Since the reform and opening up, agriculture and the rural economy have undergone radical and dramatic changes. Agricultural output has steadily increased, rural infrastructure has been significantly strengthened, production conditions have greatly improved, and the living standards and quality of life of rural residents have improved by leaps and bounds. The rapid development of agriculture and rural economy has not only solved the problem of feeding the 1.3 billion Chinese people, but also made positive contributions to world agriculture, and the brilliant achievements have attracted worldwide attention.
I. Agricultural production is developing rapidly, and the supply and demand of major agricultural products show a new pattern
On Oct. 25, several farmers in Dongwang Village, Ningjin County, Hebei Province, were palletizing a bumper harvest of corn. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Hebei, in 2008, the province's grain sowing area reached 92,371,700 mu, and the total grain output is expected to reach 29,031,500 tons, an increase of 616,000 tons over 2007, an increase of 2.17%. Grain production will realize the fifth consecutive year of increase since 2004. Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Shiyao took a photo
China's rural reform broke through the people's commune system and the implementation of the family contract responsibility system, the productivity has been greatly developed. Entering the new stage of the new century, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council adhere to the policy of "giving more, taking less and letting go", and continuously strengthen the policy of supporting and benefiting the agriculture, completely abolishing the agricultural tax and the agricultural special production tax in the country, ending the history of the farmers who have been planting their fields and paying taxes for more than 2,600 years, and giving the farmers who grow food the four subsidies (direct subsidies, good quality products and other subsidies).
(I) Grain and other major agricultural production as well as per capita possession have increased significantly
In 2007, China's total grain output reached 501.6 million tons (103.2 billion jin), an increase of nearly 200 million tons (nearly 400 billion jin) over 1978, an increase of 65%; cotton production reached 7.62 million tons, an increase of 2.5 times; oilseed production reached 25.69 million tons, an increase of 3.9 times; sugar production reached 121.88 million tons, an increase of 4.1 times. Total meat production reached 68.66 million tons, an increase of more than six times; fish production reached 47.48 million tons, an increase of nine times. The per capita share of major agricultural products has also risen considerably; in 2007, the per capita share of grain was 381 kilograms, 19.4 percent higher than in 1978; cotton was 5.8 kilograms, an increase of 1.5 times; oilseeds, 19 kilograms, an increase of 2.5 times; sugarseeds, 93 kilograms, an increase of 2.7 times; fruits, 138 kilograms, an increase of 19 times; and the per capita share of meat, 52 kilograms, an increase of 4.3 times. Aquatic products 36 kilograms, an increase of 6.3 times. The overall steady growth of agricultural products such as grain, oil, cotton, fruits and vegetables has provided the material basis for the people's increasingly high standard of living.
(2) Optimization of varieties of agricultural products
Since the reform and opening up, China's agriculture has entered a new stage of development, with structural adjustment focusing more on the development of high-yield, high-quality, high-efficiency, ecological and safe modern agriculture, and paying more attention to giving full play to the comparative advantages of agriculture in various regions and to the sustainable development of agriculture. At present, the coverage rate of good seeds and the level of quality of China's major agricultural products have increased significantly. According to the Ministry of Agriculture statistics, in 2006, China's rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, four major grain varieties of high quality rate of 69%, 55%, 42% and 66%, respectively, "double-low" rapeseed planting area accounted for more than 75% of the livestock and poultry, aquatic products, fruits and vegetables and other fresh agricultural products of high quality rate has also improved greatly, pollution-free, green food and organic food is developing rapidly.
