The Path of Agricultural Modernization with Chinese Characteristics

We should always take reform as the fundamental driving force, based on the national conditions and agricultural conditions, comply with the requirements of the times, adhere to the collective ownership of rural land by farmers, adhere to family management as the basis for joint development with diversified business forms and traditional intensive farming and modern material technology and equipment complementing each other to achieve high yield, achieve the balance between high output and efficiency and the sustainable use of resources and ecology, and firmly take the path of agricultural modernization with Chinese characteristics, which is complemented by government support and the decisive role the market’s allocation of resources. The 18th CPC National Congress stated that it is necessary to simultaneously promote agricultural modernization in the in-depth development of industrialization, informatization, and urbanization, further the policy of strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers and making farmers rich, allowing farmers to participate in the modernization process on an equal basis and share the fruits of modernization. To promote agricultural modernization, we must focus on the core task of ensuring national food security and firmly grasp the two basic requirements of “Chinese characteristics” and “new”.

It is necessary to actively use modern scientific and technological achievements and sustainable development idea, vigorously innovate production and operation methods, and continuously improve land output rate, resource utilization rate, and labor productivity, so as to achieve intensive conservation and sustainable development. Our country has a vast territory, the east, west, south and north of China are very different, and the productivity levels of different regions are not the same. Agricultural modernization cannot go in the same mode. Therefore, all regions must adapt themselves to local conditions, boldly explore, and actively practice to form a national multi-path, multi-form, multi-level pattern of promoting agricultural.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has repeatedly pointed out that a moderately prosperous society boils down to the well-off life of villagers. To build a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, the most arduous task lies in the rural areas. We must simultaneously promote new industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, among which the weak link is the agricultural modernization. Without agricultural modernization, without rural prosperity, and without farmers living and working in peace and contentment, national modernization is incomplete, not all-round, and unstable. Agriculture is the foundation for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and realizing modernization. We must insist on solving the the three issues of “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” as the top priority of the Party's work, intensify the policy of strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers and making farmers rich, and vigorously promote agricultural modernization. Agricultural modernization must adhere to the three bottom lines of not changing the nature of public ownership of the land, not breaking through the bottom line of cultivated land, and not damaging the interests of farmers. The “Proposals of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development” adopted by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China set clear the requirements for vigorously promoting agricultural modernization.

Promote agricultural modernization under the new historical conditions, “firmly establish the vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and inclusive development”, solve development problems, strengthen development advantages, “focus on building a modern agricultural industry system, production system, and management system, improve the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of agriculture” and accelerate the realization of China’s transformation from a large agricultural country to a strong agricultural country.