Contribution of China's organic industry development to the construction of ecological civilisation

  Ecological civilization is the sum total of material and spiritual achievements attained by humanity in accordance with the objective law of harmonious development among people, nature, and society; ecological civilization is a social formation whose basic tenets are harmonious coexistence, virtuous cycles, comprehensive development, and sustained prosperity between humanity and nature, among people, and between people and society. The core of ecological civilization is the transition from “opposition between humanity and nature” to “coordinated development between humanity and nature.” The background of organic agriculture's emergence is also due to issues such as resource depletion, biodiversity loss, ecological environment deterioration, and food safety caused by the rapid development of industrialization. The core concept of organic agriculture is to fully utilize natural resources to achieve sustainable agricultural development, and it is an important component of China's ecological agriculture. The development of the organic agriculture industry is one of the important means for China's agricultural practice of ecological civilization.
In the mid-1990s, the Party Central Committee clearly proposed that sustainable development must be taken as a major strategy in the process of modernization. The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, for the first time, put forward ecological civilization as a new requirement for the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed that we must establish the ecological civilization concept of respecting nature, conforming to nature, and protecting nature, and placed ecological civilization construction in a prominent position within the five-sphere integrated plan, clearly proposing to strengthen ecological civilization construction, and proposing to incorporate resource consumption, environmental damage, and ecological benefits into the evaluation system of social and economic development, and to establish a target system, assessment methods, and reward and punishment mechanisms that reflect the requirements of ecological civilization.
While fulfilling its production function of providing organic products, organic agriculture also focuses on the interaction between humans and ecosystems and their sustainable relationship with the environment and natural resources. Organic agriculture is based on the principles of health, ecology, fairness, and care. The organic industry is precisely a successful international practice of ecological agriculture, and it is also a modernized version of China's traditional agricultural model. Its connotation aligns with the Eastern wisdom of the unity of heaven and humanity, and its extension covers agriculture, environmental protection, culture, and other industries. Its production and operation methods are in line with international counterparts, one might say the ancient and modern are interconnected. Practice has proven that the organic industry can increase farmland fertility, enhance agricultural efficiency, raise farmers' income, and benefit consumers. It has very special practical and strategic significance for ecological civilization construction, the low-carbon economy of agricultural transformation and development, and the inheritance and promotion of China's five-thousand-year Eastern civilization.
9.1 The organic industry protects and improves the ecological environment
The development of the organic industry is inseparable from ecological environmental civilization. In the production process, organic agriculture and the ecological environment are interdependent and mutually influential. Compared with conventional agriculture, organic agriculture, because it adopts its specific agricultural production and processing methods, brings less impact and damage to the ecological environment, and has positive effects on water, soil, air, biodiversity, etc., which is conducive to the construction of ecological environmental civilization.
9.1.1 Reducing water eutrophication
Pesticides and chemical fertilizers applied to farmland are the main sources of water eutrophication. Excessive nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus flow into slow-flowing water bodies such as lakes, estuaries, and bays, causing water eutrophication. Eutrophication affects water quality, reduces water transparency, makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate the water layer, affects the photosynthesis of aquatic plants, may cause supersaturation of dissolved oxygen, and is harmful to aquatic organisms. Long-term drinking of eutrophic water containing nitrates and nitrites by humans and livestock may also cause poisoning and disease. Organic agriculture prohibits the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, directly reducing water eutrophication. In addition, organic agriculture can effectively reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loss through crop rotation, intercropping, relay intercropping, and other planting methods. Yue Yubo et al. studied the nitrogen and phosphorus loss characteristics of paddy field ecosystems under three rice planting modes: conventional agriculture, green frog-rice, and organic frog-rice. The results showed that under conventional agriculture, green frog-rice, and organic frog-rice planting modes, the average total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in field surface water were 18.87 mg/L, 8.98 mg/L, and 8.20 mg/L, respectively. The average TN concentration under the organic frog-rice mode was the lowest, which could effectively reduce nitrogen release.
