Zhang Taolin stresses: Rely on reform and innovation to advance agricultural science, technology and education

On April 8—9, the National Conference on Agricultural Science, Technology and Education was held in Beijing. Vice Minister of Agriculture Zhang Taolin stressed at the meeting that agricultural departments at all levels and agricultural research and teaching institutions must thoroughly implement the “four comprehensives” strategic layout, truly unify thought and action with the central government's decisions and arrangements, clarify the direction and fundamental goals of agricultural science and technology development, strengthen institutional and mechanism innovation, strengthen work measures, intensify work efforts, and constantly push agricultural science, technology and education to a new level.

The meeting pointed out that the national agricultural science and education system has earnestly implemented the central government's decisions and arrangements and fully implemented the innovation-driven development strategy, achieving positive progress in improving institutions and mechanisms, enhancing innovation capacity, and increasing service efficiency. The contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress reached 56%, the comprehensive mechanization level of crop cultivation and harvesting exceeded 61%, grain yield per mu rose to 359 kg, and the contribution rate of varieties to yield increase per unit area reached 43%, strongly supporting national food security and sustainable agricultural development.

The meeting proposed that it is necessary to accurately grasp the new situation and new requirements facing the acceleration of agricultural scientific and technological progress. First, implementing the innovation-driven development strategy puts forward new requirements for agricultural science and technology; second, advancing the “transformation of development modes and adjustment of structure” in agriculture puts forward new demands for agricultural science and technology; third, improving the efficiency of agricultural science and technology innovation puts forward new expectations for the reform of agricultural science and technology management.

The meeting stressed that it is necessary to fully implement the central government's science and technology reform arrangements, transform the government's science and technology management functions, and promote innovation in agricultural science and technology management and institutional mechanisms. At present, the focus should be on properly compiling the “13th Five-Year” agricultural science and technology plan, conducting research on major needs in agricultural science and technology, and building agricultural science and technology innovation alliances. Full efforts should be made to tackle key problems and accelerate independent innovation in agricultural science and technology, with the focus on achieving a number of breakthrough scientific and technological achievements in areas such as biological breeding, smart agriculture, mechanical equipment, and ecological environmental protection. Mechanisms should be innovated and the transformation and application of agricultural scientific and technological achievements should be accelerated, with the focus on strengthening the construction of grassroots agricultural technology extension systems, accelerating the construction of the National Agricultural Scientific and Technological Achievement Transfer Service Center, the National Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation and Integrated Demonstration Base, and the National Agricultural Science and Technology Service Cloud Platform. Systems should be improved and a new type of professional farmer workforce should be vigorously cultivated, with the focus on implementing the new-type professional farmer cultivation project and the modern young farmer program, and exploring and improving the new-type professional farmer cultivation institutional system of “three in one, three types coordinated, three levels connected.” Both symptoms and root causes should be addressed and the protection of the agricultural ecological environment should be deepened, with the focus on the target tasks of “one control, two reductions, three basics,” doing a good job in preventing and controlling soil heavy metal pollution and agricultural non-point source pollution, promoting the transformation and upgrading of rural biogas projects and the comprehensive utilization of straw, and striving to build a number of “beautiful villages.”