Representatives visited and exchanged views at the Zitong Tianbao Citrus Professional Cooperative (Photo by Mianyang Daily All-Media Reporter Pu Tao)
China Mianyang News Network Once upon a time, supply and marketing cooperatives were regarded as the main channel for the two-way circulation of agricultural products, and they once occupied a "monopoly position" in rural retail in China. However, with the development of economy and society, supply and marketing cooperatives are no longer prosperous. To this end, the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Comprehensive Reform of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives" proposes that we should be oriented toward agricultural modernization and farmers' production and life, promote supply and marketing cooperatives to extend from circulation services to full-scale agricultural social services, and expand to all-round urban and rural community services, accelerate the formation of a comprehensive, large-scale, and sustainable service system for farmers, and provide farmers with convenient, affordable, safe and high-quality services in key areas and links such as the supply of agricultural inputs, circulation of agricultural products, and rural services.
In recent years, the Zitong County Supply and Marketing Cooperative has adapted to the needs of modern agricultural development and focused on leveraging the supply and marketing cooperative’s network advantages of being familiar with the countryside, understanding farmers, and covering the countryside. From activating internal forces to expanding external markets, and from the fields to "Internet +", it has focused on operations and services. It has not only successfully opened up the "last mile" of serving farmers, but also realized its magnificent turn from difficulties to promising. Yesterday (19th), an on-site exchange meeting on the "dual-line operation" and "three-information linkage" of the province's comprehensive reform of supply and marketing cooperatives was held in Zitong.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, the participants came to the first visiting point - Zitong County Supply and Marketing Building. The 2,000-square-meter office building is spacious and bright. Various agricultural products are displayed in the lobby on the first floor, and the six service centers of the county supply and marketing cooperative are gathered on the second floor. "Putting all the important functions of the supply and marketing cooperative in one building will not only facilitate the public's work, but also show its own image!" said Zeng Xianwei, director of the supply and marketing cooperative in Gaoping District, Nanchong City.
It is understood that Zitong County is actively exploring the transformation model of social-owned assets and building "one platform and six centers" in the Zitong County Supply and Marketing Building. The "one platform" is the Zitong County Rural Cooperative Economic Federation, which is a social organization in charge of the Zitong County Supply and Marketing Cooperative; the "six centers" are Zitong County Agricultural Social Organization Service Center, Zitong County Rural E-commerce Service Center, Zitong County Rural Property Rights Transfer and Trading Center, Zitong County Rural Fund Mutual Aid Center, Zitong County Rural Cooperative Economic Accounting Service Center, Zitong County Rural Collective Economy Financial Management Service Center.
Zhao Tinghuai, director of the Zitong County Supply and Marketing Cooperative, said that all the “six centers” implement enterprise operations, and their hosting entities are all members of the Zitong County Rural Cooperative Economic Federation. At present, the "Six Centers" have provided agency accounting services to 11 rural collective economic organizations, provided public welfare services to 29 poor village cooperatives, and provided paid services to 80 market entities; they have signed financial management agreements with 9 village collective economic organizations, with an entrusted financial management amount of 1.55 million yuan; and completed 8 rural property rights transfer transactions worth 38.9 million yuan.
Watch, listen, and discuss together, see highlights, develop ideas, and make suggestions. Through the inspection and observation of the visiting points, the participants have strengthened their confidence and determination to deepen the reform of the supply and marketing system, face difficulties and take positive actions. "Through supplying agricultural inputs and purchasing products, supply and marketing cooperatives have very close ties with farmers. Under the state-owned model, product quality control is more stringent, so it is easy to gain the trust of farmers and the development prospects are still promising." said Liu Lifan, deputy director of Panzhihua City Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
When walking into the large supermarket established by the Xuzhou Town Central Supply and Marketing Cooperative, what came into view were neat rows of shelves with a dazzling array of products neatly placed. A blackboard hangs prominently at the door, with the day's prices for various commodities written on it. "The supermarket has opened in the village. You can buy whatever you want, and the quality is guaranteed." Sun Jilan, a villager who was shopping, said happily. Many participants believed that this supermarket has reached the level of a large urban supermarket and its operation model is worthy of promotion.
In addition to large supermarkets, Xuzhou Town Central Supply and Marketing Cooperative also revitalizes existing assets and establishes agricultural products wholesale trading markets, day care centers for the elderly, etc.At the same time, through docking with the county's "One Platform and Six Centers", it provides social services such as helping people with errands, helping communities with accounting, helping villages with financial management, online purchasing and selling, and farming and raising, becoming a Zitong characteristic comprehensive platform for agricultural services that integrates online supply and marketing, production and marketing integration, mutual financial assistance, and health care. Today, the cooperative has founded, led, and participated in 6 farmers' professional cooperatives, built a comprehensive service commercial building of 3,900 square meters, built 12 rural comprehensive service cooperatives, and 5 agricultural hospitals. It has an agricultural product trading market area of 4,300 square meters, and a daily consumer goods supermarket business area of 1,800 square meters. In 2016, it achieved a total operating service value of 67.33 million yuan and a tax profit of 160,000 yuan. It was rated as a national grassroots social benchmark cooperative.
In the modern agricultural socialization service supermarket in Qing'an Village, Xuzhou Town, two staff members are debugging the newly installed "Nongzhangjia" computer platform. Farmers only need to tap their mobile phones and scan the WeChat QR code to buy agricultural products on the "Nongdangjia" e-commerce platform. At the same time, this platform can also share agricultural information, make reservations for agrochemical services, provide agricultural technology consultation and agricultural loans, etc. According to reports, the Xuzhou Town Central Supply and Marketing Cooperative cooperates with Qing'an Village to use the idle assets of the village to explore the establishment of a supply and marketing service model of "grassroots cooperative + village committee + modern agricultural socialized service supermarket". At present, the supermarket owns 2 plant protection drones and 27 agricultural machinery (sets). By participating in the construction of a grain drying center and a service center for farmers, it has carried out land trust of 6,200 acres.
"Supply farmers' necessary means of life and production on time, conveniently and safely, and sell farmers' crops and agricultural and sideline products in a timely manner. Even the existing logistics and express delivery system is a blind spot in many remote rural areas. Generally, it can only reach towns and cannot cover villages. This is precisely the advantage of supply and marketing cooperatives." Xu Qiquan, director of the Liangshan Prefecture Supply and Marketing Cooperative, greatly appreciated the supply and marketing service model of Qing'an Village, believing that this move has truly opened up the "last mile" of serving farmers. (Mianyang Daily All-Media Reporter Liang Ming)
