The transformation and upgrading of agricultural development methods still needs continued advancement

Agriculture is the foundation for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieving modernization. During the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, China's agricultural development saw both achievements and problems coexist. First, the comprehensive grain production capacity reached a new level, with grain production climbing two steps of one hundred billion jin each within 5 years, and total grain output in 2014 reaching 1,214.2 billion jin, remaining stable above 1,200 billion jin for two consecutive years; second, farmers' incomes rose to a new level, with growth rates for 5 consecutive years higher than those of urban residents and higher than GDP growth; third, new progress was made in building agriculture's material and technological equipment conditions, with the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress and the comprehensive mechanization rate of major crop cultivation and harvesting reaching 56% and 61% respectively; fourth, new steps were taken in rural reform, and a pattern of joint development of multiple forms of operation including household operation, cooperative operation, collective operation and enterprise operation took initial shape.

Under the new normal, the various challenges and structural contradictions facing agricultural development are constantly gathering, prominently manifested as “five increasing pressures.” First, the pressure to ensure the stable supply of grain and other major agricultural products is increasing. Second, the pressure to solve “who will farm the land” and accelerate the cultivation of new types of agricultural operating entities is increasing. Third, the pressure to improve the quality and safety level of agricultural products and ensure “safety on the tip of the tongue” is increasing. Fourth, the pressure to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture is increasing. Fifth, the pressure to coordinate the use of “two types of resources and two markets” and ensure the safety of the domestic agricultural industry is increasing.

At present and for some time to come, transforming agricultural development methods should focus on five aspects: adjusting structure, expanding scale, ensuring safety, achieving sustainability, and strengthening science and technology:

First, adjust structure. It is necessary to face market demand, base efforts on resource endowments, promote the shift from giving priority to quantity to placing equal emphasis on quantity, quality and efficiency, and accelerate the building of a modern agricultural industrial system that integrates grain, economic crops and feed, combines agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries, and merges the primary, secondary and tertiary industries. This includes adjusting and optimizing the regional production layout, adjusting and optimizing the production structure, and adjusting and optimizing the industrial structure, among others.

Second, expand scale. On the one hand, it is necessary to promote orderly land transfer and develop appropriately scaled operations. On the basis of steadily carrying out the registration and certification of rural land contractual management rights, contracted farmers should be encouraged to transfer contracted land in accordance with the law through subcontracting, leasing, exchange, transfer and shareholding, among other methods, so as to expand land scale operations. On the other hand, it is necessary to accelerate the cultivation of diversified new types of agricultural operating entities. It is necessary to actively guide and support the growth and expansion of new types of operating entities such as family farms, specialized large households, farmers' cooperatives and leading enterprises, and improve the standardization level and development vitality of all types of entities. In addition, it is necessary to improve and perfect the agricultural socialized service system. It is necessary to accelerate the building of a new type of agricultural socialized service system that combines public welfare services with commercial services and coordinates specialized services with comprehensive services.

Third, ensure safety. Consumers should not only eat their fill and eat well, but also eat safely and with peace of mind. This is a key goal of transforming agricultural development methods. In this process, it is necessary not only to accelerate the formulation of standards, advance standardized production, strengthen input control, advance green production, implement producer responsibility, advance scaled production, establish a traceability system, and advance branded production, but also to strengthen law enforcement and supervision, severely crack down on illegal addition, the production and sale of counterfeit and shoddy goods, and unlicensed slaughtering, carry out special rectification, innovate regulatory models, and launch activities to create national agricultural product quality and safety counties, among others, so as to advance social co-governance.

Fourth, sustainability. It is necessary to vigorously develop resource-saving and environment-friendly agriculture and promote the transformation of agricultural resource utilization from high-intensity use to economical and efficient use. The focus is on realizing “one control, two reductions and three basics.” One control means controlling total water use and accelerating the development of water-saving agriculture. Two reductions means implementing an action to achieve zero growth in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and reducing the use of inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Three basics means fighting the tough battle of controlling non-point source pollution and achieving the basically resource-based utilization of plastic film, straw and livestock and poultry manure.

Fifth, strengthen science and technology. Advancing the transformation of agricultural development methods fundamentally relies on innovation-driven development, so that agriculture can be given the “wings” of science and technology. It is necessary to accelerate the pace of scientific and technological innovation, deepen the reform of the agricultural science and technology system, establish science and technology collaborative innovation alliances and a science and technology service cloud platform, strive to break through a number of common key technologies, and promote the transformation and application of agricultural scientific and technological achievements. It is necessary to vigorously develop the modern seed industry, advance the pilot reform of the proportional sharing of rights and interests in seed industry achievements, and make integrated breeding, propagation and promotion seed enterprises bigger and stronger. It is necessary to accelerate the development of agricultural mechanization, carry out demonstrations of full-process mechanization in grain, cotton, oil and sugar production, and build a full-process mechanization production technology system for major crops. It is necessary to improve the level of agricultural informatization, carry out the “Internet + modern agriculture” action, accelerate the advancement of agricultural and rural informatization, and raise the level of application of modern information technology in the agricultural field. It is necessary to accelerate the cultivation of new types of professional farmers, expand the coverage of the new type professional farmer cultivation project, and build a high-quality team of modern agricultural production and operators.