Strengthening scientific and technological innovation to provide wings for the transformation of agriculture

Science and technology are the key to the transformation of agriculture. At the end of 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed at the Central Economic Work Conference that we should unswervingly accelerate the transformation of agricultural development mode, pay equal attention to quantity, quality and benefit as soon as possible, pay attention to improving competitiveness, pay attention to agricultural technology innovation and pay attention to sustainable intensive development. On August 7, 2015, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Transformation of Agricultural Development Mode, which is the first important document at the national level to systematically deploy the work of transforming agricultural development mode. It is a concrete implementation of the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, the Central Rural Work Conference and the No.1 Document of the Central Committee, providing a clear path for China to accelerate agricultural modernization at present and in the future. The Opinions systematically deployed seven key tasks around the key areas and weak links of transforming the agricultural development mode. "Strengthening agricultural science and technology innovation, improving the level of scientific and technological equipment and the quality of laborers" is both a "key task" and a "key means". Among them,"improving the level of scientific and technological equipment and the quality of laborers" are two important starting points to accelerate the promotion of agricultural science and technology innovation. The five aspects of agriculture mentioned in the Opinions, namely,"independent innovation, seed industry system reform, production mechanization, agricultural informatization, and cultivation of new professional farmers", are precisely the important areas that currently restrict agricultural development. These problems have been solved, and the goal of adjusting the structure and mode of agricultural development in China will achieve qualitative leap.

Strengthen independent innovation in agricultural science and technology. Agricultural science and technology innovation is a powerful driving force to promote the transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture. Although China's grain has achieved "eleven consecutive increases" by 2014, China's agricultural development mainly depends on the large consumption of resources and the high-intensity use of pesticides and fertilizers, and the scientific and technological content of agricultural products is generally low. At the same time, with the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization in China, people's requirements for the quality of agricultural products are also constantly improving. In addition to the huge population base and the rigid demand for the quantity of agricultural products, it can be expected that it will be difficult for China's agriculture to increase production and efficiency by traditional means. At the same time, there are a series of outstanding contradictions and problems in agricultural science and technology innovation in China for a long time, such as: the government's investment in agricultural scientific research is seriously low, which can not guarantee the expenditure of agricultural scientific research personnel and organization operation; The micro unit of scientific research project management-research group is mostly "small team" and "small workshop", scientific research and development lacks "collaborative innovation" platform, scientific research work is often single-handedly fought, it is difficult to exert the collaborative effect of different disciplines, which is not conducive to producing major scientific research achievements. These problems put forward newer, higher and more urgent requirements for agricultural science and technology innovation.

In order to achieve a major breakthrough in independent innovation of agricultural science and technology in the new period, we must further promote the reform of agricultural science and technology management system and improve innovation efficiency in accordance with the overall requirements of implementing innovation-driven strategy and deepening scientific and technological system reform. On the one hand, we should explore the establishment of macro-coordination and consultation system of agricultural science and technology management, strengthen the overall coordination of agricultural science and technology management, and avoid the repeated occurrence of "Jiulong water control" phenomenon. On the other hand, efforts should be made to promote the construction of agricultural science and technology collaborative innovation alliance, strengthen the communication and coordination between science and technology management departments at the central level, between the central government and local governments and among different subjects within various departments, give play to the collaborative innovation role of different subjects such as government, universities, scientific research institutes and enterprises in the agricultural science and technology innovation system, focus on building a new pattern of "one game of chess" agricultural scientific research work with division of labor and cooperation, and avoid repeated occurrence of scientific research work "fighting alone" phenomenon. In addition, we should strengthen investment in agricultural scientific research and speed up the construction of agricultural scientific and technological innovation capabilities. For example, the construction of agricultural science and technology service cloud platform, relying on cloud computing and big data for system design and architecture, to create an overall comprehensive service platform for the transformation and application of agricultural scientific and technological achievements.

In the aspect of agricultural technical personnel training, we should focus on carrying out rural science and technology entrepreneurship actions of technical task force members, take the construction of entrepreneurship chain of technical task force members as the core, set up a national interconnected entrepreneurship service platform for technical task force members, and promote scientific and technological elements to drive other production factors such as capital, talents, information and management to gather in rural areas.

