Abstract:Systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system is the key to answering the question of "who will farm the land". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the number of various new agricultural operators in the mainland has grown rapidly, the leading role of new agricultural operators has continued to play, the connection between small farmers and the development of modern agriculture has been smoother, and the construction of modern agricultural management system has made great progress. However, the outstanding problems existing in the construction of the modern agricultural management system require the new business entities to continue to achieve quantitative growth and quality improvement, the continuous optimization of agricultural socialized services in terms of price and content, the continuous improvement of the enthusiasm of various agricultural business entities in growing grain, and the diversification and diversity of agricultural moderate-scale operation forms in various localities. In line with the goal of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of an agricultural power, it is necessary to systematically promote the construction of a modern agricultural management system in the new era in terms of main ideas and key tasks. On this basis, it is necessary to improve the strategic positioning, promote the coordinated development of various subjects, and strengthen the support of government policies.
Author: Gao Ming Jiang Fan
Since the establishment of the two-tier management system based on family management and combining centralized and decentralized management, small-scale peasant household management has become the main form of agricultural management in mainland China[1], which has to a great extent mobilized the enthusiasm of the vast number of farmers for production and promoted the stable development of agricultural production. However, with the continuous acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, problems such as too small scale of operation and insufficient unified management in the agricultural management system of mainland China have become increasingly apparent [2]. A large number of rural laborers have been transferred to non-agricultural industries and sectors, and the problems of part-time agriculture and rural hollowing are becoming increasingly serious. The increase in life expectancy, the outflow of young and middle-aged people, and the return of middle-aged and elderly labor force have jointly promoted the increase in the proportion of the rural elderly population, and the problem of agricultural labor aging has become more and more obvious [3]. According to the data of the third national agricultural census, the per capita business scale of mainland households is only 7.8 mu, and the proportion of small farmers in agricultural business entities is more than 98% [4]. The average age of the agricultural labor force is gradually increasing, and the proportion of agricultural labor force aged 55 and above in 2020 is close to 45% [5]. The contradiction between small agricultural production and the socialized large market and the problem of "lack of successors" in agriculture are becoming more and more prominent, and the question of "who will farm the land" needs to be solved urgently.
As the most active factor in the productive forces, it is an important way to solve the above problems by vigorously cultivating new agricultural operators and developing various forms of moderate-scale operations and agricultural socialized services [6-7]. Accelerating the construction of a modern agricultural management system and timely adjusting the production relations that are incompatible with productivity are the inevitable requirements for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and realizing the "synchronization of the four modernizations". It can not only inject new vitality into agricultural and rural development, but also enrich and improve the basic rural management system [8-9]. In view of the situation of agricultural and rural development in mainland China in the new era, in order to improve the efficiency of agricultural resource allocation and enhance the new momentum of agricultural and rural development, the report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed for the first time to cultivate new business entities and build a new agricultural management system that combines intensification, specialization, organization, and socialization [10]. The "Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a Policy System and Cultivating New Agricultural Business Entities" issued in 2017 clearly stated that it is necessary to accelerate the formation of a three-dimensional composite modern agricultural management system; The 2022 Central Rural Work Conference regards "strong management system" as one of the important characteristics of a modern agricultural power. It can be seen that systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system has become an important strategic deployment for the country to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas [11]. It is worth thinking about how effective is the current progress in the construction of the mainland's agricultural management system? What are the new goals and new requirements for systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system in the new stage? What are the main ideas and key tasks for systematically promoting the modern agricultural management system in the coming period? Answering the above questions well is of great practical significance and practical value for improving the basic rural management system and speeding up the construction of an agricultural power.
From the perspective of the solution path, the existing research basically believes that systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system is the key to answering the question of "who will farm the land" [12-14]. Focusing on the theme of modern agricultural management system, on the basis of reviewing the basic process of agricultural management system reform [15-16], the existing literature summarizes the model exploration and innovative practice of constructing a modern agricultural management system [17-18], explores the problems, challenges and institutional obstacles faced by the construction of a modern agricultural management system [19-20], and puts forward the dynamic mechanism and deepening direction of the construction of a new agricultural management system in the path of Chinese-style agricultural and rural modernization [21-22]. In general, the existing research provides a solid foundation for this paper to continue to explore the strategic concept of the construction of modern agricultural management system, but there is still the following room for optimization: first, the analysis of the current situation and challenges of promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system is relatively insufficient, and the development orientation of the new era has not been clarified; Second, the existing studies mostly put forward the realization path of promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system from individual aspects, and the refinement, summary and analysis of its development ideas and tasks are insufficient, so it is urgent to put forward a systematic strategic arrangement for promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system in the future. In view of this, this paper clarifies the main problems and challenges on the basis of combing the progress and effectiveness of the construction of the agricultural management system in mainland China in the new era. In view of the existing problems, while analyzing the specific objectives and requirements of promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system, the system design of systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system is carried out and relevant policy suggestions are put forward.
