How can we vigorously develop moderate-scale operations in various forms?

The Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed accelerating the transformation of the agricultural development model, developing moderate-scale operations in various forms, and giving play to their leading role in modern agricultural development. This is a major strategic deployment by the central leadership to comply with the new requirements of our country's social production development, grasp the new trends in the changes of agricultural production relations, and respond to the new challenges of international modern agricultural development. It is also an inevitable requirement for adapting to our country's diverse resource conditions, the constantly changing rural labor force structure and agricultural production and operation methods, and promoting the development of agricultural modernization. By developing moderate-scale operations in various forms, we can promote the division and specialization of agriculture, raise labor productivity, land output rate and resource utilization rate, make up for agriculture's shortcoming in the synchronized development of the four modernizations, and continuously enhance the global competitiveness of our country's agriculture.

In the past year, we closely focused on the core task of implementing the Opinions on Guiding the Orderly Transfer of Rural Land Management Rights to Develop Moderate-Scale Agricultural Operations (referred to as Document No. 61 of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee), and achieved substantial development of moderate-scale operations in various forms. Specifically, we mainly carried out work in the following three aspects. First, we firmly and effectively advanced the work of confirming, registering and certifying rights, consolidating the development foundation of moderate-scale operations in various forms. The work of confirming, registering and certifying rural land contractual management rights is an important decision and deployment made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council based on the overall situation of comprehensively deepening rural reform, and is also an important prerequisite for developing moderate-scale operations in various forms. On the basis of selecting 3 entire provinces, Shandong, Sichuan and Anhui, and 27 entire counties for pilot projects in 2014, the central leadership continued to expand the pilot scope in 2015, selecting another 9 provinces (autonomous regions), namely Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Gansu, Ningxia, Jilin, Guizhou and Henan, to carry out entire-province pilot projects. At present, 2,246 counties (cities, districts) across the country have carried out pilot projects for confirming, registering and certifying rural land contractual management rights, with 480 million mu of contracted land actually measured and completed, and 310 million mu of household contracted area confirmed. Second, we increased support for new types of business entities, cultivating development carriers for moderate-scale operations in various forms. Cultivating new types of business entities is an urgent need and important reliance for solving the difficult problems of "who will farm the land" and "how to farm the land well," and for enhancing our country's agricultural competitiveness. In 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture actively cooperated with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the People's Bank of China, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and other departments to improve and implement support policies for new types of business entities, starting from input, subsidies, finance, insurance, land use, electricity use and talent training to comprehensively solve the difficulties faced by new types of business entities and promote their sound and rapid development. At present, new types of agricultural business entities across the country are flourishing. Family farms recognized by agricultural departments at all levels have reached 288,000, with an operating area of more than 40 million mu; farmer cooperatives registered according to law have reached more than 1.5 million, with more than 100 million households joining, accounting for 41.9% of the total number of farmer households; various types of agricultural industrialization operating organizations number 354,000, including 126,000 leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization; and various types of agricultural socialized service organizations exceed 1.15 million. Third, we improved the level of land transfer management and services, standardizing the development environment for moderate-scale operations in various forms. The management and service of land transfer is an important guarantee for promoting the development of moderate-scale operations in various forms. In 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Central Rural Work Leading Group Office, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, issued the Opinions on Strengthening Supervision and Risk Prevention of Industrial and Commercial Capital Leasing Agricultural Land (referred to as Document No. 3 of the Ministry of Agriculture for Economic Management), proposing five systems for standardizing industrial and commercial capital land leasing. At the same time, we actively guided all localities to accelerate the building of land transfer management and service capacity. At present, the number of county (city) land transfer service centers across the country has reached 1,324, and the number of land transfer service centers established in towns and townships exceeds 17,000, building a platform for the orderly transfer of land management rights and optimizing the environment for the orderly development of moderate-scale operations in various forms.

Looking ahead to 2016, we must, in accordance with the requirements of the Central Rural Work Conference and the National Agricultural Work Conference, start from five aspects to push moderate-scale operations in various forms onto the fast track of development.

First, in accordance with the requirements of the Fifth Plenary Session, improve the measures for separating land ownership rights, contract rights and management rights, promote the revision of the Rural Land Contracting Law and other laws and regulations, improve the basic rural operating system, and perfect the institutional mechanisms conducive to developing moderate-scale operations in various forms. Second, in accordance with the unified deployment of the central leadership, continue to expand the pilot scope for confirming, registering and certifying rural land contractual management rights, and carry out the work of confirming, registering and certifying land contractual management rights in a solid and detailed manner. Third, continue to do a good job in publicizing and implementing Document No. 61 of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and Document No. 3 of the Ministry of Agriculture for Economic Management, study and propose opinions on operating standards for the rural land transfer market, formulate model contract texts for rural land transfer, guide localities in establishing and improving supervision systems for industrial and commercial capital leasing agricultural land, rely on rural operating management institutions to improve land transfer service platforms, perfect the three-level service and management network at the county, township and village levels, and advance the orderly transfer of land management rights according to law. Fourth, promptly build a policy system for cultivating new types of agricultural business entities, implement the new-type professional farmer cultivation project well, further promote the healthy development of household family farms, give play to the demonstrative and driving role of farmer cooperatives, encourage agricultural industrialization leading enterprises and other agriculture-related enterprises to focus on agricultural product processing and circulation and agricultural socialized services, and establish close interest linkage mechanisms with farmer households and cooperatives. Fifth, encourage grassroots localities to boldly innovate, enrich the specific practical forms of moderate-scale operations, and explore effective combinations of the two scale operation methods of land concentration type and service concentration type with diversified operating entities such as household operation, collective operation, cooperative operation and enterprise operation.

Moderate-scale operation is the inevitable path for developing modern agriculture. We must proceed from our country's national and agricultural conditions, continuously innovate the forms of moderate-scale operation, and fully give play to the important role of moderate-scale operation in promoting agricultural modernization, solving the "three rural" issues, and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.