Deepen the reform of seed industry system. Seed industry is the lifeline of modern agricultural development. Seeds are irreplaceable agricultural means of production and the most important carrier of agricultural scientific and technological progress. The innovation of seed technology drives the development of cultivation, plant protection, agricultural engineering, agricultural environmental protection, agricultural product processing and other fields. Once a major breakthrough is made in variety breeding, it will bring about a substantial increase in agricultural comprehensive production capacity. To speed up the construction of modern agriculture and grasp the initiative of food security, we must attach great importance to the development of seed industry. In recent years, seed industry has received more attention and attention, and a large number of excellent varieties have been cultivated and popularized, which has played an obvious role in promoting agricultural production and increasing farmers 'income. However, it must be noted that the development of seed industry in China is in the period of transformation and upgrading, the overall level of breeding and popularization of excellent varieties is not high, the scientific research ability and market competitiveness of seed enterprises are relatively weak, and the supporting role for food security and modern agricultural development is weak. Therefore, the Opinions specially pointed out that it is necessary to deepen the reform of seed industry system in an all-round way, speed up the improvement of seed industry science and technology innovation system, and constantly build a solid foundation for seed industry safety.

The way out of agriculture lies in science and technology, and the core driving force for the development of the seed industry also lies in science and technology. In order to build a powerful country in the seed industry, we must deepen the reform of the scientific and technological system of the seed industry and establish a commercial breeding innovation system with enterprises as the main body. The scientific research resources and achievements of the seed industry should be "flowed" by promoting the transaction of confirming rights, the scientific research personnel should be "moved" by strengthening the cooperation and exchange, and the scientific research personnel should be "rich" in accordance with the law through the distribution mechanism of scientific research achievements in the seed industry. stimulate the innovative ability of scientific research personnel; through improving the market-oriented mechanism and commercial breeding mechanism, effectively make the breeding efficiency "high" By increasing investment in basic public welfare research and strengthening the construction of disciplines related to the seed industry, support scientific research institutes and institutions of higher learning to focus on basic research such as breeding theory, common technology, germplasm resources mining, breeding material innovation, as well as public welfare research such as conventional crop breeding, and strive to improve the capacity and level of basic public welfare services in the seed industry, so as to consolidate the foundation of seed industry innovation.

We will promote mechanization of agricultural production. As a modern means of production, agricultural mechanization is the main symbol of modern agriculture and the key factor to promote the transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture. The practice of modern agricultural development shows that agricultural mechanization plays a vital role in every new stage of agricultural development, every major change in the mode of development, and every step forward in the construction of modern agriculture. With the continuous development of moderate concentration of land circulation, large-scale cultivation, production standardization, development intensification and management industrialization, the deeper the transformation of agricultural development mode, the higher the degree of dependence on agricultural mechanization. At present, although the comprehensive mechanization level of crop cultivation and harvest in China has exceeded 60%, the comprehensive mechanization rate of the three major grain crops has all exceeded 75%, and the whole process of wheat production has basically been mechanized, but compared with developed countries, the level of agricultural mechanization in China is still relatively low. There are still many problems, such as the large gap in the level of agricultural mechanization between regions, the unreasonable structure of agricultural machinery equipment, the obvious lack of agricultural machinery varieties, the backward construction of agricultural machinery scientific research and development supporting system, and so on. the main reasons are that the scientific and technological innovation ability of agricultural machinery equipment lags behind, the subsidy of agricultural machinery input is insufficient, the public service system of agricultural machinery is not perfect, and there is a lack of correct prediction and effective guidance for the market demand of agricultural machinery.

Agricultural machinery research and development has remarkable complexity, regionality, seasonality and long periodicity, so it is necessary for the government to make long-term investment in basic theory and key common technologies, and to do a good job in the top-level design of scientific and technological innovation in agricultural mechanization, so as to achieve overall planning. we should not only attach importance to the whole process mechanization of the production of major grain crops, but also strengthen the construction of mechanized demonstration areas for the production of bulk cash crops such as grain, cotton, oil and sugar. We will achieve a coordinated pattern of full coverage of major food crops, horticultural crops and cash crops, all links during and after prenatal production, and mechanization in plain and hilly areas. At the same time, subsidies for deep loosening of agricultural machinery and land preparation operations should be carried out, pilot subsidies should be appropriately expanded, project areas and areas of subsidies should be clearly defined, and subsidy standards should be formulated in accordance with local conditions.

Speed up the development of agricultural informatization. In the period of knowledge economy, information, a new productivity factor, plays an increasingly prominent role in the field of rural economy. New technology information, pest information and market demand information have become important factors for farmers to adapt to the market and grasp the market. Farmers' demand for information will also increase day by day. At present, although the country has initially formed an information service system at the city, county and township (town) levels, there is still a big gap between the construction of agricultural informatization and the actual needs of building a new socialist countryside and developing modern agriculture. there are still many problems, such as slow information transmission, backward service means, poor circulation channels and so on. The main reasons are weak agricultural information infrastructure, imperfect service system, lack of effective integration and development of information resources, disconnection between information content and actual needs, lack of pertinence, farmers can not bear high operation and maintenance costs, and so on.

