Why is rural modernization first and foremost the modernization of farmers?

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly stated that properly addressing issues relating to agriculture, rural areas and farmers is the top priority of the whole Party's work, and that integrating urban and rural development is the fundamental way to resolve the “three rural” issues. Advancing urban-rural integration is the only way to build a new socialist countryside, and the essence of building a new socialist countryside is to achieve rural modernization. As the subject of modernization practice and the subject of value, farmers' degree of modernization determines the speed and quality of rural social development and constrains the pace of agricultural and rural modernization. In this sense, the key to achieving rural modernization should first of all be the modernization of farmers, which is not only an inevitable requirement for achieving agricultural modernization, but also the fundamental way, important guarantee and concrete manifestation of achieving rural modernization.

Farmers' modernization is the fundamental way to achieve rural modernization

People are the most active factor in the productive forces, and also the decisive factor. As the main body of rural economic and social development, farmers are an important force for achieving rural modernization. Farmers' modernization is the fundamental way and inexhaustible driving force for achieving rural modernization. First, achieving rural modernization requires the modernization of farmers' ways of thinking and values. In traditional society, farmers had relatively weak autonomy, especially a weak sense of being the subject, and were basically governed by the established status quo, submitting to the slow pace of environmental change. Especially in rural areas in some relatively backward regions, narrow petty-farmer mentality, geographical consciousness, clan consciousness, and conservative thinking patterns still seriously hinder rural development, reform, harmony and stability. To achieve rural modernization, it is necessary to fundamentally transform farmers' ways of thinking and value orientations, guide farmers with modern development concepts, strengthen their awareness of innovation and desire for reform, adapt to the new era, accept new ideas, and adapt ideologically to the fundamental transformation of production methods and lifestyles in the process of rural modernization. Only in this way can they continuously meet the needs of rural modernization. Second, achieving rural modernization requires the modernization of farmers' production methods. The goal of rural modernization is for agriculture to transform from a natural-economy agriculture into a highly developed commercialized, socialized and specialized agriculture, greatly increase agricultural output and quality, rationally use agricultural resources, and protect the rural ecological environment. This requires farmers to use advanced science and technology to transform traditional agriculture, raise the level of agricultural science and technology and material equipment, and manage agriculture scientifically. This requires farmers to fundamentally transform traditional production methods, take the path of invigorating agriculture through science and technology, continuously raise the degree of agricultural modernization, and accelerate the pace of equipping agriculture with modern material conditions, transforming agriculture with modern science and technology, upgrading agriculture with a modern industrial system, and advancing agriculture with modern forms of operation. Third, achieving rural modernization requires the modernization of farmers' lifestyles. With the deepening of urban-rural integration, not only has the pace of farmers moving into cities accelerated, but it has also brought profound changes to farmers' lifestyles. On the one hand, families have gone from large to small. In the past, villages were the basic environment of farmers' lives, and family organization was a social organization with extremely strong cohesion. The result of urban-rural integration has caused the original forms of production organization to re-differentiate and recombine, moving them toward openness, autonomy and independence; on the other hand, farmers' occupational choices have shifted from a single one to diversification. The development of urban-rural integration has broken the localist mentality and limitations of “agriculture above all”, enabling farmers to embark on channels of diversified operations to increase income.

Farmers' modernization is an important guarantee for achieving rural modernization

