The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ("CPC") and the General Office of the State Council have recently issued the Opinions on Promoting an Organic Linkage between the Development of Small Farmers and of Modern Agriculture (the "Opinions").
The Opinions state that efforts shall be made, in line with requirements of serving, developing and enriching small farmers, to create, as soon as possible, a framework of policies in favor of the development of small farmers, improve social services for agriculture, enhance the production and operation capacity of small farmers, improve production facilities and conditions, expand the room for income growth, safeguard their lawful rights and interests, prompt traditional small farmers to transform themselves into modern small farmers, enable small farmers to share fruits of reform and development, realize an organic linkage between the development of small farmers and that of the modern agriculture, and advance faster the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. To this end, the Opinions launch an array of measures which include "strengthening the application of technologically advanced equipment among small farmers", "giving play to the stimulating role of leading enterprises among small farmers" and "launching the internet plus small farmers program". According to the Opinions, measures will be rolled out to improve the agricultural industrialization mechanism for the benefits of farmers, support leading enterprises in contributing to the joint prosperity of small farmers through different approaches, including placing orders to purchase their products, guaranteeing a minimum of returns plus possible dividends, returning profits twice, forging share-based cooperation, and providing employment opportunities.