1. Progress and effectiveness in the construction of the mainland's agricultural management system in the new era
Since the reform and opening up, profound changes have taken place in the mainland's agriculture and rural areas, and the trend of agriculture becoming a part-time industry, the hollowing out of rural areas, and the aging of farmers has become increasingly obvious, and the sustainable development of agricultural production and operation is facing great challenges. In order to meet the needs of the development of modern agriculture, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has accelerated the construction of a modern agricultural management system, and promoted the transformation of agricultural operators from the main operation of rural households to the coexistence of various types of business entities [23]. It can be seen that "who will farm the land" is not an unsolvable question, to explore its solution path, and to clarify the direction of systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system, it is first necessary to clarify the progress and effectiveness of the construction of the agricultural management system in the new era and answer the question of "how to build the agricultural management system".
1. The number of new agricultural business entities of various types has grown rapidly
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has continuously deepened its understanding of the importance of the modern agricultural management system, and actively cultivated and developed various new agricultural management entities. In 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform", which requires that under the premise of adhering to the basic position of family management, promote the innovation of business methods for the common development of multiple operations. The "Opinions on Promoting the Organic Connection between Smallholder Farmers and Modern Agricultural Development" issued in 2019 clearly stated that it is necessary to take into account the cultivation of new agricultural business entities and the support of smallholder farmers. Over the years, the No. 1 document of the central government has also made clear explanations on the development direction and cultivation path of various new agricultural business entities. Based on the actual situation of agricultural and rural development, the state has continuously adjusted and improved relevant policies, and put forward a series of new strategies and measures to promote the development and growth of various new agricultural business entities, focusing on the cultivation and development of family farms, promoting the standardization of farmers' cooperatives, promoting the expansion and strengthening of leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, and improving the agricultural socialized service system (see Table 1), so as to promote the development and growth of various new agricultural business entities, so as to present a new development pattern with a more complete policy system, more diversified business entities, and closer connection mechanisms [24-25].
Table 1 Review of relevant policies for cultivating new agricultural business entities
| The name of the file | Main content: |
| "Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a Policy System and Cultivating New Agricultural Business Entities" | Establish and improve the policy system to support the development of new agricultural business entities |
| "Opinions on Promoting the Organic Connection between Small Farmers and Modern Agricultural Development" | Coordinate and balance the cultivation of new agricultural business entities and support for small farmers |
| "Guiding Opinions on the Implementation of Family Farm Cultivation Programs" | Improve the registration and directory management system of family farms, and strengthen the establishment of model family farms |
| Several Opinions on Carrying out Actions to Improve the Standardization of Farmer Cooperatives | Focusing on standardized development and quality improvement, strengthen demonstration and guidance, optimize support policies, strengthen guidance services, and continuously enhance the economic strength, development vitality and driving ability of farmer cooperatives |
| High-quality Development Plan for New Agricultural Business Entities and Service Entities (2020-2022) | Accelerate the cultivation and development of family farms, promote the standardization and improvement of farmer cooperatives, and promote the diversified and integrated development of agricultural socialized service organizations |
| "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Agricultural Socialized Services" | Promote the innovation of agricultural socialized service content, service methods and service means, encourage all kinds of service subjects to strengthen joint cooperation, and promote integrated development |
| "Opinions on Promoting the Leading Enterprises of Agricultural Industrialization to Become Bigger and Stronger" | Build a development echelon of leading enterprises, and the relevant project funds are inclined to the leading enterprises with obvious effects of linking agriculture with agriculture |
Through the cultivation and development of various new agricultural business entities, the organic connection between small farmers and the development of modern agriculture is promoted, and a composite modern agricultural management system with small farmers as the core body, family farms, farmer cooperatives, and leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization as the main force, and agricultural socialized service organizations as the important support has been basically formed [26]. Data show that in 2021, the number of professional farmer cooperatives in mainland China was 2,031,300, an increase of 695,200 or 52.03% from 2015, with an average annual growth rate of 8.81% (see Figure 1). In 2019, 11 departments, including the Office of the Central Leading Group for Rural Work, jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Implementation of the Family Farm Cultivation Plan" to provide key support for the cultivation and development of family farms from different aspects such as land, talent, taxation and infrastructure construction. Under the guidance of the policy, the number of family farms in mainland China has increased sharply, from 853,100 in 2019 to 3,480,600 in 2020 and 3,914,200 in 2021, an increase of more than 10 times compared with 2015. The growing number of family farms and professional farmer cooperatives have gradually become an important force for the stable development of agriculture. In 2022, there were more than 90,000 leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization at or above the county level in mainland China, covering the entire agricultural industry and the entire industrial chain such as grain and oil production, animal husbandry, food processing, and agricultural product circulation[27], which not only effectively promoted the high-quality development of agriculture, but also played an important role in optimizing the industrial structure and stabilizing economic operation.
Fig. 1 Number of family farms and farmer cooperatives in mainland China from 2015 to 2021
Data sources: Statistical Annual Report on Rural Management in China (2015-2018), Statistical Annual Report on Rural Policy and Reform in China (2019-2020), and Statistical Annual Report on Rural Cooperative Economy in China (2019-2021).
