Reply to the suggestion of ＂strengthening the transformation of low-and medium-yield fields in mountainous areas and ethnic areas＂ (abstract)

　　For a long time, the central finance has attached great importance to the economic development of mountainous and ethnic areas, and has continuously increased its financial input, which has effectively promoted the economic development of mountainous and ethnic areas.　

　　First, on the issue of increasing support for land consolidation projects.　

　　In order to increase the amount of cultivated land, improve the quality of cultivated land, ensure national food security and improve rural production and living conditions, in recent years, the central government has increased its capital investment in land development and consolidation year by year by arranging new paid land use fees for construction land. From 2008 to 2010, the central government arranged special funds for land development and consolidation of 10.8 billion yuan, 20.1 billion yuan and 28.7 billion yuan respectively. The arrangement of the above funds reflects the inclination to the central and western regions, including mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas. From 2008 to 2010, the special funds for land development and consolidation in Yunnan Province were 406 million yuan, 570 million yuan and 1.221 billion yuan respectively. Especially in 2010, the central government allocated a budget of 750 million yuan for the major project of farmland improvement in Yunnan Province, which is the largest project to benefit the people in Yunnan border areas since the founding of New China. The project includes 420 project areas, benefiting 6.45 million people from 25 border counties (cities) in 8 states (cities), all located in border mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas, with a total construction scale of 3.23 million mu and a total investment of 8.6 billion yuan, which is planned to be completed within 5 years. After the implementation of the project, it is estimated that 230,000 mu of cultivated land will be added, and the per capita area of farmers in the region will be increased from 0.49 mu to 1 mu, which is of great significance for local farmers to get rid of poverty and become rich, protect cultivated land, ensure national food security, stabilize the frontier and promote economic and social development in ethnic areas. In the next few years, the central government will continue to give financial support to this project.　

　　Two, about increasing the support of comprehensive agricultural development projects.　

　　The basic task of comprehensive agricultural development is to transform low-and medium-yield farmland, build high-standard farmland, improve the comprehensive production capacity of agriculture, especially grain, and ensure national food security by adopting comprehensive management measures such as water conservancy, agriculture, forestry and science and technology. In order to concentrate funds, highlight key points and improve efficiency, the funds and project arrangements for the transformation of low-and medium-yield fields focus on grain-producing counties in major grain-producing provinces and non-major grain-producing provinces. At the same time, taking into account the actual situation of mountainous agricultural counties, we will constantly improve the support policies for mountainous agricultural counties and gradually increase the support for the transformation of low-and medium-yield fields in mountainous agricultural counties. First, relax the conditions for agricultural counties in hilly and mountainous areas to declare comprehensive agricultural development counties. The declaration is included in the national comprehensive agricultural development counties. Agricultural counties in plain areas require more than 200,000 mu of cultivated land, while agricultural counties in hilly areas only require more than 100,000 mu of cultivated land. The second is to reduce the requirements for the management area of the transformation project area of low-and medium-yield fields in agricultural counties in hilly and mountainous areas. In the development counties with a financial investment of more than 5 million yuan for land management projects, the management area of a single low-and medium-yield farmland transformation project area should not be less than 10,000 mu in principle in plain areas, but not less than 5,000 mu in hilly and mountainous areas; In a development county with a financial investment of less than 5 million yuan for land management projects, the management area of a single low-and medium-yield farmland transformation project area should be not less than 8,000 mu in principle in plain areas, but not less than 4,000 mu in hilly and mountainous areas. If the governance area of a single project area in agricultural counties in hilly and mountainous areas can not meet the above requirements, two or three plots can be selected as a project area in the same small watershed or the same irrigation area.　

　　Three, on increasing poverty alleviation and development, consolidating the achievements of returning farmland to forests, basic grain field construction and other projects to support.　

