Agricultural modernization must be achieved through innovation-driven development.

Agricultural Modernization Must Develop in Step with New Urbanization

The meeting pointed out that the radiating and driving role of new urbanization on agricultural modernization must be brought into full play. To break the urban-rural dual structure and promote integrated urban-rural development, factors must flow freely between urban and rural areas, and public resources must be allocated in a balanced way between them. From the perspective of factor flow, not only should rural labor flow to the cities, but modern urban production factors should also flow to the countryside. Agricultural modernization must develop in step with new urbanization. New urbanization emphasizes putting people first; in particular, resolving the "three 100 million people" issue will help turn migrant workers in cities into urban residents, raise the urbanization rate calculated on the basis of registered population, help ease the contradiction between rural population and land, and promote agricultural modernization. The flow of modern urban production factors to agriculture and rural areas, especially technology and management, will promote the development of agricultural modernization. Agricultural modernization provides a solid foundation for the development of new urbanization.

The building of a new countryside and new urbanization must also develop in step. Practice has proved that new urbanization does not naturally bring about a new countryside; in many places, prosperous cities coexist with a backward countryside. Therefore, in the process of attaching importance to new urbanization, attention must also be paid to building a new countryside. In building a new countryside, some places attach importance to the building of physical things while relatively neglecting the building of people. The 2014 Central Rural Work Conference proposed accelerating the improvement of the living environment, raising the quality of farmers, and promoting the building of a "new countryside of things" and a "new countryside of people" in tandem. It is necessary to promote the transformation of rural labor from human resources into human capital and to increase investment in rural human capital. The most crucial thing is to educate farmers. Agricultural modernization needs new-type farmers who understand technology and know how to manage. As migrant workers in cities become urban residents, their quality determines the level of industrial workers and the quality of the urban population, and thus also determines China's international competitiveness. It is necessary to continuously raise the quality of farmers engaged in farming and of migrant workers in cities; what the government needs to do is train farmers. Providing farmers with technical and other vocational training is increasingly becoming an important and urgent task. We must promote the equalization of basic public services between urban and rural areas, gradually unify the social security systems for urban and rural residents, and enable farmers and urban residents to share the fruits of reform and opening up. South Korea's new village movement proposed cultivating the same spirit of self-reliance and self-strengthening among farmers; in building a new countryside in China, attention must also be paid to cultivating farmers' spirit of self-reliance and self-strengthening. While promoting new urbanization and building a new countryside, China still has the important task of poverty alleviation. Only by continuously raising the living standards of the poor can the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects be achieved.

Innovation Is the Source of Momentum for Agricultural Modernization

The meeting put forward the general requirements of "stabilizing grain production and increasing farmers' incomes, improving quality and efficiency, and pursuing innovation-driven development." Since reform and opening up, the development of the agricultural and rural economy has come from farmers' creativity. The household contract responsibility system in rural areas was farmers' creation; township and village enterprises and the industrialized operation of agriculture were also farmers' creations; and the appropriately scaled agricultural operations now being promoted are also farmers' creations. Promoting agricultural modernization and new urbanization must also rely on farmers' creativity. The 2014 Central Rural Work Conference stressed that in promoting agricultural modernization and new urbanization, we must put people first, stimulate farmers' vitality for creation, innovation and entrepreneurship, and create a vivid situation of mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

As China's economy transforms, innovation has become an important driving force for economic development. The same is true of the development of the agricultural and rural economy. During an inspection tour in Fujian in November 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed the need to deepen reform of the science and technology system and to seek vitality, momentum, a way forward and benefits from innovation. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed the need to focus on building modern agriculture with distinctive features and strive to tap new potential in raising grain production capacity, open up new paths in optimizing the agricultural structure, seek new breakthroughs in transforming the agricultural development model, obtain new results in promoting farmers' income growth, and take new steps in building a new countryside. The "five news" of agriculture stressed by General Secretary Xi Jinping are all inseparable from innovation-driven development. For example: raising grain production capacity must rely on scientific and technological innovation; agricultural structural adjustment must also rely on scientific and technological support, shifting from production orientation to consumption orientation; transforming the agricultural development model and developing resource-conserving and environment-friendly agriculture require innovation; promoting farmers' income growth requires developing appropriately scaled operations, and the exploration of appropriately scaled agricultural operations must give full play to the pioneering spirit of the grassroots and the masses; and building a new countryside of things and a new countryside of people in tandem, especially enabling farmers to become professional farmers and higher-quality urban industrial workers, requires even more innovation.

The government must create an environment for innovation. Innovation requires a fair and just market economy environment, and comprehensive deepening of reform must proceed in the direction of the socialist market economy. Only through reform can the vitality of all labor, knowledge, technology, management and capital burst forth competitively, can all sources of creating social wealth flow fully, and can the fruits of development benefit all the people more and more fairly. Governments at all levels must guide, support and safeguard innovation in terms of institutions and mechanisms. Just as was pointed out at the rural work conference, in developing appropriately scaled operations, as long as they comply with national laws and regulations, conform to the direction of reform, and are welcomed by the farmer masses, whatever form they take must be encouraged and supported. Only when an atmosphere of innovation has been created can the driving force of innovation be brought into play.

The Rule of Law Is the Fundamental Guarantee for Agricultural Modernization

The meeting proposed enhancing the awareness of reform and innovation and the rule-of-law way of thinking, improving and implementing the responsibility system, effectively strengthening the building of rural grassroots Party organizations, and creating a competent contingent of cadres for work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Promoting agricultural modernization must follow the rule of law. It is necessary to accelerate the improvement of the legal system for agriculture and rural areas and to be good at using the rule-of-law way of thinking to advance agricultural and rural modernization. Reform must have a legal basis and laws to rely on. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee put forward the task of deepening agricultural and rural reform, such as giving farmers more property rights and ensuring equal exchange of urban and rural factors. To truly implement these reforms, the relevant laws and regulations must first be amended before they can be carried out. In managing agriculture and rural areas, administrative organs must adhere to the principle that statutory duties must be performed and that nothing may be done without legal authorization. It is necessary to cultivate farmers' awareness of the rule of law and promote law-based village governance. We must carry out in-depth publicity and education on the rule of law, and guide farmers to consciously abide by the law, look to the law when they encounter problems, and rely on the law to solve problems.

Rural grassroots Party organizations are the guarantee for rural reform, development and stability. Practice has proved that every rural area that develops well has a strong rural grassroots Party organization. Promoting agricultural modernization is also inseparable from strong rural grassroots Party organizations. The 2014 Central Rural Work Conference proposed continuously enhancing the creativity, cohesion and combat effectiveness of service-oriented rural grassroots Party organizations, so as to provide a strong guarantee for agricultural modernization. It is necessary to give play to the role of grassroots Party organizations as fighting fortresses in advancing the rule of law, strengthen grassroots cadres' concept of the legal system, and improve their ability to handle affairs in accordance with the law. It is necessary to give full play to the role of grassroots Party organizations and villagers' committees in the rural economy and society, build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and achieve agricultural and rural modernization.