How can rural science and technology extension obtain legal protection?
“Agricultural science and technology extension agencies should truly return to their public-benefit nature and completely separate public-benefit activities from commercial ones. Otherwise, with the constant worry of ‘having money to fight wars but no money to see a doctor,’ they always have to fret about making a living. How can people not become restless? How can they steadily serve ‘agriculture, rural areas, and farmers’?” At the group discussion meeting on March 8, these remarks by Liu Fengzhi, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Fruit Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, expressed the consensus of the agricultural sector's members.
Cheng Ping, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture, pointed out that in recent years the state has increased investment in agricultural science and technology, but local agricultural research institutes still face many difficulties, such as an unsmooth system, and have no choice but to support themselves through income-generating activities. In addition, local areas still have problems such as insufficient investment in agricultural research and huge differences in pay and benefits. Moreover, what worried her most was the instability of the grassroots agricultural science and technology workforce. “In the field of agricultural research today, not only is the brain drain severe, but it is also very difficult to attract high-level talent, especially leading figures.”
“Broken nets, snapped lines, scattered people” - this is a vivid description of the current state of China's grassroots rural science and technology extension system. For many years, this phenomenon has not improved substantially.
“Agricultural technology extension work needs to complete tasks ranging from the acquisition and digestion of scientific and technological innovation to its dissemination. It is creative work, so only specialized personnel with a certain level of quality are competent for it.” Member Cheng Ping suggested taking advantage of the reform of the personnel system in public institutions to reform the grassroots agricultural technology extension system and thoroughly clarify its public-benefit nature.
Wang Haibo, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of the Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, said that solving the “dilemma faced by the building of the agricultural technology extension workforce” at the institutional level is even more urgent. “At present, agricultural technology extension teams have no stable source of income, which leads them to engage in business and sell whatever makes money. But if agricultural technology extension personnel are given state benefits under the current system, many non-professional technical personnel will squeeze into this team.” For this reason, he suggested drawing on Canada's practice by transferring the establishment posts of agricultural technology extension personnel to the provincial level, granting them the treatment of state public officials, and having provinces set up regional agricultural technology centers according to crop distribution, with agricultural technology stations under them. The promotion and salary treatment of agricultural technicians would be based on the actual performance of their extension work and farmers' evaluations.
Member Liu Fengzhi believed that the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Agricultural Technology should be revised as soon as possible and supporting rules and regulations should be issued to provide legal protection for agricultural technology extension work in the new era. A sound mechanism for stable growth in investment should be established and improved, and the investment responsibilities of governments at all levels for agricultural technology extension should be clarified and strengthened. “Only with legal protection can everyone do their work well, and only then can those agricultural technology extension personnel who hold fast to the front line do their work well and give rural ordinary people truly tangible help.” Liu Fengzhi said.