Chongqing- Promoting the construction of a modern, efficient, and characteristic agricultural belt with high quality requires continuous cooperation between Southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing in agricultural, environmental, and technology fields.
According to the Chongqing Municipal Agriculture and Rural Committee on March 21, the agricultural and rural departments of the two regions issued priorities for the collaborative construction of a modern, efficient and characteristic agricultural belt this year.
Lead western China's rural modernization
What is the modern, efficient, and characteristic agricultural belt?
Last December, the General Office of Chongqing Municipal People's Government and the General Office of Sichuan Provincial People’s Government jointly issued a plan. Both sides will promote high-quality agricultural development, science, and technology, agricultural product markets, coordinated development of urban and rural industries, rural ecological civilization in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, integrated urban-rural development, and resource protection.
They also proposed to take the lead in realizing agricultural and rural modernization in the western region by 2035.
The characteristic agriculture demonstration zone
Practices to promote high-quality agricultural development include building a high-quality national grain and oil security base, a nationally important pig production base, a high-quality and efficient modern characteristic industry cluster, as well as a modern and efficient characteristic agriculture demonstration zone between Chengdu and Chongqing.
In particular, the construction of the demonstration zone is reflected in the coordinated and optimized layout of industrial clusters in terms of high-quality grain and oil, healthy breeding, green fruits, and vegetables.
For example, a center for distributing and trading agricultural products, including Chinese herbs and lemons, can be built, covering Suining, Ziyang, and Neijiang in Sichuan Province and Tongnan, Dazu, and Rongchang in Chongqing.
Expanding their agricultural markets, the two regions will strengthen the quality and safety of agricultural products and the construction of regional public brands, accelerate the construction of a modern circulation system for agricultural products, and promote agricultural openness and cooperation.
Tongnan District in Chongqing has ambitious plans to increase its lemon plantation area to 1000 square kilometers with an annual output of 2 million tons. (Photo/ Tongnan District Publicity Department)
Bashu Livable Countryside Demonstration Belt
Meanwhile, Chengdu and Chongqing will promote integrated urban-rural development through building modern agricultural parks (demonstration zones), constructing modern agricultural management systems, and consolidating and expanding the achievements made in poverty alleviation throughout surrounding areas, building a beautiful Bashu Livable Countryside Demonstration Belt.
Specifically, Dazu and Tongnan in Chongqing and Ziyang in Sichuan Province have complementary industries in high correlation and have a deep cooperation foundation in modern urban agriculture development, cultural tourism, and infrastructure construction.
These places are located in the one-hour metropolitan area and two-hour city cluster, where smooth traffic is guaranteed for deep cooperation, said a competent official with the Chongqing Municipal Agriculture and Rural Committee.
Promoting the construction of rural ecological civilization in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Chengdu and Chongqing will strengthen cross-border collaborative management of agricultural and rural pollution.
Other collaborations involve coordinated development of environmental protection, agriculture and animal husbandry in the Yangtze River basin, and cooperation in agricultural law enforcement.
Thousand-Hand Guanyin Statue at Dazu Rock Carvings Baodingshan Scenic Area. (iChongqing/ Mikkel Larsen)
(Shi Jiaqi, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)