To carry out the "Internet +" modern agricultural campaign, the focus is to rely on Internet enterprises to build a number of agricultural and rural comprehensive information resources and service platforms, to better apply Internet technology to agricultural production and circulation, and to constantly open up links between pre-and post-natal agricultural production, giving birth to a number of new forms of industry. At the same time, we should improve the information service system of agricultural production and market supervision by strengthening the application of technologies such as information collection, precision operation, management information, rural remote digitization and visualization, disaster early warning, etc. establish traceability systems for planting, breeding, processing, storage, transportation and sales of key agricultural products, so as to improve the scale, precision and facility level of agriculture. To solve the problems of asymmetric information between agricultural production and market, low efficiency of agricultural production and so on. In this regard, it is necessary to speed up the construction of a national rural information demonstration province, vigorously implement the project of entering villages and households, establish a unified software and hardware platform, integrate agricultural and rural market information resources, and build a large database of agricultural product market information. speed up the development and utilization of rural information resources; at the same time, it is necessary to study and formulate relevant support policies for agricultural informatization, actively promote the construction of the information system, and improve the agricultural information release system. And gradually establish a capable and efficient agricultural information team with the combination of professional technology and analysis and application, strengthen the ability of comprehensive agricultural information service, and promote the application of agricultural big data.

Great efforts should be made to cultivate new types of professional farmers. At present, China is in a critical period of transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, a large number of advanced agricultural science and technology, efficient agricultural facilities and equipment, and the concept of moderate scale management have been gradually introduced into various fields of agricultural production. This urgently needs high-quality professional farmers to be closely integrated with it. However, at present, the problems of China's rural labor force, such as shrinking number, structural imbalance, low quality, lack of successors and so on, are prominent. a large number of rural young labor force are transferred to cities for employment, and the educational level of primary and secondary schools and junior high schools of the rural labor force accounts for more than 70%. The new generation of migrant workers, who account for more than 60% of the total number of migrant workers, are unwilling to return to their hometown for farming, and the phenomenon of aging and part-time farmers is becoming more and more serious. The question of "who will farm the land" has become a key bottleneck hindering the development of modern agriculture. In order to realize the fundamental transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, there is an urgent need to cultivate a new generation of high-quality farmers who not only have professional knowledge and higher labor skills, but also understand market operation and management, love agriculture and are willing to take agriculture as their occupation.

To cultivate a new type of professional farmers, we should focus on establishing a new professional farmer cultivation system of "trinity" of education and training, standardized management and policy support. According to the employment characteristics and abilities of different types of new-type professional farmers, appropriate education and training plans should be scientifically formulated and organized and implemented, and should not be replaced by general universal training or simple "one thing, one training". In addition, education and training should keep pace with the times, not once and for all, and a regular training system should be established to enable new professional farmers to adapt to the adjustment of agricultural industrial policies, the progress of agricultural science and technology, and changes in the market of agricultural products, and improve the level of agricultural production and management. At the same time, it is necessary to formulate corresponding support policies to attract graduates from agricultural colleges, especially those from middle and higher agricultural vocational colleges, to return to their hometown to work and start their own businesses, and to actively develop various forms of continuing education. vocational education and training should be widely carried out for middle and high school graduates, the disabled and the unemployed. It is necessary to increase support for vocational education in rural and poor areas, build a number of secondary vocational schools in poor areas where population concentration and industrial development are needed, and support vocational colleges in the eastern region to expand the scale of enrollment to the central and western regions through award and subsidy policies. Of course, training a new type of professional farmers is not a complete government behavior, and it is necessary to co-ordinate all kinds of education and training resources. We should speed up the construction and improvement of specialized institutions for farmers' education and training, such as agricultural radio and television schools, farmers' science and technology education and training centers, etc. A new type of vocational peasant education and training system with extensive participation in middle and higher agricultural vocational colleges, agricultural technology extension service institutions, agricultural scientific research institutes, agricultural universities, agricultural enterprises and farmers' cooperatives, to meet the multi-level, multi-form, wide coverage, regular and institutionalized education and training needs of new professional farmers.