9.1.2 Increasing soil organic carbon content and improving soil fertility
Soil organic carbon has an important impact on crop productivity and is the most important ecological factor in agroecosystems. In 2014, Wang Chengji et al. [2] analyzed changes in topsoil organic carbon content under different fertilization treatments based on long-term experimental data. The study showed that under organic fertilization, the average annual increase in soil organic carbon in dryland reached 0.23 g/kg and 0.22 g/kg, while in paddy fields it reached 0.28 g/kg and 0.30 g/kg; whereas under different inorganic fertilizers, the annual increase in soil organic carbon in dryland ranged from 0.02 g/kg to 0.10 g/kg, and in paddy fields from 0.03 g/kg to 0.11 g/kg. It can be seen that the increase in organic carbon content under organic fertilization is approximately twice that under chemical fertilization.
Compared with conventional farmers engaged in agricultural production, more organic farmers adopt ecological agricultural measures to improve soil fertility, such as returning straw to the field, green manure, and applying organic fertilizer. These measures are not only conducive to fertilizing the soil but also help improve the sustainability of the farmland system. Adopting the “rice-duck co-cropping” cultivation model for rice planting, because the wildness and omnivorous nature of ducks can, to a certain extent, control diseases, pests, and weeds and improve soil fertility.
9.1.3 Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering environmental pollution
Human activities are the main cause of the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, of which agricultural greenhouse gas emissions account for about one-tenth. Compared with conventional agriculture, organic agriculture can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions mainly occur through two pathways: direct emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and indirect emissions caused by the production and transportation of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Organic agriculture does not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, reducing the energy consumption in the production and transportation of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Organic agriculture reduces the use of fossil fuels in the production and processing process, playing an important role in controlling greenhouse gas emissions and curbing global warming.
Studies have shown that the reduction in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from reducing the production and use of chemical fertilizers is 20%, and for CO2 alone, organic wheat cultivation can reduce CO2 by 46%–57% compared with conventional cultivation. Adding the emission reductions from carbon sequestration in organic farmland and pasture soils, the annual reduction in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions can reach 40%–72%. Therefore, under specific climate, soil conditions, and farming methods, organic agriculture can reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the mechanism of soil carbon sequestration, improve ecological environmental quality, and enhance agricultural productivity.
9.1.4 Protecting biodiversity
Compared with conventional agriculture, organic agriculture has a significant impact on biodiversity, mainly including plant diversity, invertebrate diversity, and bird diversity.
Organic agriculture is conducive to the growth of farmland plants. Studies have shown that compared with conventional agriculture, the species and quantity of weeds in organic farmland are relatively higher, especially the growth of rare or endangered weeds. Kay et al. showed that on farms in central England, among 21 species of rare or endangered weeds, 11 species appeared only in organic farmland, 3 species appeared only in conventional farmland, and 8 species could appear in both types of farmland, but these 8 species were more common in organic farmland. The diversity of endangered weed species in and around organic farms was twice that of conventional farms. Conventional planting methods lead to changes in farmland weed composition and a decline in species richness for multiple reasons, and the extensive use of herbicides and nitrogen fertilizers may be the main reasons. However, organic agriculture does not use nitrogen fertilizers and herbicides; therefore, the species and quantity of weeds in organic farmland are relatively higher.
Some studies on the species and quantity of soil animals in conventional and organic farmland show that the species and quantity of invertebrates in organic farmland are higher than in conventional farmland. Cluck et al. found that compared with conventional farmland, organic farmland had more wolf spider species and higher activity density. Regarding the factors affecting the species and quantity of farmland spiders, some researchers believe this is related to spider habitat. Jogar et al. found that the density of field weeds affects the development of wolf spiders, and increasing weed density can increase the number of spiders in the field. Existing studies have shown that organic farmland is more conducive to weed growth than conventional farmland. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the species and quantity of spiders in organic farmland are also greater than in conventional farmland. The density and species of earthworms in organic farmland are also higher than in conventional farmland. Brown et al. found that earthworm density in organic farmland was about twice that in conventional farmland, and species richness was also higher. Other related studies have also found that organic farmland has a greater earthworm population than conventional farmland.
The species and quantity of birds are higher in organic farmland. BirdLife International, through a survey of the conservation status of European birds, identified 195 bird species (equivalent to 38% of the total number of European birds) as Species of European Conservation Concern (SPECs). The decline in most bird populations is related to changes caused by land use, and agricultural development is the main threat, affecting birds that account for 42% of the total SPECs. The greater richness and frequency of invertebrates, plant food resources, habitat, and farming practices in organic farmland all have direct impacts on bird diversity and quantity.