(3) Overall supply and demand of major agricultural products are basically balanced
On Oct. 14, a She girl at Xinhua Farm in Chitu She Township, Nankang City, was picking sweet pomelo. Nankang City in Jiangxi Province, known as the "hometown of sweet pomelo", has developed the sweet pomelo industry in recent years through the "company + farmers" approach, introducing good sweet pomelo, and the products are exported to Shanghai, Hong Kong and other places. Xinhua News Agency (Yang Xiaoming photo)
After the late 1990s, China's supply and demand for grain and other major agricultural products from the long-term shortage of the basic balance of the total amount, the abundance of surplus" of the basic pattern. Abundant supply of grain and other agricultural products, for market stability and urban and rural residents to improve living standards laid the foundation to support the sustained, rapid and healthy development of the national economy. Since entering the new century, with the deepening of agricultural structural adjustment, the rapid development of marketization, industrialization and urbanization, and the impact of accession to the World Trade Organization, the supply and demand of agricultural products is undergoing important stage-by-stage changes. Important changes have occurred in the structure of demand for food, with an increase in the flow of commodities and a rise in the demand for commercial grains. At present, among the major agricultural products, the supply and demand for rations such as wheat and rice are basically balanced, corn is moving from a balance of supply and demand to a shortage of supply, and the production and marketing of cotton are both growing sharply. Vegetable and fruit production and sales are booming, the big market and circulation pattern is basically formed.
Two, agricultural production conditions have improved significantly
One is the level of agricultural mechanization increased year by year. According to statistics, the total power of agricultural machinery increased from 117.5 million kilowatts in 1978 to 765.9 million kilowatts in 2007, an increase of 5.5 times. The number of large and medium-sized tractors and combine harvesters increased from 557,000 and 19,000 in 1978 to 2.063 million and 634,000 in 2007, respectively. The area of crop harvesting and sowing by machine has increased year by year, and the area of wheat, rice, soybeans and other staple crops operated by machinery has increased significantly. Secondly, the construction of farmland water conservancy and other infrastructure has been gradually strengthened. By the end of 2007, the effective irrigated area of the country had reached 56,518 kilo-hectares, an increase of 25.7% over 1978. The area under drought and flood control had reached 41,153 kilohectares, and the area under electromechanical drainage and irrigation had increased to 37,762 kilohectares. The construction of farmland water conservancy has provided a solid foundation for the steady increase in comprehensive agricultural production capacity. Third, the development of modern agriculture, represented by facility agriculture, has been accelerated. The results of the Second Agricultural Census show that, at present, greenhouses cover an area of 81,000 hectares, greenhouses cover an area of 465,000 hectares, and small and medium-sized greenhouses cover an area of 231,000 hectares.At the end of 2006, 723,000 hectares of vegetables were planted in greenhouses and greenhouses, accounting for 4.3% of the total sown area of all vegetables; and fruits and horticultural nursery trees*** planted covered an area of 184,000 hectares, accounting for 1.8% of the total area of all orchards. The development of high-tech agriculture, such as facility agriculture and eco-agriculture, has promoted the improvement of the quantity and quality of agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits.
Third, the structural adjustment of agriculture and the rural economy has made new achievements
In order to adapt to the requirements of the new stage of change, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have paid more attention to improving the structure of the rural economy, improving the quality of agricultural production, creating a larger market space for agricultural production, and realizing the transformation of the mode of agricultural growth from quantitative to qualitative and effective growth.
(I) The structure of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery is constantly optimized
On Oct. 24, the boatmen of a Hong Kong fishing boat were ready to trade at Shekou pier. Since 1993, a team of more than 4,500 Hong Kong itinerant fishermen has been active at the Shekou, Yantian and Nan'ao fishing ports in Shenzhen, where these fishermen with dual identities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen can travel freely between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. This is a convenient initiative made by Shenzhen under the environment of reform and opening up.
From the point of view of the proportion of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery in the total value of agricultural output, the proportion of agriculture has been decreasing, and the proportion of forestry, animal husbandry and fishery has been increasing. 2007, the proportion of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery in the total value of agricultural output (excluding agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery services) was 52.3%, 4.0%, 34.2% and 9.5%, respectively, which is 27.7 times lower than the proportion of agriculture compared with that of 1978. share decreased by 27.7 percentage points, while forestry, animal husbandry and fishery increased by 0.6, 19.2 and 7.9 percentage points respectively.
