Jiangsu moves to support agricultural market players amid epidemic

2020-02-14 14:48:00

Jiangsu Province has introduced a slew of measures to ensure the continuous vegetable supply and resumption of agricultural works as China battles the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The provincial leading group of the prevention and control of the pneumonia epidemic released a guideline composed of 15 measures to support market players to resume work. In line with the guideline, the provincial and city departments also made similar moves.

As of now, among 823 large leading agricultural enterprises in the province, 247 have resumed production. Data also showed 181 feed enterprises and 91 slaughterhouses resumed operation, accounting for 33.3 percent and 72.8 percent, respectively.

Among the supportive measures, the province has made more aggressive efforts to cut or waive fees and increase subsidies. According to Jiangsu Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Jiangsu Department of Finance, enterprises that help stabilize production and ensure supply will get a subsidy of up to 2 percent of interest for new loans that happen within the prescribed period, or at most 500,000 yuan for a single market entity.

Internet-based services have also been provided to resume agricultural work. For example, Jiangsu Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has used a platform to offer support to 328,000 agricultural operating entities and farmers, providing information about the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus, agricultural technology, materials, products and market updates. Meanwhile, it has organized 477 experts to answer inquiries online. Since the platform went live on January 25, it has published 176 articles and attracted 1.82 million pageviews.

Jiangsu has also guaranteed the smooth transport of agricultural products and materials for agriculture, according to a guideline by Jiangsu Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangsu Department of Transport and Jiangsu Department of Public Security. Over 5,000 “green passage”permits were issued in counties and cities in Jiangsu. At the same time, the province has asked for coordination by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to address problems in transporting live poultry across provinces.