Turning the Inflection Point into a Highlight

　　Reporters He Hongwei, Cao Rong, Le Mingkai, Shi Yanan

　　In Changzhou Garden, flowers bloom in the flower dock, and willows are planted in front of Changhe Gate. As a major tobacco-producing province, Hubei has seen its modern tobacco industry flourish since the infrastructure construction for tobacco leaf production began in 2005. Through continuous transformation and upgrading, it is becoming a banner for economic development and modern agricultural construction in the Hubei tobacco region.

　　In the past decade, the Hubei tobacco commercial system has invested over 4 billion yuan, building more than 260,000 infrastructure projects in the tobacco region, significantly improving the production and living conditions in the tobacco area;

　　In the past decade, tobacco farmers have accumulated cash income of 14.49 billion yuan, with average household income rising from less than 10,000 yuan to 33,800 yuan, making tobacco leaf production an important pillar for increasing farmers' income in the tobacco area;

　　In the past decade, the tobacco industry has paid a total of 50 billion yuan in business taxes, strongly supporting local economic construction.

　　With the increasing intensity of smoking bans, slowing growth in cigarette consumption, and excess inventory, the traditional development path of planning and expanding scale is no longer viable. "Controlling quantity, improving quality, and increasing efficiency" has become the only way for Hubei tobacco agriculture to reach new heights.

　　Having participated in the provincial modern tobacco agriculture and new rural construction work conference for seven consecutive years, Hubei Provincial Party Committee Vice Secretary Zhang Chang'er has a deep understanding of this: "The Hubei tobacco industry has entered a new stage of transformation and development, shifting from quantity expansion to quality improvement, further creating high-quality tobacco leaves with regional characteristics, achieving increased income for farmers, enhanced efficiency for enterprises, and increased tax revenue for the government."

　　Reducing quantity and upgrading is both a turning point and a highlight for development

　　The monopoly plan economy is a typical feature of the tobacco industry. In 2014, the National Tobacco Monopoly Administration proposed the development direction of "adjusting plans, optimizing structures, and improving quality," marking a turning point in the development of the tobacco leaf industry.

　　This is both a turning point in market demand and a turning point in capacity adjustment. According to statistics, in the first half of 2014, cigarette sales in 14 provinces and cities nationwide decreased year-on-year, while the demand for high-quality tobacco increased by nearly 10 percentage points, highlighting the structural contradictions in products. Meanwhile, long-term continuous cropping and excessive use of fertilizers have led to soil degradation in some tobacco fields, and the pursuit of quantity has encountered severe resource bottlenecks.

　　Faced with the new situation of tobacco leaf production and sales, changing ideas, adjusting structures, and transforming methods have become important tools to solve problems. Hubei Province has also responded to the situation and bravely faced challenges, resolutely controlling scale and striving for steady transformation. Hubei Vice Governor Liang Huiling pointed out at the provincial modern tobacco agriculture and new rural construction work conference: "Controlling scale is an important measure to ensure rational and sustainable development of tobacco leaf production and effectively protect the interests of tobacco farmers in the current situation."

　　In 2014, Hubei's tobacco leaf plan was reduced by 27.1% year-on-year. Completing this task and maintaining the "red line" is no easy feat. Tang Jiasheng, the Party Secretary of Luoqian Rock Village in Xuan'en County, Enshi Prefecture, said that tobacco is the pillar industry of the village, and almost every household grows tobacco. To complete the planned task, his family had to take the lead in reducing the area.

　　While ensuring the achievement of expectations, it is also important not to harm the enthusiasm of tobacco farmers. Various places in Hubei have taken decisive actions. In 2014, Enshi Prefecture planned to reduce 178,000 quintals, the largest absolute amount. The provincial and municipal governments quickly reallocated the plan and adjusted policies, with officials at all levels actively visiting tobacco farmers' homes to negotiate, often making two or three visits.

　　Yichang City’s Zigui County provided insurance for the tobacco area, offered interest subsidies on loans to tobacco farmers, and allocated over 5.3 million yuan in subsidies to farmers at a standard of 40 yuan per quintal. Zaozhuang City in Xiangyang took 8 percentage points from the 22% tobacco leaf tax to directly subsidize tobacco farmers...