In line with the above five key areas of agricultural innovation, it is also necessary to build four major technological systems to support the development of modern agriculture:

The first is to build a high-yield and high-efficiency production technology system. At the national strategic level, it is necessary to increase the allocation of national agricultural scientific research forces and adjust the main direction of attack, and to study and formulate reasonable goals of high yield and high efficiency according to the characteristics and uses of different agricultural products. Among them, the key point is to cultivate high-yield, high-quality, stress-resistant and famous, special and excellent products, vigorously strengthen post-natal research such as storage, fresh-keeping, packaging, storage and transportation, and deep processing and value-added, and improve the production and management technology of planting and aquaculture industry. improve the quality and market competitiveness of agricultural products. At the same time, we should take the high-yield demonstration films of grain and major crops as units, focus on major crops such as wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, and rape, and organically combine the tackling of key technological bottlenecks with the promotion of mature technology. we should make key breakthroughs in the bottleneck factors restricting the improvement of the production level, improve the integrated technology model, and accelerate the formation of new production capacity. And do a good job of guidance and training, pay attention to the implementation of technology.

The second is to build an ecological security and cycle-saving production technology system. It should be in accordance with the development requirements of resource saving, environment friendly and agricultural function diversification. Strengthen the key technologies of water recycling in agricultural system, key technologies of energy saving in agricultural cultivation, recycling of agricultural materials, multi-stage transformation of agricultural resources, resource utilization of wastes, direct return of renewable resources, ecological control technology of agricultural pests, greenhouse gas and pollutant reduction and control technology, to improve the development level of circular agriculture in China. In this regard, the government should also issue corresponding policies on consumption, investment and guidance, encourage agriculture-related enterprises and scientific research institutions to strengthen the research and development of ecological security and cycle-saving technological innovation, and support the leading enterprises of "agricultural" brands to build standardized production bases for agricultural products and establish their own brands. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen government supervision, formulate and implement legal systems on the quality and safety of agricultural products and environmental protection, establish a safe agricultural evaluation system, strengthen law enforcement and publicity on agricultural environmental protection, and actively carry out technical training in circular agriculture. improve farmers' production skills and awareness of environmental protection.

The third is to construct the circulation technology system of agricultural products based on information technology. The key to establishing the circulation system of agricultural products based on Internet information technology is to set up six supporting systems, such as e-commerce system, credit system, staffing system, logistics guarantee system, information system, infrastructure system and so on. Among them, the e-commerce system is mainly to establish an online transaction realization system based on e-commerce, in order to realize online trading and online payment of agricultural trade products, and to realize characteristic tourism, characteristic farm music online promotion, transaction, payment, realize characteristic economy, comprehensive service activities related to attracting investment, and so on. Rural e-commerce credit system should adhere to low cost, low threshold, timeliness and simple identification. The staffing system includes all personnel related to rural e-commerce activities, such as information staff, website technical personnel, salespeople, agricultural extension personnel and so on. The focus of the logistics guarantee system is to cultivate a low-cost logistics distribution team to form an omni-directional and balanced rural logistics approach with wide coverage, strong liquidity, high quality and short time. The main purpose of the information system is to ensure the safety, reliability, timeliness and effectiveness of information collection, processing, storage and transmission. The infrastructure system is mainly equipped with the basic hardware facilities for the operation of the rural e-commerce system and build the hardware basic platform of the whole system.

The fourth is to build a modern equipment technology system characterized by mechanization. The state should construct the whole-process mechanized production technology system of major crops, improve the R & D support policy of agricultural mechanization technology and equipment suitable for China's national conditions, and vigorously develop key technologies and core technologies with independent intellectual property rights. We can explore and set up major projects for scientific and technological innovation in agricultural mechanization, support agricultural machinery enterprises to gradually assume the important task of major agricultural machinery product innovation, guide scientific research institutes to provide source innovation for agricultural machinery enterprises, promote industry-university-research co-construction of engineering laboratories and carry out cooperative research and development, and gradually get rid of the situation of high-end products and core components being controlled by others. The focus is on the research, development, popularization and application of mechanized technology and equipment around major crops, and vigorously develop light and simplified agricultural machinery that can assemble, adjust and meet the requirements of a variety of crop production. In view of different characteristic superior crops, according to the requirements of standardization, specialization, scale, intensification and industrialization, a number of advanced, applicable and efficient agricultural machinery are developed to realize the whole mechanized operation from planting to harvest. At the same time, it is necessary to actively develop the technical equipment for the mechanization of ecological protective agricultural production, the new technology and supporting equipment for clean large-scale production of livestock and poultry, the technology for the transformation and utilization of resources, the technical equipment for ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products, and the technology and equipment for rapid inspection and analysis of the quality of agricultural products. bulk agricultural products processing, fresh-keeping, cold storage, cold chain transportation technology and equipment, etc. And assemble advanced agricultural machinery and agronomic technology to form an efficient and flexible comprehensive technology model, strengthen the construction of agricultural machinery agronomic integration demonstration area, and promote the integrated application of engineering, biology, information, environment and other technologies.