Editorial Calls for Agro-technological RevolutionChina's agriculture will undergo an essential change from pursuing output to emphasizing quality and efficiency, according to an editorial to be carried in our Daily Thursday, January 18.The editorial says that the guidelines on agro-technology development that the government has put forward will facilitate China's endeavor to develop from a large agricultural country to a strong agricultural power in the world. Having resolved the problem of food shortage through rural reform over the past two decades, China is carrying out another revolution on agricultural science and technology under the leadership of President Jiang Zemin, according to the paper. The national agro-technology conference that concluded Wednesday called for all sectors of the society, especially science and technology sectors, to concentrate their efforts on pushing forward this revolution and realizing a leap forward in technology so as to guarantee a sustainable growth of agriculture and the rural economy. Noting that China feeds 22 percent of the world's population with less than ten percent of the total arable land on earth, the editorial says promotion of scientific and technological achievements in agricultural development has proved successful in the country. According to the editorial, the first national agro-technology conference held in China in 1963 played a key role in greatly increasing the output of the agricultural sector. The latest national agro-technology conference focused on quality and efficiency of agricultural production by restructuring the sector, improving the ecological environment in rural areas and securing the sustainable development of agriculture. The editorial points out that at present, China is faced with new tasks and challenges in agro-technology. The problems include limited resources, an irrational structure of agriculture and rural economy, low agricultural efficiency and slow growth in farmers' income. It says that in order to make big strides in the new century in bio-technology, efforts should be made to keep exploring new frontiers of agro-technology and pool the wisdom of agro-technicians, so as to lay a solid foundation in bio-technology for the revival of the Chinese nation. Recalling China's historical glory in agricultural development, the editorial calls on the whole nation to endeavor to lift the country's agro-technology to the most advanced level in the world in 20-30 years. |
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