How to advance agricultural modernization? Innovative concepts are key

During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, to vigorously advance agricultural modernization, we must uphold the concept of innovative development and fully give play to innovation as the primary driving force leading agricultural development.

●Providing driving support through scientific and technological innovation

Scientific and technological innovation plays a leading role in the diversified innovation system, and the fundamental way out for agricultural development lies in scientific and technological progress. Therefore, we must rely on the drive of scientific and technological innovation to lead and support the building of modern agriculture. The history of world agricultural development is the history of the continuous progress of agricultural science and technology, and the contribution rate of scientific and technological progress to agriculture in developed countries has reached as high as above 80%. At present, China's agricultural scientific and technological innovation capacity is still not strong, the level of agricultural scientific and technological development is still not high, and the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress is less than 60%, far below the level of developed countries.

To vigorously advance agricultural modernization, we must uphold scientific and technological innovation and thoroughly shift the fundamental path of agricultural development onto the track of fully relying on scientific and technological progress and improving the quality of laborers. On the one hand, we must accelerate the pace of agricultural scientific and technological innovation and raise the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress; on the other hand, we must vigorously develop agricultural and rural education and farmer training, improve farmers' quality, and cultivate new-type farmers. In terms of specific countermeasures, we must intensify the reform of the agricultural science and technology system, improve incentive mechanisms, and break through the institutional obstacles to agricultural scientific and technological innovation; we must increase government investment in agricultural science and technology, truly place agricultural research investment in a priority position of public financial support, and raise the proportion and intensity of agricultural science and technology investment; we must strengthen the extension of agricultural technology and establish a diversified agricultural extension organization system; we must vigorously develop rural education and farmers' professional skills training to improve farmers' scientific, technological and cultural quality and their level of operation and management; and we must fully give play to the intellectual support role of agricultural colleges, universities and research institutes.

●Creating institutional and mechanism guarantees through institutional innovation

To realize agricultural modernization, at the level of developing agricultural productive forces, it mainly relies on the drive of scientific and technological innovation; at the level of improving agricultural production relations, it mainly relies on reform and institutional innovation to promote it. The process of agricultural and rural reform is the process of promoting modern agriculture building and rural development through institutional innovation. Therefore, to vigorously advance agricultural modernization, we must comprehensively deepen agricultural and rural reform, intensify institutional innovation, and overcome the institutional and mechanism obstacles and deep-seated contradictions restricting the development of modern agriculture.

First, we must advance innovation in the rural collective property rights system. The core is to explore effective organizational forms and realization methods of the rural collective ownership economy, and the focus is to carry out land system reform. We must reform the rural land expropriation and collective commercial construction land systems and improve the reasonable distribution mechanism for land value-added returns; reform the rural homestead system, improve the housing security mechanism for farmers, and explore mechanisms for paid use and voluntary withdrawal of homesteads and effective ways for mortgaging, guaranteeing and transferring farmers' housing property rights; reform the farmland protection system and improve the compensation mechanism for basic farmland protection; explore the implementation of a farmland rotation and fallow system; and reform and innovate the management systems for rural collective assets, water conservancy, forestry and so on. Second, we must advance innovation in the agricultural operation system. On the one hand, we must reform the organizational forms of agricultural production and operation, accelerate the cultivation of new-type agricultural operation entities, and build a new-type agricultural operation system; on the other hand, we must innovate the mechanism for specialized agricultural services, vigorously cultivate various forms of agricultural commercial service organizations, and improve the new-type specialized agricultural service system. Third, we must advance innovation in the agricultural support and protection system, increase agricultural support and protection, and improve the incentive mechanism for agricultural production. We must improve fiscal policies supporting agriculture and establish a mechanism for stable growth of agricultural input; reform the purchase and storage policies for major agricultural products and improve the price formation mechanism for agricultural products; improve the market regulation system for agricultural products and innovate the circulation methods for agricultural products; reform the agricultural subsidy system and improve the effectiveness of agricultural subsidy policies; improve the benefit compensation mechanism for major grain-producing areas and mobilize the enthusiasm of governments in major producing areas for grain production; innovate the rural financial system, establish a modern rural financial system, and raise the level of rural financial services; and innovate agricultural insurance varieties, improve the agricultural insurance system, and raise the level of protection.

●Better giving play to the government's leading role through management innovation

To vigorously advance agricultural modernization, we must let the market play a decisive role in the allocation of agricultural resources and let farmers play a principal role in agricultural production and operation. At the same time, we must better give play to the government's leading role, and the government must scientifically conduct macro-management and regulation of agricultural operation and development.

In terms of management objectives, while ensuring the effective supply of major agricultural products, we must pay more attention to increasing farmers' incomes, promoting full employment of farmers, optimizing the agricultural structure, improving agricultural production efficiency, and promoting sustainable agricultural development. In terms of management functions, the main tasks are to scientifically formulate agricultural development strategies and medium- and long-term agricultural development plans, adjust and optimize the agricultural structure and layout, and establish a modern agricultural industrial system; improve the agricultural product market system and regulate market behavior and order; strengthen supervision and improve the quality and food safety system for agricultural products; and strengthen the role of public welfare agricultural service institutions and establish a mechanism for government purchase of public welfare agricultural services. In terms of management methods, we should mainly rely on macro-level indirect regulation, innovate regulatory ideas and policy tools, adopt discretionary and precise regulation measures, increase targeted regulation, and conduct timely pre-adjustment and fine-tuning. In terms of management means, we should mainly rely on economic and legal means. On the one hand, we should pay attention to coordination and cooperation among macroeconomic policies and enhance the pertinence and coordination of macro-regulation; on the other hand, we should promptly revise laws and regulations that do not suit the development of modern agriculture and study and formulate new laws and regulations.

●Providing scientific guidance through theoretical innovation

In the process of vigorously advancing agricultural modernization and deepening rural reform, there is an urgent need to strengthen theoretical research and carry out theoretical innovation. In particular, in advancing scientific and technological innovation, institutional innovation and management innovation, we must not only dare to break through certain original theoretical systems, frameworks and methods, but also dare to explore forbidden theoretical zones and unknown fields.

Upholding theoretical innovation means making new rational analyses and rational answers to new situations and new problems emerging in the process of advancing agricultural modernization, and making new revelations and predictions about the essence, laws and development trends of agricultural modernization. To steadily advance modern agriculture and rural reform, the Party Central Committee and the State Council have uniformly deployed 11 pilot reform tasks, including the rural land system, the agricultural support and protection system, the rural collective property rights system, rural finance, and agricultural water pricing. Each specific task in the reform pilots is a major topic. To carry out reform experiments in any one of these areas, it is necessary to comprehensively grasp the historical evolution and current situation of that reform experiment task, objectively understand the main problems and their adverse effects, deeply analyze the causes and restrictive factors, and scientifically formulate the ideas, approaches and policy measures for completing the reform experiment task and put them into practice. All of this requires in-depth, systematic theoretical research and comprehensive design. At the same time, in the process of reform practice, follow-up research and deepened research should also be carried out to promptly examine and evaluate the process and performance of the reform experiments, summarize and analyze successful experience or lessons from failure, and further revise and improve reform ideas and plans.