On Actively Developing Modern Agriculture
On January 29, 2007, the Central Government of China released the No.1 Central Document for that year. The document called for the consolidation, improvement, and strengthening of agricultural support policies, increasing investments in agriculture, actively promoting the construction of modern agriculture, reinforcing rural public services, deepening comprehensive reforms in rural areas, and promoting stable development of grain, continuous increase in farmers' incomes, and greater harmony in rural areas.
The document demands increased investment in the "three rural" issues and establishes a guarantee mechanism for investing in modern agriculture.
Substantially increase investment in the "three rural" issues (agriculture, rural areas and farmers). Governments at all levels should genuinely shift the focus of infrastructure construction and social development to rural areas. New national financial inputs in education, health, culture, and other sectors, as well as the incremental investment in fixed assets, should mainly be directed to rural areas. Gradually increase the proportion of government land transfer income used for rural purposes. Establish a mechanism for steady growth in "three rural" investment.
Improve the agricultural subsidy system. Continuous efforts should be made to consolidate, perfect, and strengthen the system, gradually forming an agricultural subsidy system that is clear in its objectives, direct in benefits, diverse in types, and easy to operate. Funds used for direct subsidies to grain-producing farmers should account for more than 50% of the grain risk fund. Increase subsidies for improved seeds, agricultural machinery, and agricultural production materials.
Establish an agricultural risk prevention mechanism. Strengthen forecasting and early warning systems for natural disasters and major pests and diseases in animals and plants, and enhance agricultural disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities. Actively develop agricultural insurance and establish a comprehensive agricultural insurance system.
Encourage farmers and societal forces to invest in modern agriculture. Fully leverage the primary role of farmers in constructing new rural areas and developing modern agriculture. Guide farmers to be self-reliant, increase production and intellectual input, and enhance scientific farming and intensive management levels. Using a combination of measures like tax incentives, grants, equity participation, discounted loans, and guarantees, create a favourable environment for societal forces to invest in modern agriculture.
The document stresses accelerating agricultural infrastructure construction and improving the equipment level of modern agriculture.
Focus on farmland water conservancy construction.
Enhance arable land quality. Intensify land reclamation and consolidation efforts. Accelerate the construction of high-standard farmland that can ensure yields regardless of drought or flooding. Prioritise the support of organic fertiliser accumulation and integrated water and fertiliser facility construction, encouraging farmers to adopt green manure, return straw to the field, and use farmyard manure. Increase investment in integrated agricultural development, actively supporting high-standard farmland construction.
Accelerate the development of clean energy in rural areas. Continue to increase investment in rural biogas construction. Actively develop straw gasification and clean energies like solar and wind in suitable areas.
Intensify rural infrastructure construction efforts. Prioritise solving safe drinking water issues for areas with smaller ethnic populations, residents displaced by reservoirs, schistosomiasis-affected areas, and rural schools. Increase the construction intensity of rural roads, continue promoting rural power grid transformation and construction, and encourage farmers to voluntarily raise funds and labour for small rural infrastructure construction, promoting the extension of infrastructure and public services to rural areas.
Develop new types of agricultural industries. Actively develop new fertilisers, low-toxicity and highly efficient pesticides, multifunctional agricultural machinery, and biodegradable agricultural films.
Enhance the sustainable development capability of agriculture. Encourage the development of circular and ecological agriculture. In suitable areas, accelerate the development of organic agriculture. Continue to promote major ecological projects like natural forest protection and returning farmland to forests, further improving policies and consolidating results.
The document calls for the advancement of agricultural scientific and technological innovation, strengthening the technological support for modern agriculture.
Strengthen the construction of the agricultural scientific and technological innovation system. Substantially increase investment in agricultural research. Initiate special scientific research projects in the agricultural sector, support agricultural technology projects, and focus on supporting the technological research and development that plays a crucial role in the construction of modern agriculture. Accelerate the integration of innovative agricultural technological achievements and pilot maturation.
Promote the introduction of agricultural science and technology into villages and households. Actively explore effective mechanisms and methods for bringing agricultural scientific achievements into villages and households, forming a technology dissemination network linked by technical instructors, centred on demonstration households, and connected to surrounding farmers.