2. The leading role of new agricultural business entities continues to play
While the number of new agricultural operators is growing rapidly, the quality of its development is also improving, and there have been significant changes in the scale of operation, brand and standardization construction, and market competitiveness. According to the data, by the end of 2021, the number of family farms registered with the market supervision department reached 926,000, accounting for 23.66% of the total number of family farms; The number of exemplary family farms identified by the agricultural departments at or above the county level is 169,600, 77,000 family farms have registered trademarks, and 225,400 family farms have passed the quality certification of agricultural products, an increase of 4.33 times, 6.73 times and 42.75 times respectively compared with 2015. In 2021, the number of demonstration cooperatives in mainland China reached 189,300, accounting for 9.32% of the total number of professional farmer cooperatives, an increase of 49.45% over 2015, of which 7,900 were national, 33,500, 56,600 and 91,300 were at the national, provincial, municipal and county levels, respectively. At the same time, the level of standardization of cooperatives continues to improve, and the number of cooperatives with registered trademarks and agricultural product quality certification in 2021 was 102,200 and 58,300, respectively, an increase of 36.34% and 44.85% compared with 2015 (see Table 2). According to the "Notice on Announcing the List of the Seventh Batch of National Key Leading Enterprises in Agricultural Industrialization" jointly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other seven departments, 412 enterprises were identified as the new batch of national key leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, with an average total asset size of 926 million yuan and an average sales income of 922 million yuan. Among them, 80.6% of the enterprises have established R&D centers, and 83.3% of the enterprises have passed various quality certifications, showing strong comprehensive strength, wide range of industries, and strong scientific and technological innovation capabilities [28].
Table 2 Development of family farms and professional farmer cooperatives in mainland China from 2015 to 2021
| type | In 2015 | In 2016 | In 2017 | In 2018 | In 2019 | In 2020 | In 2021 | |
| Family farms | Number of exemplary family farms recognized by agricultural departments at or above the county level | 39154 | 61837 | 78157 | 91027 | 116787 | 112933 | 169586 |
| Number of family farms with registered trademarks | 11444 | 16848 | 23008 | — | 32645 | 45401 | 77005 | |
| Number of family farms certified for agricultural product quality | 5273 | 9223 | 13070 | — | 21002 | 90569 | 225432 | |
| cooperative | Number of Demonstration Societies | 126661 | 140076 | 148806 | 160001 | 157141 | 168301 | 189289 |
| Number of cooperatives with registered trademarks | 74941 | 81417 | 85178 | 86837 | 105695 | 107650 | 102174 | |
| Number of cooperatives that have passed the quality certification of agricultural products (units) | 40233 | 43486 | 47146 | 46064 | 50042 | 55050 | 58279 |
From the perspective of scale operation, in 2021, the total land area operated by family farms in mainland China reached 674 million mu, and the average operating land area exceeded 170 mu, an increase of 13.56% over 2015. The area of household contracted land transferred to professional cooperatives reached 114 million mu, accounting for 20.46% of the total area of cultivated land. To sum up, the status of various new agricultural business entities in agricultural production and operation and market participation has been continuously improved, and the demonstration and leading role has been continuously enhanced, and they have increasingly become the main force to promote the high-quality development of rural industries and activate the endogenous power of agricultural and rural development.
3. Smallholder farmers are more smoothly connected to the development of modern agriculture
Under the institutional framework of the "separation of three rights" of rural land, it is an important way to improve the management efficiency of smallholder farmers by guiding the orderly circulation of their land management rights. However, due to the large differences in regional agricultural resource endowments, the serious problem of land fragmentation, and the non-standard process of land circulation, land circulation will inevitably generate high transaction costs. For this reason, the promotion of large-scale land management through the path of farmland transfer is usually more restrictive. As an important part of the modern agricultural management system, agricultural socialization services have gradually become a new driving force for agricultural development in the new era and the main path to promote the organic connection between small farmers and modern agricultural development by virtue of their positive role in promoting grain yield and efficiency and improving the economic efficiency of rural households [29]. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has issued a series of policy documents to continuously improve the agricultural socialized service system by promoting the socialized service of agricultural machinery, carrying out the pilot project of socialized service for agricultural production, and developing agricultural production trusteeship. According to the data, by the end of 2021, the total number of service organizations in mainland China was 1.041 million, and the area of agricultural production hosting services reached 1.87 billion mu, of which 1.26 billion mu were served by small farmers, accounting for 67.38%; The number of service recipients reached 47.764 million, of which 43.037 million were smallholder farmers, accounting for 90.10%. In terms of provinces, Shandong, Anhui, Henan, Hebei and Heilongjiang provinces have an area of more than 100 million mu of agricultural production custody services, reaching 178 million mu, 167 million mu, 131 million mu, 129 million mu and 103 million mu, accounting for 77.48%, 72.09%, 70.06%, 58.97% and 73.92% of the total area of custodian services in the province, respectively. Liaoning, Jilin and Hubei and other major grain-producing provinces account for more than 70% of the area of smallholder farmers in agricultural production custody services. In terms of links, in the four main links of farming, planting, prevention and harvesting in the agricultural production process, the area of small farmers receiving custodian services accounted for more than 60% of the total area of custodian services in each link, reaching 66.15%, 69.68%, 64.24% and 68.86% respectively. Through agricultural production hosting services, the average yield per mu of the three major staple grains has increased, and the average net income per mu has increased by more than 20% [30]. It can be seen that the socialized agricultural services in the form of agricultural production trusteeship have supplemented the answers to the questions of "who will farm the land" and "how to farm the land", and have played an important role in promoting the transformation of the mainland from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture.
