Li Keqiang: Promoting Agricultural Modernization by Relying on Family Management

Honorable Director General Graziano

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

It gives me great pleasure to come to the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in the golden autumn to participate in the 34th World Food Day series. Just now, as soon as I entered the FAO building, I saw "Food for All" engraved in many languages on the wall of the hall-food for everyone. This is the sacred mission of FAO and the common goal of all countries in the world. For a long time, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have closely centering on this goal, helped member countries to develop agriculture in various forms, and made outstanding contributions to supporting billions of people in the world. Here, on behalf of the Chinese Government and people, I would like to express my high appreciation for the unremitting efforts made by FAO and other organizations, all of you here and your colleagues, and sincerely respect the outstanding achievements they have made.

The theme of this year's World Food Day is "Family Agriculture, feeding the World and caring for the Earth". I think this theme is based on both reality and long-term perspective, and outlines a beautiful vision of global agricultural development. It is also in line with China's reality to rely on family agriculture to solve the problem of food. More than 2000 years ago, Chinese sages said, "Food is the most important thing for the people." this is also the idea pursued by the Chinese people for a long time. As we all know, China has a large population and little arable land per capita, and feeding more than a billion people is our biggest thing, and it used to be the biggest problem. I lived in rural China for many years when I was young, and I personally experienced the difficult years when I didn't have enough to eat. A full meal may soon be forgotten, but the impression of hunger will never be forgotten. The implementation of reform and opening up in China more than 30 years ago began with rural reform. Through reform, we have achieved great development in agriculture, increased grain output from more than 300 million tons to more than 600 million tons, and successfully solved the problem of food and clothing for the people. Here is the most basic experience, that is, the development of family agriculture.

In the rural reform in the early 1980s, the most important thing was to implement the household contract management system. This reform has established peasant households as the main body of agricultural management, giving farmers long-term and guaranteed land use rights and management autonomy, the production enthusiasm of hundreds of millions of farmers has been quickly mobilized, and everyone's strength has been brought into full play. agricultural production has stepped onto a big stage in just a few years. On this basis, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty and reached the United Nations Millennium Development goals ahead of schedule. Over the past decade, China has continuously increased its grain output, and another bumper harvest is in sight this year. Family agriculture plays an important role in these achievements.

Over the past 30 years, China's family agriculture has been constantly coruscating new vitality, and it is also closely related to science and technology, policy and other innovations. We have established a whole set of agricultural science and technology extension system to popularize fine varieties, agricultural machinery and facility agriculture in a large area. Hybrid rice alone brings an increase of tens of millions of tons every year. We strongly encourage farmers' cooperatives, professional farmers, enterprise companies and government service organizations to provide farmers with services such as the operation of agricultural machinery and the processing and circulation of agricultural products. Every year, hundreds of thousands of agricultural machinery migrate back and forth in China like migratory birds. When the wheat is ripe, a large number of combine harvesters go all the way from south to north, catching up with the season and providing wheat harvesting services for farmers, which not only solves the problem of farmers' household machinery work, but also improves the efficiency of agricultural machinery. The Chinese government has also continuously increased investment in agriculture, supported the construction of agricultural infrastructure and improved production conditions, the effective irrigation rate of farmland has been raised to more than 50%, and the ability of agriculture to resist disasters has been continuously enhanced.

We are also soberly aware that the further development of family agriculture in China is faced with the restriction of too small scale, with an average cultivated area of only half a hectare per household. When solving the problem of food and clothing, farmers cultivate carefully on the small plots of land contracted by themselves, but in order to improve the output and quality of agricultural products on a larger scale, small-scale operation shows its limitations. In order to reach a new level in China's agricultural production, we must appropriately expand the operation scale, increase the labor production rate and land output rate, and take the road of agricultural modernization. China is in the stage of rapid urbanization. It is estimated that from now to 2020, about 200 million rural people will settle in cities and towns in the eastern, central and western regions. This will create conditions for farmers to expand the scale of farming, bring more practical benefits to farmers, and provide more space for the development of agricultural modernization.

China is a country with a large population and complex national conditions. In the process of promoting agricultural modernization, we will adhere to the basic position of family management in agriculture and promote the innovation of various forms of agricultural management. On the basis of strictly protecting farmers' land rights and interests and respecting their wishes, we should encourage qualified farmers to transfer their land management rights and encourage farmers to unite and cooperate. In recent years, the number of family farms in China has increased to 870000, with an average size of 13 hectares (200mu), and the number of farmers' specialized cooperatives has exceeded 1.1 million, which has become an important force and development direction of agricultural modernization. On the basis of household management, promoting moderate scale operation and developing modern agriculture will not only help to better "feed China", but also contribute to world food security.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to agriculture and always insists on achieving basic self-sufficiency in grain at home. At the same time, it attaches great importance to the sustainable development of agriculture. We have solved the problem of feeding nearly 20% of the world's population with arable land and fresh water resources lower than the world average, which in itself reflects a kind of intensification. But we are not satisfied with this, and we need to further promote the efficient and intensive development of agriculture. At the same time, we will strengthen ecological protection and construction, implement projects such as returning farmland to forests, natural forest protection, desert prevention and control, soil and water conservation, and grassland control, and support farmers in improving soil, reducing pollution, and building high-standard farmland on a large scale. Through efforts to promote the sustainable use of agricultural resources, not only meet the needs of the current generation, but also leave fertile land, clear water and blue sky for future generations. To protect China's ecology is to care for and protect the earth.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Everyone has food to eat, which is the most basic right to survival of human beings and the basis of all human rights. Great progress has been made in the development of global agriculture, but hunger and poverty are still a "silent crisis" and the "Achilles heel" that deeply troubles all mankind. At present, more than 800 million poor people in the world are facing the threat of insufficient food and malnutrition. Promoting agricultural development and eradicating hunger and poverty remain major challenges facing the world and the common responsibility of all mankind. The international community should join hands to strengthen agricultural cooperation and pay more attention to the aspirations of developing countries, especially some least developed countries. We should reduce trade protection, strengthen support for agricultural technology and funds in the least developed countries, and improve the level of global agricultural production and food security.

Agricultural cooperation between China and other countries in the world, especially developing countries, is developing rapidly. In recent years, we have set up agro-technical demonstration centers, agro-technical experimental stations and extension stations in nearly 100 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific, and dispatched more than 30,000 agricultural experts and technicians one after another. at the same time, we have helped these countries train a large number of agrotechnical personnel. Our generation of Chinese have experienced the pain of hunger, and we empathize with those who are still hungry. We hope to see hunger and poverty eliminated around the world, and we are willing to share agricultural technology, experience and agricultural development models with other countries. China's improved hybrid rice varieties have benefited families in many countries. Here I would like to announce that in the next five years, the Chinese government will donate US $50 million to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for agricultural South-South cooperation and increase its support to the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Ladies and gentlemen!

As the largest developing country in the world, China is a positive force in safeguarding world food security at all times. Although there are many difficulties in the further development of China's agriculture, we will still make unremitting efforts to fulfill our promises with actions and mainly rely on our own efforts to solve the problem of food. We are willing to join hands with all countries in the world to create a world free of hunger, poverty and sustainable development.

The Director-General has just given me a book on his country's experience in increasing food production and reducing hunger. I gave him a picture album reflecting the beautiful scenery of nature. Only when people have enough to eat, can they have the mood to enjoy the natural scenery and have a higher spiritual pursuit. If we lay a solid foundation for food, which is the most important foundation for human development, people's material and spiritual life will be better and the world will be better. Thank you!