(2) Specialized division of labor and regionalized production pattern of major agricultural products have basically taken shape
Driven by the comparative advantage of resources and guided by industrial policies, agricultural products have gradually concentrated in the advantageous production areas. Compared with the early stage of reform and opening up, the regionalized production pattern of the planting industry has basically taken shape. At present, 13 major grain-producing provinces, such as Henan and Heilongjiang, account for more than 70% of the country's grain output, and provide more than 80% of the country's commercial grain; the country has formed a soybean and corn belt in the northeast; a peanut and wheat belt in the Huanghuaihai region; an oilseed rape belt in the Yangtze River Basin; and a cotton belt in the Yellow River Basin and the inland northwest of the country. Livestock production is also more concentrated towards regionalization. Pork production in 13 major hog-producing provinces, such as Sichuan and Hunan, has accounted for more than 75% of the country's output. Milk production in seven major dairy-producing provinces, including Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, accounts for more than 60% of the country's milk production. Agricultural production varieties continue to enrich, quality continues to improve, providing society with a wealth of production and living resources, greatly improving the material standard of living of our people.
Four, rural residents' income has increased significantly, and living standards continue to improve
In the early years of reform and opening up, farmers had a single production and management activity, a single source of income, and farmers' incomes were dominated by agricultural incomes, food incomes, and physical incomes accounted for a large proportion of the income. With the development of the market economy, changes in the structure of rural employment and the deepening of institutional reforms, there has been a clear trend towards the marketization, diversification and non-agriculturalization of the sources of farmers' income, and the pattern of farmers' incomes has undergone fundamental changes.
(1) Farmers' incomes have risen sharply, and the structure of incomes has taken on new features
From 1978 to 2007, the per capita net income of farmers rose from 134 yuan to 4,140 yuan, and, after deducting the factor of prices, it grew by an average of 7.1 percent per year. The structure of farmers' income presents brand-new features: first, the proportion of family-run income represented by agricultural income has declined; in 2007, the per capita net income of rural residents from family production and management was RMB 2,194, accounting for 53% of the per capita net income of farmers, down by more than 20% compared with that in the early stage of reform and opening up. Secondly, the proportion of wage income, represented by income from foreign labor, has risen steadily, becoming the main source of income for farmers; in 2007, the per capita wage income of rural residents amounted to RMB 1,596, accounting for 38.6% of the per capita net income of farmers, an increase of nearly 20 percentage points over the early 1980s. The growth in farmers' wage incomes has been driven mainly by the growth in farmers' outworker incomes; since 1997, farmers' outworker incomes have been growing at double-digit rates, and have taken a prominent place in wage incomes; in 2001, farmers' outworker incomes accounted for 36.5 percent of wage incomes, and by 2007, farmers' outworker incomes accounted for 40.8 percent of wage incomes. Thirdly, the proportion of net cash income has been increasing; in 2007, the proportion of net cash income in the per capita net income of peasants was 85.2%, an increase of 43 percentage points compared with 1978.
(2) Life of Rural Residents Continues to Improve
On Oct. 28, a worker works on a construction site of "new residential houses" in South Lijiazhuang Village, Xuanpingbao Township, Wanquan County, Hebei Province. In May 2008, Wanquan County, Hebei Province, as an ecological immigrant relocation village Xuanpingburg Township, South Lijiazhuang Village villagers began construction of residential housing. The village house type design reference reference "Yan Zhao New Residence" excellent design scheme, planning for the two-story courtyard townhouse type building, building a total area of 15,000 square meters, can arrange 119 villagers to move in. In order to improve the quality of farmers' homes, the Civilization Office of Hebei Province, Hebei Provincial Department of Construction equal to September 2006 jointly carried out the Hebei New Rural Habitat Architectural Design Competition, from which 100 sets of award-winning residential architectural design scheme, named "Yanzhao New Habitat", and began in 2008 in the province's rural areas on tour, will reflect the resource-saving, comfortable and practical requirements of the new residential design plans free of charge to the farmers in hand! For farmers around the masses to build houses for reference. It is understood that Hebei Province has built more than 1,000 sets of "new homes" model houses to guide the province's rural residential construction.