While improving the socialized agricultural service system, the mainland has established and improved a mechanism for linking interests, and has continuously expanded the space for small farmers to increase their income. In 2020, the national key leading enterprises of agricultural industrialization drove an average of more than 23,000 rural households, 203,000 farmers, and an increase of 15,200 yuan in per capita wage income [28]; In 2021, the area of cultivated land cooperatives in mainland China will reach 18.2249 million mu, an increase of 16.84% over 2015, and the dividends of property income growth of small farmers will continue to be released. Relying on various new agricultural business entities to promote the continuous increase of small farmers' income, it provides a solid material foundation for the development of small farmers and promotes their connection with the development of modern agriculture more smoothly.
Second, the main problems and objectives of systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system
The development of new-type agricultural management entities and socialized services has provided a feasible path for modern agricultural production and operation on the mainland, which has not only effectively answered the question of "who will farm the land?" but has also improved the degree of organization of small peasant households, increased the efficiency of agricultural operations, and promoted the rational transformation of agricultural management methods. In the context of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of an agricultural power, there have been some new changes in the question of "who will farm the land", which also puts forward a series of new goals and new requirements for systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system.
1. The existing problems and target requirements for the development of new business entities
The data show that the total number of new agricultural business entities in the mainland has increased significantly, but because it is still in the early stage of development, it is facing many constraints such as small scale of production and operation, few self-owned assets, weak ability to resist risks, low market share and overall competitiveness, etc., the cultivation speed needs to be accelerated, and the management level needs to be improved urgently. Specifically, the prominent problems faced by the mainland's new agricultural operators are mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, the individual scale is small. Affected by many factors, such as the slowdown in land circulation, the rise in labor and agricultural material prices, and the lack of smooth financing channels, the production costs of the mainland's new-type agricultural operators remain high, which restricts the expansion of their business scale, and there is still a big gap between them and the developed countries. Second, the level of operation is low. Some of the new agricultural business entities mainly sell primary agricultural products, and the deep processing of agricultural products is insufficient, the processing conversion rate is low, and there are problems such as short industrial chains, low added value of products, and low economic benefits. Third, there is a shortage of professional talents. The quality of the rural labor force is relatively low, the ability to accept new varieties, new technologies, and new equipment and the ability to operate are not high, and there is a serious shortage of compound professionals who understand both technology and management. Fourth, the management system and mechanism are not standardized. Although in recent years, the mainland has carried out such work as a special clean-up of "shell societies", there are still a certain number of "shell" family farms and cooperatives. Imperfect rules and regulations, unreasonable organizational structure, and imperfect distribution mechanism have seriously restricted the high-quality development of new agricultural business entities, and their leading role has not been fully utilized.
From the perspective of target requirements, based on the existing problems of new agricultural business entities, we should systematically promote the construction of modern agricultural management system, and continue to achieve quantitative growth and quality improvement of new business entities. The specific performance is as follows: the new agricultural business entity has been fully developed, the scale of operation has been continuously expanded, and the overall strength has been significantly improved; The deep processing of agricultural products, the added value of products has increased significantly, the industrial chain has been expanded and extended, the proportion of agricultural output value has been continuously improved, and the market share has expanded; The cultivation of compound talents has been accelerated, the quality of human capital of various subjects has been significantly improved, and the trend of younger and more professional has become increasingly obvious; The degree of standardization of the management system and mechanism has been improved, the number of "shell" family farms and cooperatives has been greatly reduced, a modern management system with perfect rules and regulations, reasonable organizational structure and sound distribution mechanism has been constructed, and the ability of new agricultural operators to link agriculture with farmers has been continuously enhanced.
2. The existing problems and target requirements of the development of agricultural socialized services
By vigorously developing the agricultural productive service industry, establishing a new type of agricultural socialized service system, and strengthening the function of "unification" in the two-tier operation, it is conducive to promoting the development of service-driven large-scale operation, and is an effective way to adapt to the mainland's agricultural development and basic national conditions. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has accelerated the development of agricultural socialized services, providing an important carrier for promoting the organic connection between small farmers and the development of modern agriculture. However, in line with the goal of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of an agricultural power, there is still some room for optimization in the development of agricultural socialized services in the mainland. From the perspective of the service system, the service capacity of agricultural public welfare service organizations is weak, the scale of operational service organizations is small, the management is not standardized, and the construction of service standard system and supervision system lags behind, which restricts the healthy development of agricultural socialized services. From the perspective of service objects, the "pro-market nature" of large-scale farmers and new agricultural operators makes service organizations more willing to provide services for them, and the dispersed demand of small farmers increases the transaction costs of service subjects, which may have a negative impact on their service resources to a certain extent. From the perspective of service prices, the prices of agricultural socialized services are on the rise due to factors such as the rise in the price of fuel and spare parts and raw materials, and the increase in the cost of employing agricultural machinery. It is estimated that during the "three summers" in 2023, the price of wheat harvesting operation will be 65 yuan/mu, and the price of corn and soybean machine sowing operation will be 50 yuan/mu, an increase of 8.3% and 25% year-on-year respectively (1). From the perspective of service content, the content of the current agricultural socialized service in the mainland is relatively simple, with machinery leasing as the main form, and the simple service concentrated in the production link is difficult to match with the increasingly diversified service demand, and the availability of services in terms of financing, market information, processing and sales is low.