Rural modernization is a systematic project, and it sets specific requirements for rural economic development, cultural construction and democratic political construction. To achieve rural modernization, farmers need to have matching modern qualities in these respects and provide strong guarantees. First, developing the rural economy cannot be separated from farmers' modernization. Without economic development and increases in farmers' income, rural modernization is an empty phrase. Farmers are the main body of rural economic construction and an important carrier for transforming agricultural scientific and technological achievements into productive forces in rural areas. Cultivating a new type of modern farmer who is literate, understands technology and knows how to do business, and raising farmers' overall quality, is an inevitable requirement of agricultural modernization and an important way to increase farmers' income. Since reform and opening up, typical examples of becoming rich through science and technology that have emerged in various places show that farmers' mastery of scientific and technological knowledge is a prerequisite for rural economic development, and farmers' scientific and cultural quality and level of applying science and technology affect both the level of farmers' income and the speed of rural economic development. It can thus be seen that guiding farmers of all ethnic groups with modern culture to pursue modern life goals, understand modern agricultural science and technology, master modern vocational skills, and establish modern market concepts is a fundamental policy for accelerating the pace of farmers of all ethnic groups becoming rich and for building a new countryside. Second, building modern rural culture cannot be separated from farmers' modernization. Culture is the soul of society, and modern culture is advanced culture that represents the fundamental interests of people of all ethnic groups and reflects the direction of development of the times. It has strong cohesion and appeal and can win a high degree of recognition from people of all ethnic groups. To build a positive and uplifting modern rural culture, farmers' modernization is indispensable, and farmers need to have relatively high ideological and moral qualities and good living habits. It is necessary to vigorously advocate mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual appreciation and mutual learning among all ethnic groups in culture and customs; and it is also necessary to vigorously advocate that all ethnic groups seek common ground while reserving differences and continuously strengthen mutual sense of identification, especially to strengthen a high degree of identification with the motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture and socialism with Chinese characteristics, thereby forming a civilized, harmonious and enterprising social atmosphere in rural areas and enhancing the consciousness and initiative to participate in rural modernization. Third, advancing grassroots democracy cannot be separated from farmers' modernization. Guided by modern culture, farmers should firmly establish a modern sense of the state, citizenship, democracy, the rule of law and order, correctly exercise their rights, safeguard their rights and interests in accordance with the law, and faithfully fulfill their obligations. This is of great significance for strengthening grassroots democracy and the rule of law and improving new mechanisms of rural governance. In the process of rural modernization, with the mobility of the farmer population, changes in ways of increasing income, the weakening of clan concepts and authority, and changes in production methods, the connotation of rural social order and security has become very different from the past. Rural areas have always been an important front in the struggle of ethnic separatist forces, extremist religious forces and violent terrorist forces with civilization. This requires farmers to improve their political quality and ability to distinguish right from wrong, clearly recognize the reactionary essence of the “three forces” in creating hatred, advocating ignorance, killing lives, harming society and moving against the tide of historical development, and thus consciously uphold the rule of law, uphold order and oppose violence, make their due contribution to maintaining long-term social stability and order, and enable rural society to always remain harmonious and stable.

Farmers' modernization is the concrete manifestation of achieving rural modernization

Farmers' modernization and rural modernization are an interconnected and interacting whole. Farmers' modernization is the concrete manifestation of rural modernization, and rural modernization is the concentrated reflection of farmers' modernization. First, the modernization of farmers' concepts is the concrete manifestation of rural modernization. Farmers' concepts are farmers' cognition and evaluation of the subjective and objective world, as well as the behavioral orientation adopted as a result. Traditional farmers have formed relatively stable values, concretely manifested in a petty-farmer economic mentality such as being content with the status quo, following old ways, being satisfied with small wealth and small gains. With the acceleration of rural modernization and changes in rural production relations, traditional farmers' values have been greatly shaken. The lazy mentality of being content with the status quo has rapidly declined, the concept of following old ways has clearly changed, and the mentality of being satisfied with small wealth and small gains has accelerated its transformation. Farmers' awareness of openness, risk, enterprise and competition, as well as their self-concept, concept of wealth and poverty, and concept of the rule of law, have continuously strengthened. This is an important sign of rural areas moving toward modernization. Second, the modernization of farmers' behavior is the concrete manifestation of rural modernization. Farmers' behavioral patterns are the external reflection of their concepts and are to a large extent constrained by social structure. Under the influence of traditional production and lifestyles, farmers' behavior was conservative, passive and homogeneous. With social development, in an open and changing social structure, farmers' behavior has the characteristics of being outgoing, enterprising and heterogeneous, and occupational roles have become increasingly diverse, forcing them to actively move toward society, adapt to society, and strive to raise their social status. The radius of their activities has gradually surpassed the closed boundaries of the countryside, and some have even gone abroad. Regional mobility and migration of farmers have become very common. This is an important marker of rural areas moving toward modernization. Third, the modernization of farmers' skills is the concrete manifestation of rural modernization. The degree of modernization of farmers' skills depends on factors such as farmers' educational level, the difficulty and supply of technology, and the needs of actual production and life. For a long time, Chinese farmers have engaged in traditional agricultural production activities, and manual labor has been the main method of agricultural production and also a basic feature of rural society. With the continuous acceleration of rural modernization, agricultural machinery has entered the field of labor and production, scientific planting has become the main way for farmers to increase income, and modern agricultural technology has been rapidly promoted. A large number of skilled farmers have become the “tide-riders” of rural economic development and have spread their influence to drive surrounding farmers to increase income and become rich, laying a solid foundation for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This is an important milestone in rural areas moving toward modernization.