Income growth for rural residents to improve the life of a solid foundation. 1978-2007, rural residents per capita living consumption expenditures from 116 yuan to 3,224 yuan, the standard of living to the goal of building a moderately affluent society in all aspects. The main manifestations are as follows: First, the consumption structure of rural residents has been constantly upgraded. The Engel coefficient fell from 67.7 per cent in 1978 to 43.1 per cent in 2007, a decline of 24.6 percentage points, indicating that the consumption structure of rural residents has been continuously optimized. Secondly, there has been rapid growth in development and enjoyment consumption expenditure; in 2007, the per capita expenditure levels of rural residents on culture, education and recreation, medical care and transportation and communication reached 306 yuan, 210 yuan and 328 yuan respectively, representing an increase of 4.4, 4.4 and 9.8 percentage points in the proportion of living consumption expenditure compared with that of 1980. Thirdly, the lives of rural households have gradually entered the era of electrification and informationization; in 1978, rural households had almost no electrical appliances, but in 2007, the number of consumer durables such as televisions, refrigerators and washing machines per 100 rural households reached 106.5, 26.1 and 45.9 respectively. While traditional consumer durables have steadily increased, the popularization of information technology equipment in rural areas has accelerated, with the average number of telephones, cell phones and computers per 100 households reaching 68.4, 77.8 and 3.7 respectively in 2007.
(3) Rural poverty has improved dramatically
Economic reforms begun in 1978 have propelled tremendous growth in the rural economy, providing a solid economic foundation for the State's ever-intensifying anti-poverty measures. The State has successively implemented the Developmental Poverty Alleviation Plan and the "Eighty-seven Poverty Alleviation Program," continuously increasing the investment of poverty alleviation funds, improving poverty alleviation measures, and identifying 592 nationally impoverished counties as the key areas for poverty alleviation; by the year 2000, the number of people living in poverty had been reduced from 250 million in 1978 to 32.09 million, and the incidence of poverty had dropped from 30.7% to 30.7%, with the incidence of poverty decreasing from 30.7% to 30.9%. By 2000, the number of poor people had dropped from 250 million in 1978 to 32.09 million, and the incidence of poverty had fallen from 30.7 percent to 3.5 percent, making the cause of poverty alleviation in rural areas a world-renowned achievement. Entering the new century, the State formulated the Outline of China's Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Programme (2001-2010), which relies on industrialized poverty alleviation and labour export, and on whole-village promotion to alleviate poverty, with the cause of poverty alleviation making new achievements. By 2007, the number of poor people had been reduced to 14.79 million, and the incidence of poverty had fallen to 1.6 percent.
V. Strengthening of Rural Infrastructure
Before the reform and opening up, rural infrastructure was weak, agricultural production conditions were backward, the construction of the market system was lagging behind, and agricultural and rural infrastructure was in a state of disarray. After 30 years of development, rural infrastructure has been greatly improved. Especially since entering the new stage of the new century, the CPC Central Committee has put forward the major historical task of building a new socialist countryside, and the scale and strength of rural infrastructure construction has increased significantly.
(I) Rapid Development of Rural Transportation, Electricity, Culture and Health Infrastructure
Since the reform and opening up, the State has been attaching great importance to the construction of infrastructure related to the long-term development of agriculture and the countryside, such as rural roads, rural power grids, culture and education, etc., and the construction of rural infrastructure has made remarkable achievements. The results of the second agricultural census show that at present, the proportion of administrative villages nationwide with roads, telephones, electricity and the ability to receive TV signals have all reached more than 95%, and more than 80% of towns and villages have postal and telegraph offices. Culture and education, environmental sanitation and medical institutions have also been substantially improved, with more than 85 percent of villages now having elementary school within 3 kilometers, more than 98 percent of townships having hospitals and health centers, 72 percent of townships implementing centralized water supply, and 37 percent of townships having garbage disposal stations.