　　In recent years, the central finance has implemented the important spirit of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on poverty alleviation and development, continuously increased financial investment in poverty alleviation and development, and tilted to western regions and ethnic minority areas such as Yunnan Province. According to statistics, during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, the central government allocated a total of 7.06 billion yuan of financial poverty alleviation funds in Yunnan Province, with an average annual increase of 14.8%, which was higher than the average annual increase of the total amount of financial poverty alleviation funds subsidized by the central government to local governments in the same period. In the next step, the central government will implement the requirements of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, further increase the input of financial poverty alleviation funds, and continue to tilt to Yunnan Province and other provinces with more prominent poverty problems, support concentrated contiguous areas with special difficulties to carry out poverty alleviation, promote the alleviation of absolute poverty, and accelerate the economic and social development of poverty-stricken areas.　

　　According to the spirit of the Notice of the State Council on Improving the Policy of Returning Farmland to Forests (Guo Fa [2007] No.25), the Ministry of Finance, together with the the State Council Western Development Leading Group and the National Development and Reform Commission, jointly formulated the Measures for the Use and Management of Special Funds for Consolidating the Achievements of Returning Farmland to Forests (Cai Nong [2007] No.327, hereinafter referred to as the Measures), and decided to arrange special funds for consolidating returning farmland to forests from 2008. The "Measures" clarify that the special funds for consolidating the achievements of returning farmland to forests should be given priority to the construction of basic grain ration fields for farmers who have conditions to return farmland. From 2008 to 2010, the central government arranged a total of 34.6 billion yuan of special funds to consolidate the achievements of returning farmland to forests.　

　　At the same time, in order to increase support for projects such as returning farmland to forests and building basic grain ration fields in mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas, the central government plans to allocate 1.5 billion yuan for infrastructure investment in 2011 to support work instead of relief, which can be used for basic grain ration field construction projects; It is planned to allocate 3.6 billion yuan for the project of returning farmland to forests and natural grasslands. Specific project arrangements can be reported to the National Development and Reform Commission and other relevant departments for overall consideration according to the prescribed procedures.　

　　In the future, the central government will further improve and consolidate the relevant subsidy policies for returning farmland to forests, and increase support for consolidating the construction of basic grain ration fields for returning farmland to forests.　

　　Four, on increasing the support of small watershed management projects.　

　　The state attaches great importance to soil and water conservation in mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas. When arranging the implementation of key national soil and water conservation projects, the focus is on mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas, and the central government’s input and subsidy standards are increased year by year. In 2009, the pilot project of comprehensive control of soil erosion on sloping farmland was first launched in minority areas in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas, and the minority areas with high proportion of sloping farmland and serious soil erosion were selected for project implementation. By 2010, the central subsidy for soil and water conservation pilot projects in mountainous areas and ethnic areas has increased to 200,000-300,000 yuan per square kilometer, of which the investment directly used for the construction of basic farmland and supporting small-scale water conservancy and soil conservation projects has reached more than 70%. In the next step, the Ministry of Water Resources will coordinate with many parties, increase the central investment in soil and water conservation projects in mountainous areas and ethnic areas, strive to start the comprehensive agricultural development project in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi, and focus on the transformation of sloping farmland and the construction of basic farmland to carry out large-scale comprehensive control of soil erosion in the border areas of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi.　

　　Five, on the "special funds to support, supporting the construction of small water cellar (pool)" proposal.　

　　Judging from the situation of small-scale farmland water conservancy construction in recent years, the construction of small-scale peasant water in hilly areas has always been one of the key contents supported by the central government’s special funds for small-scale peasant water. After the drought in Southwest China in 2010, in order to strengthen the support for small-scale irrigation and water conservancy construction in Southwest China, in 2010, the central government allocated 145 million yuan to five provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) which suffered severe drought and suffered serious losses, in addition to the normal distribution according to the factor method. At the same time, the Ministry of Water Resources has organized and compiled the Construction Plan of Five Small Water Conservancy Projects in Five Southwest Provinces, and carried out the pilot construction of the Five Small Water Conservancy Projects in five southwest provinces (regions). In 2011, according to the requirement of "supporting the construction of’ five small water conservancy projects’ such as small water kilns, small ponds, small ponds, small pumping stations and small canals in hilly areas" put forward by the No.1 Document of the Central Committee, the central government will continue to increase its support for the construction of’ five small water conservancy projects’ in hilly areas of five southwest provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities).