Rejecting practices that exploit and harm farmers! Over the next three years, the State Administration for Market Regulation will prioritize addressing the issue of counterfeit and substandard agricultural inputs.

Faced with the counterfeit and substandard goods that farmers deeply detest Fertilizer 、 Pesticide 、 seed Regarding practices by agricultural input suppliers that harm farmers and damage the agricultural sector, the State Administration for Market Regulation recently… Issuance of the “Work Plan for Rectifying Key Areas of Counterfeit and Substandard Products” (2019-2021) 》(hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”)’s Notice: Must be used. Over a three-year period, efforts will focus on addressing the issue of counterfeit and substandard agricultural inputs.

Concentrated efforts at key junctures “Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign for Agricultural Inputs in Rural Areas”

The “Plan” states that, It will be carried out in a concentrated manner at key times such as spring plowing and autumn sowing. “Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign for Agricultural Inputs in Rural Areas” , the market supervision administrations (departments or commissions) of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps shall With Fertilizer 、 Agricultural machinery with a focus on its products and accessories, among others. , and rigorously investigate and prosecute quality violations such as non‑compliant products, false labeling, and unlicensed production.

Meanwhile, efforts will be strengthened to standardize, certify, and measure, as well as to enforce quality‑related laws, with legal measures taken to crack down on illegal practices such as manufacturing products that fail to meet mandatory national standards or explicitly stated standards, passing off inferior goods as superior, and falsely representing non‑conforming products as conforming. The Plan emphasizes that all market supervision administrations (bureaus, commissions)… It is necessary to strengthen the protection of agricultural product trademarks and geographical indications, and to investigate and prosecute, in accordance with the law, illegal acts such as trademark infringement, brand‑hijacking, and the unauthorized use or counterfeiting of geographical indications. Effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of right holders.

In addition, During the focused campaign to rectify rural markets, false and illegal advertisements must also be rigorously investigated and prosecuted. Strengthen regulation of advertising orientation. The Plan stipulates that targeted inspections and monitoring should be prioritized for key traditional media and major online platforms, with specialized monitoring conducted in tandem with focused rectification campaigns. Priority monitoring will also be carried out around major events and significant holidays to promptly identify leads and ensure swift enforcement. Meanwhile, market regulatory authorities at all levels are required to intensify oversight of high‑profile cases involving false or illegal advertising, regularly publicizing typical examples to deter misconduct. Furthermore, leveraging the Inter‑Ministerial Joint Conference on Rectifying False and Illegal Advertising, they will reinforce coordinated regulatory efforts and refine mechanisms for inter‑agency regulatory and law‑enforcement coordination as well as information feedback and handling.

Unified Complaint and Reporting Channel

The Plan proposes to improve the mechanism for receiving and handling complaints and reports, gradually integrating the original complaint and reporting hotlines of the Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Quality Inspection Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, the Price Administration, and the Intellectual Property Office, as well as their publicly accessible websites and mobile applications. Complaint and reporting channels, including mobile apps, WeChat official accounts, and WeChat mini-programs, shall establish unified procedures for receiving and processing complaints and reports, as well as standardized operating rules. Through The “12315” hotline is a single national platform that handles complaints and reports from businesses and the general public, providing convenient and efficient services while expanding channels for identifying case leads.

In addition, the Plan calls for accelerating the establishment of a new market regulation mechanism. Fully implement “Dual Random, One Public” regulatory approach, Gradually implement routine inspections. Full coverage under the “double-random” inspection approach, with annual double-random inspections covering 5% of enterprises and a 100% public disclosure rate for inspection results.

Clearly, under social oversight and against a backdrop of increasingly stringent regulation, The space for counterfeit and substandard goods will be squeezed, and the practice of publicizing typical cases helps foster a positive social climate that discourages such products.

Focus on inspecting counterfeit and substandard products.

According to the Plan, all market regulation bureaus (departments and commissions) are required to refine their supporting measures to ensure that the campaign to combat counterfeit and substandard products yields tangible results.

    On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen organizational leadership. Market supervision authorities at all levels must fully recognize the importance of combating counterfeit and substandard products, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify task assignments, and ensure accountability at every level. They should formulate targeted remediation plans, regulatory measures, and annual implementation schedules, and steadily and orderly advance all related work. Ensure the realization of Three-year governance objectives It is necessary to strengthen supervision and inspection at the grassroots level, promptly identify and address issues encountered in the course of work, coordinate the handling of cross‑regional cases, place high‑profile and major cases under direct oversight, and ensure the smooth progress of case investigations.

    On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen law enforcement capacity-building. Deepen the reform of the administrative law enforcement system, and in accordance with the goal of establishing a unified, authoritative, and efficient market regulation and law enforcement framework, accelerate the integration of regulatory and law enforcement teams, streamline regulatory and law enforcement responsibilities, clarify regulatory and law enforcement rules, strengthen grassroots enforcement capacity, and shift the focus of regulation downward. Strengthen the development of market regulation information systems and enhance the level of smart regulatory oversight. Conduct extensive, multi‑level, and wide‑ranging professional training to ensure that law enforcement personnel master the specialized knowledge required for their duties, enhance their case‑handling skills, and elevate the scientific rigor and standardization of regulatory enforcement. Accelerate the establishment of a responsibility‑list system for law enforcement and oversight, refine mechanisms for tolerating and correcting errors, and implement a framework whereby due diligence is exempt from liability and negligence is subject to accountability, thereby encouraging law enforcement officers to assume responsibility and take decisive action. ， We will focus on building a high-caliber, professional law enforcement team.

    Furthermore, it is necessary to strengthen publicity and public oversight. Harness the positive guiding and public oversight roles of the news media, making full use of television, radio, newspapers, the internet, and other communication channels to vigorously publicize policies and measures for combating counterfeit and substandard products, as well as progress and results in this effort; interpret relevant laws, regulations, and policies; and promptly issue consumer alerts and advisories. ， Conduct public education campaigns on product‑counterfeit prevention and other skills for identifying fakes and avoiding scams; expose high‑profile cases to deter offenders and foster a positive social climate that rejects counterfeit and substandard goods. Strengthen public opinion monitoring. ， Closely monitor hot issues related to counterfeit and substandard products. ， Promptly formulate effective solutions and response measures. ， Clarify doubts, address concerns from the media and the public, and prevent the spread of false hype.

Author: State Administration for Market Regulation, Lingnan Agricultural Economics Editor: xwbj1