In view of the above problems, the goal of agricultural socialization services in the coming period is to encourage professional service companies, service-oriented farmer cooperatives, service professional households and other subjects to innovate service models, expand the scale of services, expand the service radius, and promote the expansion of the business scope of service subjects from bulk crops to cash crops, and extend the service content from the production link to the pre-production and post-production links such as market information, processing and sales. By stabilizing fuel prices, cultivating high-quality agricultural mechanics, and improving the level of agricultural informatization and intelligence, the price of socialized services will be reduced and the burden on agricultural operators will be reduced. Formulate and introduce service standards and norms that are in line with local conditions, strengthen the supervision of service contracts, and promote the formation of an agricultural socialized service system with a high level of professionalism, strong service capacity, low service prices, coverage of the whole industrial chain, and balanced regional development.
3. The existing problems and target requirements of grain production of various business entities
Food security is the "great thing of the country". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has put forward a series of strategic goals and policy measures for food security, and has embarked on a road of food security with Chinese characteristics. In 2022, the total grain output of the mainland will reach 686.53 million tons, and the grain production will achieve "19 consecutive bumpers". It should be noted that while the grain harvest has been bumper year after year, in the face of the increasingly complex and severe internal and external environment and the great changes in the world unseen in a century, the food security system in the process of modernization of the mainland is still facing certain problems and challenges. As a rational economic person, the pursuit of profit maximization is the fundamental goal of farmers engaged in grain production, and in recent years, the continuous narrowing of grain income has inhibited farmers' enthusiasm for grain planting. On the one hand, the "floor" of food production costs is rising. According to the data, from 2012 to 2021, the average cost of the three major staple grains of rice, wheat and corn in the mainland increased from 2.03 yuan/kg to 2.33 yuan/kg, an increase of 14.87% (see Figure 2). On the other hand, the price at which grain is sold faces a "ceiling". In 2021, the average selling price per kilogram of the three major staple grains in the mainland was 2.57 yuan, an increase of only 7.21% compared with 2012, and the average selling price of grain from 2016 to 2019 was even lower than the average cost. The lack of economic incentives has made the trend of "non-grain" farmland increasingly obvious, and the problem of extensive management and even land abandonment is more severe, which has greatly affected the food security situation.
Fig. 2 Average cost per kilogram and selling price of the three major staple grains from 2012 to 2021
Source: China Rural Statistical Yearbook (2013-2022).
As the core subject of grain production, farmers and new agricultural operators have played an important role in ensuring the sustainability and stability of the food industry chain and supply chain, and systematically promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system is an important focus to ensure food security from a high starting point. In line with the goal of consolidating the foundation of food security in an all-round way, it is necessary to systematically promote the construction of a modern agricultural management system to pay attention to improving the enthusiasm of all kinds of subjects, especially family farms, farmers' cooperatives and other new agricultural business entities, continue to curb the momentum of "non-grain", and stabilize the sown area of grain.
4. The existing problems and target requirements of the development of moderately large-scale agricultural operations
For a large agricultural country like the mainland, the huge rural population base and the vast rural land area determine that it is not the responsibility of individual provinces and regions to promote the construction of a modern agricultural management system, and each province and region should carry out necessary agricultural production and operation activities; The differences in regional geographical environment and agricultural resource endowment also determine that it is difficult for the mainland to achieve a unified and moderately large-scale operation. From the perspective of regional differences, Northeast China and other regions have been at the forefront of the country in the construction of modern agricultural management system, but for some southern regions, their cultivated land is more fragmented, the comparative efficiency of agricultural (grain) production and operation is lower, and the construction of modern agricultural management system is relatively lagging behind. For example, in the development of family farms, Inner Mongolia takes the scale of grain and oil crop production and operation equivalent to 10-15 times the average contracted land area of local households and the fruit production and operation area of more than 100 mu as the recognition standard for family farms. In Hunan, the planting area of rice and other grain industries is about 50 mu in hilly areas as the standard for family farms (2). In 2021, the number of family farms in Heilongjiang and Mongolia was 485,450 and 274861 respectively, and the average operating land area of family farms reached 150.69 mu and 1,023.64 mu, while the average operating land area of family farms in Hubei and Sichuan was only 62.42 mu and 64.30 mu respectively. In terms of the development of socialized services, in 2021, the area of grain crop hosting services in Heilongjiang accounted for 92.89% of the total area of custody services in the province, while the area of grain crop hosting services in major producing provinces such as Jiangxi and Hubei accounted for less than 70%; Yunnan, Qinghai, Fujian, Guizhou and other provinces have a scale of less than 10 million mu of custody services (3), and the gap with Henan, Heilongjiang, Shanxi and other provinces is very obvious.