Vigorously promote resource-saving agricultural technology. There should be active development and use of various resource-saving agricultural technologies, vigorously popularise water-saving irrigation technology, and initiate a demonstration project for water-saving agriculture in dry farming. Further promote advanced fertilisation techniques such as diagnostic fertilisation and precision fertilisation. Reform agricultural cultivation systems and planting methods to reduce feed and energy consumption.
Actively develop agricultural mechanisation. Accelerate the mechanisation process of grain production and vigorously promote mechanised technologies such as rice transplanting, deep soil loosening, deep fertiliser application, and straw pulverisation and return to fields.
Accelerate the construction of agricultural informatisation. Integrate agricultural-related information resources and promote the standardisation and regulation of agricultural information data collection. Expedite the construction of a number of unified standards and highly practical public agricultural databases. Strengthen the construction of integrated rural information infrastructure, innovate service models, and initiate rural informatisation demonstration projects.
The document requires the development of various functions of agriculture and the perfection of the industrial system for modern agriculture.
Promote the stable development of food. Gradually establish a stable supply, strong regulation, and efficient operation food security system. Stabilise the sown area of food crops, improve yield per unit, optimise varieties, and enhance quality. Continue to implement projects such as high-quality grain industry, seeds, plant protection, and grain yield-enhancing technology. Advance the construction of grain advantage industrial belts, encourage areas with conditions to develop contiguous planting moderately, and intensify support for grain processing and transformation.
Develop healthy breeding industries.
Vigorously develop characteristic agriculture. Attach importance to the development of horticulture, special breeding, and rural tourism. Through planning guidance, policy support, and demonstration-led methods, support the "one village, one product" development strategy.
Support the development of leading agricultural industrialisation enterprises. Support the development of agricultural product processing industries. Support leading enterprises in introducing and transforming technologies. Refine the value-added tax policy for the agricultural product processing industry to alleviate the tax burden on agricultural product processing enterprises. Financial institutions should increase credit support for leading enterprises, focusing on solving the problem of agricultural product purchase funds.
Promote the development of the biomass industry. Accelerate the development of biomass fuels, fertilisers, and feeds primarily made from agricultural crop straws, initiate pilot projects for straw gasification and solidified fuel moulding, and support the utilisation of straw as feed.
The document calls for the perfection of the rural market system and the development of logistics industries adapted to the needs of modern agriculture.
Construction of agricultural product circulation facilities and the development of new circulation patterns. Support the construction of rural circulation infrastructure and the development of logistics enterprises. Expedite the construction of a batch of fresh agricultural product wholesale markets with advanced facilities, comprehensive functions, and standardised transactions. Vigorously develop modern circulation methods such as rural chain operations and e-commerce.
Strengthen the supervision and service of agricultural product quality and safety. Diligently implement the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law, speed up the perfection of the agricultural product quality and safety standard system, and establish an agricultural product quality traceability system.
Enhance regulation of agricultural product imports and exports. Accelerate the implementation of the "going out" strategy for agriculture. Strengthen the regulation and management of bulk agricultural product imports to protect the interests of farmers and maintain domestic production and market stability.
Actively develop diversified market circulation entities. Speed up the cultivation of rural brokers, agricultural product transport and marketing households, and various rural circulation intermediary organisations.
The document requires the cultivation of new-type farmers, creating a talent team for the construction of modern agriculture.
Cultivate modern agricultural operators. Universally conduct agricultural production skill training, expand the scale of new farmer technology training projects and science benefiting agriculture and revitalising villages plans. Organise and implement new rural practical talent training projects, striving to train the majority of farming households into modern agricultural operators with strong market awareness, high production skills, and certain management capabilities.
Accelerate farmer's employment transfer training and rights protection.
Speed up the development of rural social undertakings. Continue to improve rural schooling conditions and promote balanced development of compulsory education in urban and rural areas. Endeavour to eradicate illiteracy among rural youths and adults. Continue to expand the pilot scope of the new rural cooperative medical system, strengthen standardised management, expand the benefits for farmers, and continuously improve the rural medical aid system. Increase investment in rural cultural undertakings.
Enhance the capabilities of rural public service personnel. Establish a training system for rural grassroots cadres, rural teachers, village doctors, grassroots agricultural extension personnel, and other service personnel related to the production and living of farmers. Strengthen on-the-job training and enhance service capabilities.
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