(2) Initial Results of Rural Market System Construction
The 30-year rural reform has always adhered to a market-oriented orientation. Rural market-oriented reform breakthrough in the planned economic model of unified purchase and marketing, after a number of reforms in the circulation system of agricultural products, China has now initially formed an open, unified, competitive and orderly market system of agricultural products to meet the requirements of the development of the socialist market economy of the initial establishment of the grain circulation system; the main body of the market of agricultural products has been developed from a single operation for farmers, various intermediary organizations, state-owned distribution enterprises, etc., constitute the Diversified operations; circulation channels have gradually formed retail, wholesale, futures and other levels; information services are also developing in the direction of constantly meeting the needs of producers, operators and consumers. Market infrastructure has also achieved remarkable results, the results of the second agricultural census showed that at the end of 2006, 68.4% of the townships had comprehensive markets, 34.4% of the villages had comprehensive stores or supermarkets of more than 50 square meters, and 88.4% of the townships had savings offices.
(3) Rural social undertakings make new strides
Since the 16th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have insisted on coordinating economic and social development, accelerating the development and reform of social undertakings such as education, health, and security, and the rapid development of social undertakings in the countryside has provided a powerful guarantee for the comprehensive construction of a moderately prosperous society in the countryside. In the area of education, all rural primary and secondary school students in the compulsory education stage have been exempted from miscellaneous school fees and provided with free textbooks, benefiting 150 million students; in the area of health, 19,000 township health centers have been renovated and newly built, and 12,000 township health centers have been equipped with medical equipment. In the area of social security, in 2007, the new type of rural cooperative medical care was expanded to 86 percent of the country's counties, benefiting 730 million of the agricultural population; and a minimum subsistence guarantee system was set up in rural areas across the country, with 35.66 million rural residents included in the scope of the guarantee.
VI. Rapid Development of Rural Non-Agricultural Industries, and New Improvements in the Levels of Industrialization and Urbanization
(1) Rapid Development of Rural Non-Agricultural Industries
The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have adhered to the policy of coordinated development of large, medium-sized, small and medium-sized cities and small towns, and have seen a rapid development of the rural non-agricultural industries, with countryside and township enterprises as the mainstay, and the construction of small towns as the backbone. Localities pay more attention to the transformation of agricultural products processing and highlight the green brand, the construction of a number of distinctive leading enterprises in agricultural products processing, agricultural products processing industry has become a new highlight of the development of township enterprises. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2006, township and village enterprises realized an operating income of 2,468.1 billion yuan, an increase of 1.1 times that of 2001, and a total profit of 1,473.5 billion yuan, an increase of 1.5 times that of 2001. The development of rural non-agricultural industries has optimized the structure of rural employment. After the reform and opening up, peasants have gained the right to choose their own jobs and work in cities, and the proportion of people employed in non-agricultural industries and those who work outside the city has increased rapidly. According to the results of the Second National Agricultural Census, the proportion of people employed in non-agricultural industries in rural areas[1] to the total number of people working in rural areas in 2006 increased from 7% in 1978 to 29.2%.
(2) New Improvement in Industrialization and Urbanization
The development of rural non-agricultural industries, especially township industries, has promoted China's industrialization and urbanization. Rural and township industries have complemented each other's strengths and developed in a coordinated manner, leading to a road of industrialization with Chinese characteristics. Rural industrialization has led to the development of rural urbanization, and the construction and improvement of various types of township industrial districts have improved rural infrastructure conditions and promoted the development of rural services. The construction of small towns has accelerated the development of township enterprises and service industries as the basis for industry, creating a road of urbanization with Chinese characteristics, and raising the level of urbanization in China from 17.9% in 1978 to 44.9% in 2007.
VII. Supply and Demand of Rural Labor and Employment Show a New Pattern
On Nov. 2, migrant workers consulted on their children's schooling in front of the consultation desk of the Education Commission in Jiulongpo District. The day is the second Chongqing Migrant Workers Day, by the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission, Chongqing Jiulongpo District People's Government *** with the organization of the "together under the blue sky, hand in hand *** growth" of migrant workers' children school "care and concern" large-scale consulting activities in Chongqing Yangjaping Walking Street kicked off. Hundreds of people from Chongqing Municipal Education Commission and education departments of districts and counties, vocational and technical schools, on the children of migrant workers enrollment, vocational and technical training, tuition fee exemption and other issues for the migrant workers to carry out professional counseling. It is understood that the number of designated schools in Chongqing that accept children of migrant workers for schooling has reached 406, accepting 198,000 children of migrant workers who have moved to the city.
