Rural Reform Paints a New Picture of Hope on the Farmland

The latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that China's policy direction for building a new type of agricultural operation system is clear and explicit, with intensifying efforts, and new types of agricultural operation entities are enjoying good development momentum. At present, family farms reported by localities number 870,000, and leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization number more than 120,000. According to statistics from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, as of the end of May, farmers' professional cooperatives registered in accordance with the law nationwide totaled 1.393 million, with total capital contributions of 3 trillion yuan, up 22.6% and 32% year on year respectively.

The new type of agricultural operation system is an important achievement of deepening rural reform. Since the beginning of this year, China has made a series of new advances in five major areas: deepening reform of the rural land system, improving the agricultural support and protection system, establishing a modern rural financial system, deepening reform of the rural collective property rights system, and improving rural governance mechanisms. New steps have been taken in land rights confirmation, registration and certification, innovation in the agricultural operation system, and reform of target prices for agricultural products; reforms of supply and marketing cooperatives and state farms have advanced steadily, and the building of rural reform pilot zones has made new progress. The fruits of reform are displayed across the bountiful fields; in the first half of the year, supplies of cotton, oil and sugar, fruit, vegetables and tea, meat, eggs and milk, and aquatic products were ample, and the market operated smoothly on the whole.

At present, China's economic development has entered a new normal, and rural reform is at a critical stage of breaking through ice and tackling hard challenges. There are many measures for comprehensively deepening rural reform, and the biggest characteristic is adhering throughout to bottom-line thinking. The most important bottom line and principle of rural reform is handling the relationship between farmers and land well.

Land is the root of farmers' survival and the object of their emotional attachment, and its function as a means of livelihood security cannot be changed in the short term. In advancing all rural reforms, the relevant departments have followed the principle of prudence and steadiness and adhered to the bottom line of protecting farmers' interests. From land transfer to land rights confirmation, and from relevant central documents to local implementation opinions, the requirement to protect farmers' land rights and interests has been fully reflected.

This year, deepening rural reform has brought a series of new ideas, new perspectives and new methods. Take improving the agricultural support and protection system as an example: as the macroeconomic environment changes, agricultural support and protection policies are being constantly adjusted and improved. While continuing to strengthen support, protection and investment for agriculture, the state is exploring methods and channels to improve the precision and effectiveness of agricultural investment.

In May this year, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture issued the Guiding Opinions on Adjusting and Improving the Three Agricultural Subsidy Policies, adjusting 20% of the comprehensive agricultural input subsidy funds nationwide to support appropriately scaled grain operations, and selecting some areas to merge the three agricultural subsidies into an “agricultural support and protection subsidy”.