One of China's goals during the period of the thirteenth five-year plan, which will begin next year, is to modernize agriculture.
The Agricultural Ministry says the coming five years will be a transformative period for agriculture, and the transformation is necessary.
Experts point out that along with a continuous increase of China's agricultural output in recent years, problems of quality and safety have also arisen.
The government is aiming for a new pattern of modern agriculture, that is planned to take shape by the year 2020, and lays equal stress on quantity, quality and sustainability. But the Agriculture Minister added that it will be a tough process.
"During the 13th five-year plan period, agriculture can only take the path of sustainable development and must make significant adjustments in the areas of development ideas, technology system, policy support and resource allocation. During the period, we will not pursue continuous increase in grain output, but we must consolidate and improve productivity, in order to ensure essential supplies of grain and absolute safety of grain ration," said Han Changfu, Chinese Minister of Agriculture.
"The past mode of production could be generalized as expansion in quantity. Now we need to take the path of modern agriculture, develop green economy, improve yields per hectare of land and quality of agricultural products," said Li Yining, an economist.