　　"If the turn is not done well, there is danger; if done well, it becomes a highlight." Zhao Quanyi, Director of the Hubei Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, believes that "we must do subtraction in terms of quantity and addition in terms of quality. Hubei tobacco must seize the critical nodes in the next 2-3 years, utilize the good foundation laid in the past decade, focus on strict control of scale and digesting inventory, and strive to create a new landscape for industrial transformation and upgrading."

　　Respecting the market to enhance quality, optimizing and strengthening the entire tobacco industry chain

　　Tobacco leaves are a major agricultural product, and the state has strict quality standards. Exemption from inspection is the highest affirmation of tobacco leaf quality. "We strive to achieve comprehensive exemption from inspection within three years!" Zhao Quanyi said. Pursuing exemption from inspection means pushing for standardized production, regulated management, and full industrial participation driven by quality, promoting the transformation and development of tobacco leaves. To this end, Hubei has formulated a three-year plan, and in 2014, pilot projects were launched in 13 counties (cities), covering 670,000 quintals, accounting for 45% of the province's total flue-cured tobacco.

　　"The integration of tobacco workers, businesses, and production areas into a community of shared destiny is the secret to the quality of Hubei tobacco leaves and the growth of tobacco brands," said Peng Mingquan, General Manager of Hubei Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. A unified plan, a single standard, and a cohesive team have been implemented. Hubei Tobacco has cooperated with the Hubei Tobacco Monopoly Bureau to actively participate in the management and construction of tobacco areas, station management personnel at tobacco stations year-round, and establish a quality control system to allocate tobacco leaves of all grades to meet the quality needs of industrial enterprises. #p#分页标题#e#

　　Enshi Prefecture's Hefeng County has achieved zero inventory of tobacco leaves for eight consecutive years, which is a result of the connection between farmers and enterprises. Industrial enterprises allocate tobacco leaves of all grades from Hefeng, and after acceptance and handover in the production area, enterprises no longer conduct re-inspections. Through the cooperation of farmers, businesses, and industry, Hubei has fundamentally transformed the management mode of tobacco leaf production.

　　Quality improvement also relies on technological support. Zhao Jiancheng, Director of the Shiyan Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, introduced that Shiyan City has fully leveraged the leading role of industry, the main role of production areas, and the key role of scientific research, continuously conducting major project research on "Shennongjia Planting Tobacco New Area Characteristic High-Quality Tobacco Leaf Development" for six consecutive years, revising and improving 96 standardized production and GAP management standards for "Golden Shennong" tobacco leaves, integrating the existing tobacco leaf acquisition information system, and adding production, acquisition, and allocation quality supervision functions to achieve dynamic management of the entire tobacco leaf production process, ensuring that standards and assessments run through the entire production and operation management process, and ensuring the achievement of the goal of exempting tobacco leaves from inspection.

　　The continuous improvement of supporting facilities for tobacco leaf production, such as ditches, fields, forests, roads, and bridges, has also laid a foundation for enhancing quality. Hubei Province has approved six aid water source projects with a total investment of 645 million yuan; five new tobacco leaf base units have been added, bringing the total to 31; advanced agricultural machinery is widely used, and full mechanization of farming is promoted... These measures have enhanced the ability of tobacco fields to withstand natural disasters, improved the level of standardized tobacco leaf production, and ensured the implementation of key technologies, effectively enhancing the quality of tobacco leaves, contributing to Hubei's successful creation of the "Qingjiang Source" and "Golden Shennong" two characteristic tobacco leaf brands, and continuously enhancing the industry's influence.

　　Professional tobacco farmers scale up efficiency, and the social service system continues to improve

　　Improving quality is fundamental to increasing efficiency, and scale is the guarantee for increasing efficiency. In recent years, tobacco departments at all levels in Hubei have continuously innovated the organization model for tobacco leaf production, exploring a dual-layer management model of "planting at home, services in the community, unified where appropriate, and divided where appropriate," establishing a comprehensive service-oriented professional cooperative for tobacco farmers in each base unit, setting up service teams for seedling cultivation, mechanized farming, pest control, drying, grading, etc., providing professional services for all aspects of tobacco leaf production, cultivating professional tobacco farmers, ensuring large-scale production, and initially achieving "factory-like production at both ends, professionalization in the middle, and full mechanization throughout," setting a model for modern agriculture in the province.