The skylark is a ground-breeding bird, and its reproductive success is greatly related to the management of legume crops. Changes in the agricultural system can have serious negative impacts on it, leading to a sharp decline in numbers. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) studied the breeding and overwintering methods of birds on 22 pairs of organic and conventional farms. The results showed that due to the abundance of invertebrates and food resources, the breeding density of skylarks on organic farms was significantly higher.
9.2 The organic industry promotes the development of the ecological economy
9.2.1 Increasing agricultural income
Farmers are a vulnerable group in society, and they bear the production of food, the material basis for human survival and development. Increasing farmers' income, improving the current backward state of China's rural areas, and narrowing the gap between rural and urban areas are important goals for building a harmonious society and achieving sustainable development.
Organic agriculture does not use high-cost chemical synthetic substances such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and additives in the production process, so its materialized costs are greatly reduced. At the same time, organic agriculture has high yields. Although during the conversion period the yield of organic agricultural products may be lower than that of conventional agricultural products, in the long run, once a good organic agricultural production system is established, its yield will be 10%–60% higher than that of conventional agricultural products. In addition, because organic food has characteristics such as being natural, safe, and high quality, it is deeply favored by consumers, making the price of organic agricultural products far higher than that of traditional agricultural products. From the perspective of the international market, organic agricultural products are several times more expensive than general agricultural products or even more. Taking organic royal jelly from Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang Province as an example: ordinary royal jelly sells for 60–120 yuan/kg, while organic royal jelly sells for 580 yuan/kg, and the European market is 10 times higher on this basis. It can be seen that compared with conventional agriculture, organic agriculture has the advantages of low cost, high yield, good quality, and high product prices, and is a reliable and effective path choice for increasing farmers' income.
9.2.2 Enhancing brand effect
After passing organic certification and obtaining an organic label, the quality of organic products will be further improved, which is conducive to establishing a brand image, bringing brand effects, and forming a high reputation in the market. Organic products have excellent quality and higher added value, playing an underestimated role in shaping brand image and improving competitiveness with similar products. Many leading enterprises engaged in organic production have set up organic product counters in some high-end shopping malls, expanding the high-end brand market for organic products, meeting the market's higher standards for agricultural products, and thereby generating better economic returns.
9.2.3 Expanding the sales market for agricultural products
In recent years, due to neglecting the protection of the agricultural ecological environment, the agricultural ecological environment has continued to deteriorate, leading to increased pollution of China's traditional agricultural products and reduced competitiveness. According to inspections of vegetables and fruits in some localities, pesticide and heavy metal pollution exceeding standards exists to varying degrees, and in a few areas the exceedance is serious. For example, in Gaozhou City, China's number one fruit city, in recent years, due to large fruit output and restrictions from foreign “green barriers,” fruits such as lychee and longan have fallen from 10 yuan/kg in the past to about 3 yuan/kg now, and large orchards generally cannot make ends meet. Another example is that in 2003, vegetables and broccoli from Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, were found to have excessive pesticide residues in Japan, and exports were blocked. The purchase price of broccoli in Taizhou fell from 1.6 yuan each to 0.6 yuan, causing heavy losses to 14 related enterprises and tens of thousands of farmers.
In order to comply with the high attention and action trends of various countries regarding environmental protection and food safety, and to better develop export-oriented agriculture, China's agriculture must seek a new model that aligns with international agricultural development. As a sustainable agricultural production system that neither pollutes the environment nor destroys ecological balance, and can provide healthy and safe agricultural products, organic agriculture is a strategic choice of the century that agricultural development must make. Organic agriculture takes industrialization as the leader, uses full-process control of environmental quality and safety and standardization as means, and ultimately produces safe agricultural products through environmental quality monitoring and evaluation of agricultural product production bases and not using chemically synthesized pesticides and fertilizers in the production process. It conducts full-process quality control of agricultural products before, during, and after production, producing pollution-free agricultural products that meet standards and possessing incomparable competitive advantages over traditional agricultural products.
At present and in the future, whether in the international market or the domestic market, the quality and safety indicators of agricultural products are the most critical factors determining market competitiveness. Therefore, only by upgrading from green agriculture to organic agriculture as soon as possible can we seize a place for ourselves in the future competition of global agricultural industrial upgrading.
