, difficult to farm, and difficult to head.