By Ye Xingqing, Cheng Yu & Zhang Xu, Research Department of Rural Economy, DRC; Ruan Rongping, Renmin University of China

Research Report, No.386, 2021 (Total 6451), 2021-12-13

Abstract: A survey on 44 counties and 154 villages reveals that the acceleration of the modernization of agriculture and rural areas has a relatively solid foundation, while there are still notable weak links in several aspects. In light of agricultural modernization, irrigation facilities, tractor roads and agricultural machinery service organizations are still in shortage, the availability of facilities, automation and service socialization remain to be enhanced. With regard to the modernization of rural areas, there is a strong demand for the improvement of the elderly and medical care services, and the promotion of pre-, primary- and middle-school education. As for the living environment in rural areas, efforts including the classification and reduction of garbage, the collection and treatment of domestic sewage, the utilization of toilet waste as a resource, and the construction of roads linking households need to be improved. To crack the tough nuts mentioned above, this paper offers the following policy options. First, efforts need to be intensified in terms of accelerating the coordination of modernization of both agriculture and rural areas in the new development stage by focusing on the intersection of the two aspects. Second, work needs to be done to enhance the construction of the fundamental infrastructure for agricultural development including farmland water conservancy facilities and tractor roads. Third, efforts are also needed to improve the elderly and medical care services in rural areas, enhance the education quality through new mechanisms, and carry out tailored measures for the improvement of living environment in line with the characteristics of agriculture and rural areas.

Keywords: agricultural modernization, modernization of rural areas, short links, grass-root level cadres.