9.2.4 Promoting the local transfer of rural surplus labor
Organic agriculture is a labor-intensive industry that effectively integrates traditional agriculture with modern science and technology. In the professional division of labor in its pre-production, mid-production, and post-production links, it requires a large amount of labor input, about 6 times higher than other agricultural production fields, which will undoubtedly promote the local transfer of rural surplus labor. In addition, if a supporting organic food processing industry can be established, the organic agricultural production chain can be extended, and organic agricultural products can be developed toward refined and deep processing, more rural surplus labor can be absorbed for employment, playing an important role in agricultural economic development and promoting social stability.
9.2.5 Promoting the transformation and upgrading of agriculture and the rural economic structure
In 1993, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Development Planning Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Water Resources, the State Environmental Protection Administration, and the State Forestry Administration jointly organized the construction of 51 national ecological agriculture pilot counties, achieving significant economic, environmental, and social benefits. Their annual growth rates of GDP, total agricultural output value, and per capita net income of farmers were 2.2%, 0.6%, and 1.5% higher than the national average over the same period, respectively. The large-scale market entry of these agricultural products aroused widespread social attention and gained consumer recognition. It can be seen that organic agriculture has effectively promoted the sustained and efficient development of agricultural production and the rural economy in some areas of China, and is one of the effective ways for the strategic adjustment of the agricultural and rural economic structure.
9.3 The organic industry improves the ecological culture and social atmosphere
9.3.1 Ensuring food safety and human health
Organic product production standards have strict requirements for organic bases producing organic products. The organic agricultural product traceability system can enable consumers to trace all links of organic agricultural products “from field to table,” can eliminate opportunistic behavior by organic agricultural product producers in the process of producing organic agricultural products, and can keep organic agricultural products within the organic system. Relying on the food chain and ecological balance, the organic agriculture planting and breeding area forms a complete organic ecological system, providing humanity with organic products that are nutritious, high-quality, delicious, and safe.
The general nutritional components of organic food are higher than those of ordinary food. Long-term research conducted by Newcastle University in the UK and 33 other research institutions in different regions of Europe found that the antioxidant components of organic fruits and vegetables are 40% higher than those of non-organic counterparts. In addition, minerals beneficial to human health such as iron and zinc are significantly higher than in non-organic products; and the antioxidant components of organic milk are 90% higher than those of non-organic milk. In addition, the nutritional components of organic food for resisting cancer and tumor diseases are higher than those of traditional food. In a ten-year study of organic food and ordinary food, researchers compared the results and found that organic tomatoes, compared with non-organic counterparts, showed significant