Judging from the current situation of local development and exploration and practice, there are obvious differences in the construction of modern agricultural management systems among mainland regions, which is a reasonable choice made after fully considering the differences in resource endowment, economic and social development and agricultural industrial base in various regions. Therefore, in the new era, it is still necessary to systematically promote the construction of modern agricultural management system according to local conditions, combine with the actual local development, explore various forms of moderate-scale operation, and answer the question of "who will farm the land".
3. The strategic concept of systematically promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system
In answering the question of "who will farm the land", systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system shows great superiority. From the perspective of the role of the modern agricultural management system, its essence lies in promoting the development of the basic rural management system, realizing the innovation of the agricultural management system and mechanism at the level of "unification" and "division", and then promoting the transformation of agricultural production to a modern production mode oriented by improving land productivity, labor productivity, and resource utilization. On the basis of clarifying the progress, effectiveness, existing problems and target requirements of the construction of the modern agricultural management system in mainland China, it is necessary to further answer the key question of "how to systematically promote the construction of the modern agricultural management system", and clarify its main ideas and key tasks (see Figure 3).
Fig.3 The strategic concept of systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system
1. The main idea of systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system
First, on the basis of small-scale farmer family management, we should cultivate and expand the main body of new agricultural operations.
Based on the basic national conditions of "large countries and small peasants" and the fact that there are considerable differences in regional agricultural resource endowments, it is difficult for the mainland to fully realize large-scale operations in a short period of time, and not all regions have the conditions to achieve large-scale operations. To innovate the agricultural management system, we cannot ignore ordinary peasant households. As the most basic unit of household contract management, smallholder farmers have played an important role in ensuring national food security, stabilizing rural social order, and promoting rural economic development. It is precisely for this reason that to systematically promote the construction of a modern agricultural management system, it is necessary to cultivate and strengthen the main body of new agricultural operations on the premise of adhering to the basic status of family management and supporting the development of small farmers. It is necessary to focus on attracting young people to work in agriculture and cultivating professional farmers, and while cultivating and forming a contingent of high-quality agricultural producers and operators, we should give full play to the leading role of new agricultural operators in small farmers, continuously improve the development ability of small farmers, improve the degree of organization of small farmers, and broaden the space for small farmers to increase their income.
Second, we should take moderate-scale operation as the path to promote the circulation of land management rights in an orderly manner.
In 2023, the No. 1 document of the central government clearly stated that it is necessary to guide the orderly circulation of land management rights and develop moderately large-scale agricultural operations. As an important path to build and strengthen the modern agricultural management system, the development of various forms of moderate-scale operation plays a positive role in optimizing the allocation of land resources, improving the comprehensive efficiency of agriculture, and promoting the increase of farmers' income. Judging from the actual development of agriculture on the mainland, it is an inevitable trend to speed up the cultivation of the main body of large-scale operation, but international experience also shows that while promoting large-scale land management, it is necessary to adhere to the principle of moderation. Agricultural modernization does not mean the unconditional expansion of the scale of land management, and to systematically promote the construction of modern agricultural management system, on the one hand, it is necessary to fully understand the important position and practical significance of developing scale management; On the other hand, it is necessary to proceed from the objective reality of the mainland and the law of agricultural development, and on the basis of fully respecting the wishes of the peasants, to promote the adaptation of the scale of operation to the scale of rural labor transfer, the industrial characteristics and management capacity of the new-type business entities, and the level of agricultural socialized services.
Third, we should take the efficiency of agricultural operations as the engine to fully arouse the peasants' enthusiasm for growing grain.
The important position of grain as the "basic task of government" and grain prices as the "basis of 100 prices" has determined that the mainland has always regarded food security as the most important task in governing the country. In the face of the complex and ever-changing international environment and the tightening of resource constraints, to ensure food security, we must persist in basing ourselves on the domestic market and firmly hold the rice bowl in our own hands. In order to ensure a stable and safe supply of grain and important agricultural products, it is necessary to fully arouse the enthusiasm of small farmers and new-type agricultural operators in growing grain, and the key lies in improving the efficiency of grain production and promoting a steady increase in peasants' operating income. To this end, while strengthening local governments to focus on agriculture and grasping grain, it is necessary to improve the grain price formation mechanism, cultivate new forms and models of grain production and operation, expand and extend the grain industry chain, and increase the added value of the grain industry. In addition, it is necessary to develop and popularize new grain varieties, new technologies, and new machinery, and broaden the space for small farmers and new agricultural operators to grow grain by improving the scientific and technological content of the grain industry.
Fourth, we should take the principle of market orientation and correctly handle the relationship between the government and the market.