　　Located in Longfeng Town, Enshi City, the Qingbao Tobacco Farmers Professional Cooperative has a tobacco planting area of 1,300 acres and 26 tobacco farmers.

　　Liu Zhiying, a villager from Sun River Township in Enshi City, has been a tobacco farmer for over ten years. Previously, he grew tobacco on 10 acres in his hometown, scattered in small plots, making mechanized operation impossible and labor costs high. Now he has joined the Qingbao Tobacco Farmers Professional Cooperative, contracting 85 acres of tobacco fields, using advanced agricultural machinery, and achieving a reduction in costs and an increase in efficiency of about 200 yuan per acre through large-scale production.

　　To ensure the quality of professional services in the cooperative, Enshi Prefecture has also transferred some technicians to the tobacco farmers' cooperatives in both full-time and seasonal capacities, implementing performance-based salaries linked to acquisition tasks, tobacco leaf quality, and farmers' income, focusing on cultivating capable managers, financial experts, and technical talents, providing tangible services to farmers, and stabilizing a team of grassroots tobacco technical personnel.

　　Currently, the average planting area per tobacco farmer in Hubei Province has reached 12 acres, with an average planting area of 16.8 acres for flue-cured tobacco. A total of 41 comprehensive service-oriented professional cooperatives for tobacco farmers have been established, with a membership rate of over 90% in areas with cooperatives, and the system of comprehensive service-oriented professional cooperatives for tobacco farmers is relatively complete.

　　Improving living conditions through parks, new rural construction is exemplary

　　The integration of modern tobacco agriculture and new rural construction in tobacco areas is one of the biggest highlights of modern agricultural development in Hubei Province.

　　During the fragrant season of golden leaves, driving into Wangcheng Village in the northwest suburbs of Enshi City, the "Qingjiang Source" Science and Technology Park of the Hubei Tobacco Monopoly Bureau is located here, with neatly arranged buildings, abundant tobacco fields ready for harvest, and smiling villagers welcoming visitors, presenting a delightful new rural scene.

　　Seventy-two-year-old Fang Peishang is a villager in Wangcheng Village. After the land transfer, he became a worker in the park. He exchanged his old house, which he lived in for decades, for a new two-story house of 210 square meters without spending a penny, and he is extremely happy. The science and technology park not only achieved land consolidation around the tobacco fields but also unified the planning and construction of villagers' housing, providing centralized heating and gas supply, bringing joy to the villagers.

　　The circular economy model of modern tobacco agriculture has also emerged in the science and technology park. After crushing and fermenting tobacco stems, they become organic fertilizer, cleaning the tobacco fields, reducing pest pollution, improving soil fertility, and effectively increasing the yields of tobacco leaves, soybeans, and konjac. Based on a purchase price of 500 yuan per ton of tobacco stems, the 4,000 acres of tobacco fields in the science and technology park producing 800 tons of tobacco stems can provide over 400,000 yuan in annual cash income for the farmers in the park. #p#分页标题#e#

　　The karst topography in mountainous areas does not retain water, leading to flooding during heavy rains and water scarcity during droughts, making access to drinking water a persistent headache for people in mountainous areas. However, the construction of supporting facilities in the 31 tobacco leaf base units across the province has solved this problem. Basic coverage has been achieved for tobacco water, tobacco roads, tobacco machines, seedling facilities, basic tobacco fields, and standardized acquisition stations. This series of beneficial projects has not only greatly improved the comprehensive production capacity of the tobacco area but also effectively improved the production and living conditions in the tobacco area, bringing tangible benefits to tobacco farmers.

　　In Hubei, the tobacco industry has brought hope for poverty alleviation and prosperity to ethnic regions and impoverished mountainous areas. In recent years, the National Tobacco Monopoly Administration has invested 1 billion yuan in comprehensive poverty alleviation development funds in Enshi Prefecture, aiming for the "six ones" project goal of one industry, one reservoir, one school, one hospital, one road, and one ecological village, resulting in significant changes in the appearance of the local modern tobacco agriculture demonstration area, paving a new path for the development of modern agriculture and the construction of new rural areas in the tobacco region!