increases in dry weight, total sugar, reducing sugar, vitamin C, β-carotene, flavonoids, etc., with positive effects on cancer prevention. The research team believed that the difference in flavonoid content in tomatoes originated from the absence of chemical fertilizers in the organic planting process. Another scientific research report showed that organic peaches contain higher levels of tea polyphenols, which have a positive effect on the nutritional components and taste of peaches; total tea polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamin C in organic apples are higher than in non-organic apples. Tea polyphenols are a compound beneficial to health, with the highest content in red wine and berries. Experiments have proven that tea polyphenol content is proportional to antioxidant effects.
9.3.2 Raising awareness of ecological civilization
提高公民的生态文明意识，要建立在公民对生态文明内涵充分深刻的认知之上。科技文化素质直接影响着公民对生态文明资源观、环境观和价值观的理解。我国农民整体科技文化素质偏低，生态文明意识薄弱，而有机产业为生态文明建设提供了具象的认知途径。农民在进行有机生产的过程中，可以切身体会到有机产业尊重自然、强调人与自然和谐相处的理念，从而逐渐树立起尊重自然、保护自然的生态文明意识。
此外，有机产业健康、生态、关爱、公平的原则会帮助提高公民的道德意识。健康理念会使人们更加关注自己和他人的身体健康、从而养成有规律、健康的生活方式；关爱理念会促进人们与他人之间友好相处、互帮互助，关注动物保护福利等；公平理念有利于形成公平、公正有序的市场运行机制。因此，有机产业有助于形成健康、友善、关爱、和谐的生态社会氛围。
在生态文明建设过程中，有机农业在实践中将生态文明观植入人们的生产和生活当中，加强了人们对生态文明建设的支持作用，从而对人们的行动起到约束和警醒作用，渗人到人们社会生活的方方面面。
9.3.3培养绿色生态的消费方式
生态消费观是一种基于生态环境保护为目的的新型价值理念，倡导适度消费、绿色消费和与国情相适应的消费。适度消费突出的是满足人基本生存需求的消费，在改善人们生活水平的同时，把消费水平控制在资源、环境、经济和技术等客观条件所允许的范围内的消费：绿色消费，也被称之为可持续消费，是以适度节制消费为特征，以避免和减少对环境的破坏为目的，以崇尚自然和保护生态为理念的一种新型消费行为和消费过程。绿色消费也可以称之为循环消费或低碳消费。
有机产业与绿色生态消费之间形成了良性互动。有机产品杜绝产品过度包装行为，因为过度包装不仅消耗了宝贵的自然资源和社会资源，而且也造成了极大的浪费。有机产品选用简单、绿色、环保的包装，减少了包装废弃物的产生，有利于促进资源的循环利用。有机农业提倡适度消费、绿色消费，营造了有利于生态文明建设的社会氛围。切实将建设资源节约型、环境友好型社会的要求与有机产品消费模式更好的结合起来。
9.3.4构建和谐诚信的社会氛围
有机食品是根据有机农业标准进行生产、加工，并经有机食品认证机构认证的农副产品，它不使用化肥、农药，提倡使用有机肥和生物防治病虫害，是一•种真正纯天然、局品质的环保健康食品。有机产品与普通产品虽然在质量上存在差异，但是一般在外观上显现不出来，消费者无法从产品的外观判断是否是有机产品。有机产品的一些内涵本身就不在产品外观上表现出来，如环境友好、社会公平、动物福利等。但是，由于有机产品的价格较高，就容易导致市场中欺诈、假冒等机会主义行为，造成生产者与消费者之间的冲突，甚至引发诚信危机：
有机标准规定了有机农产品、畜产品以及加工品在生产、加工、运输、储藏、销售过程中所使用的方法、措施和物质：这一方面限制了经营者所能够使用的要素组合，增加了其成本和费用；另一方面，它又通过认证机构的检查与认证、监管、标签等减少了市场中机会主义行为，增强了消费者对有机产品的信任。有机认证制度对有机产品的定义，生产、加工和销售等过程中允许和禁止使用的要素、措施和方法，经营企业和认证机构资格与责任，都做出了明确的界定。如我国有机食品标准中对标签的要求，按有机产品国家标准生产并获得有机产品认证的产品，方可在产品名称前标识“有机”，在产品或者包装上加印我国有机产品认证标志并标注认证机构的标识或者认证机构的名称。这使有机生产者、经营者和消费者对相关事件有了清楚的理解，防止了有机产品交易中可能出现的冲突。即使在冲突出现时，它也为冲突的解决提供了衡量与实施惩罚的尺度。同时，国家认监委对我国有机产品的追溯性做了严格的要求，建立了有机产品和有机产品认证标志使用的追溯系统，要求企业销售产品需开具销售证并建立“一品一码”追溯体系，消费者通过查询产品的“有机码”就能了解其全部信息，此举对于打击假冒有机产品行为，确保有机产品完整性，规范有机产品市场行为，增强有机产品消费信心具有重要作用。
完善的有机认证制度在消费者中建立了信誉，向消费者提供了有机产品质量信号，减少了消费者的信息搜寻成本，增进了消费者与生产者之间的信任，从而大大提升了社会的和谐与诚信。
9.4有机产业保障了生态制度的建立和完善
有机产业现有的有机生产标准、有机标签、有机产品认证制度、有机监管制度等对生态文明制度的建设具有借鉴意义，有助于生态制度的建立和完善。
9.4.1 Organic Production Standards
Organic standards stipulate various prohibited and permitted requirements for the production, processing, transportation, storage, and sale of organic products. Organic agriculture standards cover requirements for crop farming, poultry rearing, animal husbandry, aquaculture, forestry, and other aspects. These requirements include not only those related to production process management, but also extend to harvesting, processing and packaging, labeling, and other aspects. Therefore, organic agriculture standards are a complete and foundational guiding regulation that controls the entire process from field production in agriculture (including food, feed, and fiber), animal husbandry and poultry, aquaculture, and forestry to processing into final consumer products. They can also be said to be the fundamental rules of organic agriculture. They are requirements that producers, transporters, processors, packers, and storers of organic products must consciously meet.