Historical experience and practical exploration have shown that the market is efficient in allocating resources. One of the goals of the construction of the modern agricultural management system is to solve the problem that small-scale operations cannot be effectively connected with the large market, so that agricultural development can meet the market demand. It can be seen that in the process of systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system, we must adhere to market orientation and adjust the business scale, business mode, business scope, management strategy, and sales model in a timely manner according to market changes. At the same time, it is necessary to give better play to the role of the government, strengthen the government's guidance and support for all kinds of business entities, and promote the fair participation of all kinds of entities in market competition through the formulation of relevant policies, the improvement of systems and regulations, and the improvement of development plans. On this basis, it is necessary to create a good business environment and social atmosphere, and promote new agricultural business entities and socialized service entities to improve their production and operation capabilities and market competitiveness.
2. The key task of systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system
In the final analysis, the question of "who will farm the land" is a question of whether they are willing to farm, whether they will farm, who will farm the land, and how to farm the land. It is necessary to solve the problem of "how to plant the land" as the guide, and speed up the construction of a new agricultural management system. Among them, the key to solving the problem of "willingness to farm" is to expand the value-added space of agricultural products and promote the efficiency of agricultural operations; The key to solving the problem of "whether to farm", "who will farm" and "how to farm" lies in cultivating and strengthening new agricultural business entities and agricultural socialized service organizations, and strengthening the talent support of modern agricultural management system. In addition, attention should be paid to land and financial issues.
First, expand the space for value-added of agricultural products.
For business entities, whether they are willing to farm depends on the price of agricultural products and the measurement of comparative returns. To answer the question of "who will farm the land", the first task is to make agricultural operations profitable and attractive. In this regard, on the one hand, the value of agricultural products can be improved by strengthening the brand construction of agricultural products and extending the agricultural industry chain; On the other hand, it is necessary to improve the agricultural support and protection system, build a new agricultural subsidy policy system, ensure the reasonable income of farmers, and improve their enthusiasm for agricultural production. In terms of improving the value of agricultural products, it is necessary to further promote the quality of agriculture and brand agriculture, and effectively improve the quality of agricultural products by improving the quality standard system of agricultural products, promoting the reduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and guiding and supporting new agricultural business entities to produce according to standards; By improving the quality and safety supervision system of agricultural products, we will strengthen the capacity building of agricultural product quality and safety supervision. On this basis, the implementation of brand promotion actions, explore the establishment of agricultural product brand directory system, improve the cultivation, development and protection mechanism of agricultural brands, to create a number of well-known public brands, enterprise brands, cooperative brands, etc. At the same time, we will make overall plans for the construction of agricultural product production bases, the development of primary processing, intensive processing and the comprehensive utilization of by-products, extend the industrial chain vertically, build the entire agricultural industry chain, and create a number of agricultural product processing demonstration enterprises. In terms of ensuring the reasonable income of farmers, it is necessary to continue to optimize the agricultural subsidy policy, improve the mechanism for the steady growth of agricultural input, optimize the investment structure of the "three rural" areas, and leverage the participation of financial capital and social forces to broaden the channels of funds to support agriculture by giving full play to the guiding role of financial funds.
Second, it is necessary to earnestly improve the conditions and quality of cultivated land.
Moderate-scale operation is an important foundation for the development of modern agriculture and a key measure to transform the mode of agricultural production and operation, and it is also one of the main characteristics of the new agricultural management entity. From this point of view, systematically promoting the construction of modern agricultural management system and agricultural moderate-scale operation are complementary to each other, and it is necessary to fully release the vitality of rural factors and promote the orderly circulation of farmland management rights. In this regard, we can solve the problem of land fragmentation by encouraging farmers to adopt the method of swapping and merging land, so as to realize "small fields into large fields"; We will further promote the construction of high-standard farmland, expand its coverage, strengthen the construction of supporting infrastructure such as water conservancy and irrigation, and create cultivated land conditions that are suitable for and convenient for the circulation and operation of various new agricultural business entities. At the same time, to answer the question of "who will farm the land", it is necessary to ensure that "there is land to plant". In the reality that more and more contracted peasant households are withdrawing from agricultural production, it is necessary to adhere to the red line of 1.8 billion mu of cultivated land, implement the strictest cultivated land protection system, curb the "non-farming" of cultivated land, and strictly manage the "non-grain conversion". In addition, it is necessary to rationally choose farming methods, actively promote the reduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and soil pollution control, and effectively improve the quality of cultivated land.
Third, strengthen the talent support of business entities.
Generally speaking, the new agricultural business entity and the socialized service entity have certain capital and scale advantages, but the knowledge reserve and professional skills in the field of agricultural production and operation may be relatively small, and the main person in charge is limited by the ability and quality, vision and experience, etc., the pioneering and innovative spirit and ability are relatively insufficient, and the entrepreneurial talent is seriously lacking. In this regard, on the basis of giving full play to the comparative advantages of various new agricultural business entities and socialized service entities, we should implement and strengthen the new vocational education training and certification system, and include it in the national practical talent training plan; Strengthen all kinds of agricultural skills training, in-depth implementation of the new professional farmer cultivation project and the new agricultural business subject cultivation project, focusing on the cultivation of new agricultural business entities and leaders of social service organizations, training and introducing cultured, technology-savvy, and professional compound talents who can operate, so as to provide talent support for systematically promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system.