After the reform and opening up, farmers have gained the right to choose their own jobs and work in the cities, the number and proportion of non-agricultural employment has grown rapidly, and the number of farmers working in the cities has steadily increased, presenting a new pattern of supply and demand of rural labor and employment.
(1) The structure of the rural labor force tends to be optimized
From the perspective of the three industries, the proportion of people employed in the primary industry in society as a percentage of all employed people fell from 70.5 percent in 1978 to 40.8 percent. According to the results of the Second Agricultural Census, at the end of 2006, male laborers accounted for 50.8% and female laborers 49.2% of the total rural labor resources. Of the rural workforce, 70.8 per cent were employed in the primary sector, 15.6 per cent in the secondary sector and 13.6 per cent in the tertiary sector. In terms of literacy, the number of rural residents with junior high school education or higher increased from 35% in 1985 to 61% in 2006.
(2) Rural Labor Mobility Presents a New Pattern
Since the reform and opening up, the large-scale mobility and transfer of rural laborers to the cities has become a bright landscape in China's economic development. Rural workers are widely distributed in all sectors of the national economy, and have accounted for more than half of the employees in processing manufacturing, construction, extractive industries and services such as sanitation, housekeeping, catering, etc., and have become an important force in promoting China's economic and social development. The main characteristics of labor mobility: First, the scale is large. The labor force of rural households has left their towns and villages to go out to work for 130 million people, accounting for 27.5 percent of the total number of rural employees. Among them, the male labor force is 84.34 million, accounting for 64%; the female labor force is 47.47 million, accounting for 36%. Outside workers are mainly young adults, accounting for 66% of those between the ages of 21 and 40. Among the labor force working outside the countryside, those working outside the county accounted for 19.2%, those working outside the county and the city accounted for 13.8%, those working outside the city and the province accounted for 17.7%, and those working outside the province accounted for 49.3%. Secondly, the outbound laborers are mainly engaged in secondary and tertiary industries. Among the laborers who went out to work, those who worked in the primary industry accounted for 2.8%, those who worked in the secondary industry accounted for 56.7%, and those who worked in the tertiary industry accounted for 40.5%. Thirdly, the mode of going out to work has changed. At the beginning of the reform period, farmers went out to work mainly on a short-term, seasonal basis during the slack season, or on a yearly basis between urban and rural areas and regions. Since the beginning of the new century, there have been new signs of migrant workers going out to work, with the proportion of migrant workers completely detached from agricultural production and working outside for years increasing, the part-time nature of their work weakening, and the number of rural laborers moving out of the countryside with their families increasing.
Since the reform and opening up, the CPC Central Committee has insisted on stabilizing and perfecting the basic management system in rural areas, adhering to the direction of reform of the socialist market economy, and insisting on the combination of the Party's leadership and respect for the farmers' spirit of initiative. The economic development of agriculture and rural areas has made brilliant achievements. Since entering the new phase of the new century, the Central Government has adhered to the policy of "giving more, taking less and letting go", completely abolishing the agricultural tax throughout the country, fully realizing free and compulsory education in rural areas, and providing direct subsidies to farmers, who have received long-term benefits. Especially since the 16th National Congress of the CPC, the central government has put forward the scientific outlook on development, established the guiding ideology of integrating urban and rural development, and elevated the work of the "Three Rural Issues" from a "basic position" to the "top priority" of the work of the whole party. The work of the "three rural areas" has been elevated from a "basic position" to a "top priority" in the work of the entire Party. In accordance with the requirement of coordinating urban and rural development, the Central Government has put forward the historical task of building a new socialist countryside. To accelerate the development of modern agriculture as the focus, effectively improve the comprehensive production capacity of agriculture, vigorously strengthen the construction of rural infrastructure, adhere to the sustainable development of agriculture in the new situation accelerated the formation of agriculture and rural economic and social development has entered a new stage.