9.4.2 Organic Product Certification System
The certification of organic products is mainly accomplished by certification organizations sending inspectors to conduct comprehensive inspection and review of every link in the production bases, processing sites, and sales process of organic products, as well as necessary sample analysis. The institutional composition of the inspection and certification system mainly consists of: inspection and certification personnel; inspection and certification criteria and regulations; and contracts between certification organizations and applicants. Among these, the quality of inspectors is the key factor directly affecting the reputation of certification organizations and product quality. Certification itself is a quality control process, and a key part of it; certification bodies are an important component of the organic food quality control system.
9.4.3 Organic Supervision Institutional System
Certification bodies are the key factor in mastering standards, controlling the production process, and ensuring product quality. In order to ensure the fairness and authenticity of certification by certification bodies, certification bodies engaging in certification business require review and accreditation by government competent authorities. Authoritative government institutions should strengthen the authorization and management of inspection and certification. Control and management at all levels should ensure that all inspectors and certifiers are evaluated and recognized. Accreditation can be simply understood as a comprehensive review of certification bodies, just as certification bodies evaluate producers seeking certification according to a set of standards; accreditation bodies also evaluate certification bodies according to a set of accreditation standards. The credibility, visibility, and authority of a certification organization directly affect product sales and the degree of market acceptance. Therefore, the accreditation of certification bodies cannot rely only on their standards and working procedures, but should involve a comprehensive review and random inspections of the organic business enterprises they certify.
A series of production standards, certification systems, and supervision systems in the organic product certification process are not only conducive to the smooth progress of organic certification, but also conducive to the establishment and improvement of an ecological civilization supervision system. In the process of ecological civilization construction, it is necessary to establish a strict environmental protection management system and supervise the discharge of all pollutants.
It can thus be seen that, through its specific concepts and requirements, the organic industry has a positive effect on ecological civilization construction, helping to protect the ecological environment, promote the development of an ecological economy, improve the ecological culture and social atmosphere, and safeguard the establishment and improvement of ecological institutions.
9.5 Recommendations for Promoting the Development of China's Organic Industry
Vigorously advancing ecological civilization construction has brought favorable policy conditions and unprecedented development opportunities for the development of China's organic agriculture and organic product industry. Organic planting and breeding, deep processing of organic products, and the operation and trade of organic products will enter a new era of rapid development. In light of the current constraints on the development of China's organic industry and the problems found in special supervision and sampling inspections for organic product certification, and in order to better promote the development of China's organic industry, we propose the following measures and recommendations:
9.5.1 Correctly Position the Development of the Organic Industry and Enhance the Credibility of Organic Product Certification
At present, China's organic industry is developing rapidly, and the rapid prosperity of the industry has also brought about contradictions among the speed, structure, and quality of organic industry development. A national action plan for the development of the organic industry should be issued to encourage and support the development of the organic industry. A national action plan for the development of the organic industry should be issued to support and guide industrial development, especially the development of the organic industry in environmentally fragile areas, ecologically sensitive areas, and key functional areas, such as organic agriculture development around key lakes and along the routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project; subsidy policies for the organic industry should be improved to encourage industrial development.
In the future, great efforts should be made to enhance the effectiveness and credibility of organic product certification, coordinate the unbalanced relationship between crop farming and animal husbandry, and promote the upgrading of deep processing of organic products. With integrity as the foundation, efforts should be made to be loyal practitioners, promoters, and defenders of integrity-based operation and integrity-based certification of organic products. Organic production enterprises and organic certification bodies should put integrity-based production and integrity-based certification first, voluntarily accept supervision from all sectors of society over organic product production and certification, defend organic integrity, defend organic brands, regard organic product quality as their life, and safeguard the long-term and healthy development of the organic industry. Constantly strengthen the construction of the organic product certification and accreditation system, the construction of organic product quality, the construction of organic product certification and accreditation technology,
the construction of the adoption of organic product certification and accreditation, and the construction of the organic industry talent team, so as to promote the healthy and orderly development of the organic industry.
9.5.2 Strengthen the Publicity and Training of Ecological Concepts in the Organic Industry
For China's organic food industry to achieve long-term, healthy, and sustainable development, emphasis should be placed on resolving the issue of understanding the concept of developing organic food. Publicity for organic food should be increased so that consumers not only understand the safety, quality, and health aspects of its products, but also understand its connotation of environmental protection. At the same time, training should also be strengthened for all relevant stakeholders in the industrial chain.
