The No. 1 Central Document proposes to implement large-scale agricultural water-saving projects. Regarding agricultural water conservation as a directional and strategic issue, we will speed up the improvement of the national policy system supporting agricultural water conservation.

What is the significance of agricultural water saving in advancing the structural reform of the agricultural supply side? What specific measures does my country have to improve the agricultural water-saving system and implement large-scale agricultural water-saving projects? The reporter interviewed relevant experts and ministries on related issues a few days ago.

Urgent requirements to ensure water and food security

One of the main tasks of advancing the structural reform of the agricultural supply side is to promote green production methods and enhance the ability of sustainable agricultural development. Among them, water is a major and key issue.

Yan Guanyu, deputy director of the China Irrigation and Drainage Development Center, said that large-scale implementation of agricultural water-saving projects and taking agricultural water-saving as a directional and strategic issue is an urgent requirement to ensure water security and food security.

Yan Guanyu said that in the future, a water-use structure dominated by agriculture will exist for a long time, and the fundamentals of irrigation as a major water user will not fundamentally change. Under the conditions of increasingly intensified water and soil resource constraints, the most urgent and effective way to ensure national water security and food security water needs is to save water. Through large-scale implementation of agricultural water-saving projects, farmland water conservancy will be improved from increasing water supply capacity. Pay attention to the transformation of improving water-saving capacity.

Yan Guanyu said that in the future, agricultural development will shift from over-reliance on resource consumption and mainly satisfying the demand for "quantity" to the pursuit of sustainable green ecology and more emphasis on "quality".

In this regard, my country will accelerate the pace of continuous construction and water-saving transformation of backbone irrigation and drainage projects, and vigorously popularize advanced water-saving technologies such as sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, and pipeline irrigation, so as to achieve timely, appropriate, accurate, and scientific irrigation.

By promoting water saving in agriculture, a series of comprehensive benefits such as land saving, energy saving, emission reduction, production increase, efficiency increase, and income increase can also be achieved, which can effectively improve the quality of crops, reduce agricultural production costs, and increase the competitiveness of agricultural products.

Five major measures to improve the agricultural water-saving system

The reporter learned from the Ministry of Water Resources that to implement the large-scale implementation of agricultural water-saving projects proposed by the central government, there are five major measures to improve the agricultural water-saving system and deepen the reform of the system and mechanism:

One is to improve the water-saving policy support system. Accelerate the advancement of water rights distribution, water price reform, and water rights trading, improve water-saving rewards and penalties, and form a water-saving policy incentive and compelling mechanism. Continuously increase financial support at all levels for agricultural water conservation.

The second is to improve the water-saving engineering system. Accelerate the continuous construction and water-saving transformation of key irrigation and drainage projects, carry out the modernization of irrigation areas, and strengthen the construction of small farmland water conservancy projects. Plan to build a number of major and high-efficiency water-saving irrigation demonstration projects in suitable areas.

The third is to improve the water-saving support system. Strengthen agricultural water-saving basic research, technology and equipment research and development, innovation, integration and promotion.

The fourth is to improve the water-saving management system. Promote the total amount of irrigation water control and quota management, strengthen the construction of metering facilities and the application of information technology, and strengthen water efficiency constraints and supervision and assessment.

The fifth is to improve the management and protection mechanism of project operation. Persist in the construction of the mechanism first and the construction of the project later, effectively strengthen the construction and management of the project, and improve the quality and efficiency.

Speed ​​up the implementation of water-saving irrigation projects

In order to implement the No. 1 document, large-scale implementation of agricultural water-saving projects. The reporter learned from the Ministry of Water Resources that my country will take specific measures from four aspects in the near future:

The first is to strengthen the design of policies and systems. The Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Finance, and the Development and Reform Commission have issued the "Implementation Plan for Adding 100 Million Mu of High-Efficiency Water-saving Irrigation Area in the 13th Five-Year Plan", and the National Development and Reform Commission has issued the "Support and Support for the Renewal of National Large-scale Irrigation Districts". Implementation Plan for Water-saving Transformation (2016-2020)" etc.

The second is to promote institutional innovation. Accelerate the comprehensive reform of agricultural water prices and strengthen agricultural water management. Guide farmers, rural collective economic organizations, new agricultural business entities and social capital to participate in the construction and operation of water-saving irrigation projects. Complete the pilot tasks of reforming the property rights system of farmland water conservancy facilities in 100 counties and innovating the operation, management and protection mechanism.

The third is to speed up the implementation of water-saving irrigation projects. Accelerate the construction and transformation of water-saving and ecological modern irrigation districts. Select a group of areas where water sources are guaranteed, planting operations have scale, beneficiaries are willing, and project operation conditions are good, and a group of national agricultural water-saving demonstration projects will be concentrated. Continue to carry out activities to create high-efficiency water-saving irrigation demonstration counties. During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the country will add 100 million mu of high-efficiency water-saving irrigation area, and by 2020, the country's effective farmland irrigation area will reach more than 1 billion mu.

The fourth is to effectively strengthen project construction and management. Improve the market credit system for water-saving irrigation construction, as well as the qualification management and access system, strengthen supervision, and ensure the quality of product equipment and engineering.