Prof. Liu Yonggong

18 March 2020

As follow-up action of implementing China’s 2020 No.1 Document, on 9 March 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) published a Plan for Promoting Healthy Development of New Agricultural Business Entities/Entrepreneurs and Service Providers (2020-2022). The plan is formulated in accordance with two central governmental policy guideline documents, “Circular on Speeding Up Policy System to Boost New Agricultural Business Entities and Entrepreneurs” and “Circular on Promoting the Involvement of Small Farmers into Modern Agricultural Development” jointly issued by General Offices of CPC and the State Council in 2017.  

As the document points out, in the course of rural migration, urbanization, industrialization, information and communication technology (ICT) development, promoting modern agricultural development is the only way for Chinese agriculture. Fostering new agricultural business entities and agricultural entrepreneurs as well as the modern agricultural business service entities are important preconditions for upgrading the small farmer-based agriculture to high-productive and high-quality, modern agriculture. At the same time, it is also an important policy instrument for rural revitalization.

The document highlights the following governmental supporting countermeasures:

1. Speed up the development of family farms: from 2020 to 2022 about 400,000 large-scale family farms will be newly recognized by the standards and supported. In addition, the number of supported demonstration family farms at various levels will be increased from present 83,000 to 100,000. MARA and local governments will provide special support to them, such as establishing a catalogue of supported family farms, on-farm support (including crops and livestock farms) and market and value chain related infrastructures construction, support of family farms to enhance their overall business management and marketing competitiveness, i.e. adopting new equipment and standardized technologies, product branding and certification, etc.;     
2. Support the development of farmer’s cooperatives: special support will be provided to standardize the governance structure and enhance the management capacity of existing cooperatives. The government also encourages cooperatives to enroll and support more small members and to provide financial support to strengthen their roles in processing and marketing products and in developing local product brands. The government will also encourage and support the establishment of cooperative unions and federations at various levels to further enhance the market competitiveness of the individual cooperative members. To ensure the healthy development and standardized business operation of farmer’s cooperatives, MARA will establish a national cooperative information system;          
3. Promote the development of agricultural service entities and organizations: The government will formulate policies to accelerate the development of all types of service organizations based on their service functions in the whole value chain, their strengths and capabilities. Rural collective economic organizations, farmer’s cooperatives and large agricultural and livestock enterprises will be encouraged to provide various kind of support to individual farmers and associated members in producing and marketing products. The government also supports the development of professional agricultural service companies who can provide integrated services to cover the whole value chain. The government will support to pilot and replicate the entrusted agricultural service system in which the entrusted service providers will provide farming operational service tailored to the needs of various types of farms and business entities, from providing services to single production or business activity to covering the whole value chain. MARA and local authorities will strengthen policy and administrative supervisions and guidance to the service bodies to ensure that standardized and effective services will be provided to the targeted service receivers. MARA will initiate the following national programs: construction of trusteeship service system for small farmers; construct a national databank for regulating the trust service companies; establish regional agricultural service information platforms (centers); establish agricultural trusteeship service stations at regional and county levels.
4. Governmental countermeasures to ensure the effective implementation of the plan: to ensure the healthy development of new business entities and service providers, the governments at various levels will provide policy support, such as technical training and vocational education to new types of agricultural businessmen and entrepreneurs; provide financial supports and financial insurances to large-scale farmers and cooperatives; ensure land provision through legalized land use right circulation and leasing; strengthen technical services by commissioning technical personnel to business entities; strengthen and provide digitalized services to farmers and cooperatives.

Source: http://www.zcggs.moa.gov.cn/zczc/202003/t20200309_6338414.htm for the full document in Chinese