First, strengthen training and guidance for local organic certification supervision teams. Organic supervision work involves a wide range of areas and is relatively specialized. Local quality supervision departments urgently need training in various aspects. Forms such as special research training, centralized on-site inspections, and shared network resources can be used to improve the level of local organic certification supervision.
Second, strengthen training and guidance for certified organic product enterprises and distributors. Increase the publicity, training, and popularization of organic product certification laws and regulations, policy systems, and related knowledge. It is recommended to strengthen cooperation with industry and commerce management departments. While strengthening supervision, vigorously carry out publicity and training on organic product certification laws, regulations, standards, and rules such as the newly revised and issued Measures for the Administration of Organic Product Certification and the new edition of the Implementation Rules for Organic Product Certification, so as to reduce illegal production and operation by certified organic product enterprises and distributors due to ignorance or misunderstanding of the law; at the same time, promote and popularize knowledge related to organic product certification and enhance consumers' ability to identify counterfeit and inferior products and protect themselves.
Third, strengthen training for relevant personnel in sales units such as supermarkets. Supermarket sales personnel are not very familiar with the regulations on organic products, resulting in lax purchasing checks. It is recommended to strengthen training for relevant personnel in sales units and use a reverse pressure mechanism to constrain organic product manufacturers.
Fourth, establish a long-term publicity mechanism. This year, the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China launched the first “Organic Publicity Week,” publicizing knowledge related to organic products and the supervision work of relevant regulatory departments nationwide through a series of activities, with remarkable results. In order to promote the sound development of the organic industry and make the concept of organic industry development deeply rooted in people's hearts, it is recommended to establish a long-term publicity mechanism. Through positive publicity of “good money,” mobilize the supervisory forces of the whole society to form positive interaction with regulatory departments, squeeze the living space of “bad money,” enhance consumers' confidence in organic products, and promote the prosperous development of the organic industry.
9.5.3 Strengthen the Creation and Demonstration-Driven Role of Organic Product Certification Demonstration Zones
It is recommended to strengthen the creation of organic product certification demonstration zones. Organic products must form production areas within a certain geographical scope in order to ensure that organic products are not affected by surrounding products and the environment, as in the case of the Yang County Organic Demonstration Creation Zone in Shaanxi and the Majiang County Organic Demonstration Creation Zone in Guizhou. The creation of organic demonstration zones should be led by local governments to improve the responsibility system of “local governments taking overall responsibility, regulatory departments taking responsibility for their respective duties, and enterprises being the first responsible persons,” establish and effectively implement an organic industry development management and coordination mechanism led by county and municipal governments and composed of quality inspection, agriculture, environmental protection, industry and commerce, health, public security, and other departments, and effectively form a “big quality” working mechanism in which agriculture, quality inspection, industry and commerce, and other departments jointly carry out normalized supervision of all links in the production, processing, certification, circulation, and sale of organic products. This is conducive to promoting the regional development of the organic industry, creating a good organic production environment, further strengthening organic product certification supervision, and establishing industry models.
9.5.4 Strengthen the Marketing Capacity Building of Agricultural Enterprises and Encourage the Construction of Rural E-Commerce Platforms
Due to insufficient marketing capacity and insufficient brand-building capacity for organic agriculture, for example, most agricultural enterprises are small and micro enterprises with limited marketing capacity; market information is asymmetric and marketing channels are not smooth; there is a lack of the concept of standardized agricultural production, and the stability of product quality is relatively poor. In addition, there are also problems such as homogeneous product competition and a lack of deeply processed products. Strengthen the marketing capacity building of agricultural enterprises, encourage the construction of rural e-commerce platforms, promote the formation of an Internet Plus organic agriculture pattern, guide capital forces into the field of organic agriculture, improve management levels, and strengthen agricultural standardization, especially standardized management of production processes and products.
9.5.5 Implement the Internationalization Strategy and Promote the Establishment of an International Mutual Recognition System for Organic Products
In order to meet the needs of China's import and export of organic products, it is necessary to begin establishing an international mutual recognition system for organic products and promote mutual recognition between China's organic product certification and foreign countries. The competent authorities for organic products in countries or regions that export organic products to China may submit applications for equivalence assessment of organic product certification systems to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China. At the same time, China should actively apply to developed countries such as those in Europe and the United States, Japan, and Canada for mutual recognition of organic product exports.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11570/