Fourth, improve the rural financial service system.
For new agricultural business entities and socialized service organizations, management and operation, purchase of means of production, labor cost input, etc. need sufficient funds to support, but due to the difficulties in credit guarantee, high hidden transaction costs, lack of credit and financial supporting measures and other factors, there are great difficulties in financing and the shortage of funds is more prominent. In this regard, it is necessary to improve the financial service system suitable for the characteristics of agriculture and rural areas, improve the incentive mechanism for financial support for agriculture, guide financial institutions to innovate financial products and services, expand the scope of mortgage collateral, and increase the total supply of credit funds to support the development of new agricultural business entities and socialized service organizations. Accelerate the establishment of agriculture-related credit information archives, complete and improve the credit system for new agricultural business entities and socialized service organizations, and make them the key targets of policy support such as loan interest discounts. In view of the natural, market, and other risks and greater uncertainties faced by new agricultural business entities and socialized service organizations, it is necessary to further improve the agricultural insurance system, develop more types of insurance products as needed, establish an industrial risk reserve system, and improve the risk prevention mechanism.
4. Research conclusions and policy recommendations
Systematically promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system is the key to answering the question of "who will farm the land?" and is the main path to improve the basic rural management system and accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has made great efforts to promote the innovation of agricultural management systems and mechanisms, the number of various new agricultural business entities has grown rapidly, the leading role of new agricultural business entities has continued to play, the connection between small farmers and the development of modern agriculture has been smoother, and great progress has been made in the construction of modern agricultural management system. In view of the outstanding problems existing in the construction of the modern agricultural management system, the new changes in the problem of "who will farm the land" require the new business entities to continue to achieve quantitative growth and quality improvement, the continuous optimization of agricultural socialized services in terms of price and content, the continuous improvement of the enthusiasm of various agricultural business entities in grain planting, and the diversification and diversity of agricultural moderate-scale operations in various localities. In line with the goal of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of an agricultural power, the systematic promotion of the construction of a modern agricultural management system should be based on the operation of small farmers' families, the path of moderate-scale operation, the efficiency of agricultural operation as the engine, and the principle of market orientation. On this basis, it is necessary to expand the value-added space of agricultural products, improve the conditions of cultivated land, improve the quality of cultivated land, strengthen the support of business entities, and improve the rural financial service system. In order to further promote the construction of modern agricultural management system, this paper puts forward the following policy suggestions:
First, it is necessary to further enhance the strategic positioning of systematically promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system.
Based on the basic national conditions and agricultural conditions of small farmers in large countries, it has been emphasized many times that it is necessary to accelerate the construction of a three-dimensional and complex modern agricultural management system and realize the organic connection between small farmers and modern agriculture. Judging from the reality of the mainland, the complete integration of small peasant households into the development of modern agriculture requires a long-term historical process, and it cannot be achieved overnight. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain sufficient historical patience, clarify the phased development goals and tasks, and systematically promote the construction of a modern agricultural management system. At the same time, it is necessary to deeply realize that cultivating and strengthening the main body of new agricultural management and improving the new agricultural socialized service system are the "two sides of one body" in building a modern agricultural management system, and the two influence and promote each other, so we should attach great importance to it and promote it simultaneously.
Second, support the development of smallholder farmers and promote the coordinated development of business entities.
We will further support the development of smallholder farmers by improving their development capacity, improving their organization, expanding their income margin, improving the socialized service system for smallholders, and improving support policies for smallholders. At the same time, it is necessary to promote the development and growth of family farms and cooperatives by strengthening the guidance of demonstration and creation, actively promoting typical cases, innovating guidance service methods, and improving the policy support system. Build an echelon of leading enterprises, encourage leading enterprises with strong R&D capabilities to join the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Alliance, and support the transformation and upgrading of leading enterprises. By expanding service areas, innovating service mechanisms, promoting resource integration, improving the level of science and technology, and strengthening industry guidance, we will further improve the agricultural socialized service system and promote the coordinated development of various business entities and service subjects.
Third, deepen the coordination and cooperation of departments, and strengthen the policy support for promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system.
Promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system is a systematic project, which requires the joint cooperation of multiple departments and the increase of investment in agricultural infrastructure construction, agricultural science and technology, and agricultural talents. It is necessary to improve the policy system for promoting the construction of a modern agricultural management system, establish a special policy mechanism, and coordinate support policies such as fiscal, financial, and land use guarantees. Adhere to the problem-oriented, introduce a special development plan for the modern agricultural management system, guide the local refinement and implementation of the implementation plan, and ensure the implementation of the project.
Authors: Gao Ming, Jiang Fan, Research Center for Rural Economy, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development, China Agricultural University
Fund: National Social Science Foundation of China, "Research on Path Selection and Policy Optimization of Rural Collective Economy to Promote Common Prosperity" (22BJY218)
About author:GAO Ming, male, deputy director and researcher of the Rural Economic Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100810, China. Jiang Fan, male, Ph.D. student, National Academy of Agriculture and Rural Development, China Agricultural University, 100083, Beijing.
Source: Zhongzhou Academic Journal