Editors' note: Li Chunding is a professor from the College of Economics & Management at China Agricultural University; Yin Yixuan is a doctoral candidate from the College of Economics & Management at China Agricultural University. The article reflects the authors' opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. 

The Central Rural Work Conference, convened on December 29–30, 2025, at the close of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the start of the 15th, was a pivotal meeting. The meeting delivered key policy guidance on agriculture, rural areas and farmers, setting the strategic direction for both current and long-term development.

Agriculture, rural areas, and farmers remain a key challenge in achieving socialist modernization. Amid increasing international competition and external uncertainties, ensuring a stable and secure supply of grain and other major agricultural products has become ever more critical, providing strategic confidence to address risks. 

China has continued to experience a tight balance in grain supply and demand, with frequent extreme weather adding pressure on production and making it difficult to achieve sustained high yields. Modernizing agriculture and rural areas is vital to the overall progress and quality of Chinese modernization, as it underpins development, unlocks domestic demand, enhances urban-rural integration, and promotes common prosperity.

The Central Rural Work Conference has signaled a commitment to advancing agricultural and rural modernization with a systematic-thinking approach. It set "anchoring agricultural and rural modernization" as the overarching goal, marking the evolution of the "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" agenda from poverty alleviation to rural revitalization, and now toward building an agricultural powerhouse and achieving rural modernization. 

The conference further mapped out a practical pathway for rural development — transforming agriculture into a modern pillar industry, equipping rural areas with essential modern living conditions, and ensuring farmers enjoy a more prosperous and better life — these three goals complement each other.

It also underscored the need to strike a balance between the "quality" and "efficiency" of agricultural development, highlighted the regular and long-term nature of rural work, and called for reforms that combine localized solutions with systematic thinking. Together, these principles reflect a policy framework that is both comprehensive and pragmatic.

Looking ahead, the conference set out five key priority areas for work related to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers in 2026.

Firstly, ensuring stable agricultural production and supply. Efforts will focus on stabilizing grain and oilseed output, intensifying a new drive to boost grain production capacity by 50 million metric tons, and promoting better grain varieties and higher quality. 

Investment in water conservancy infrastructure will be strengthened, alongside enhanced meteorological monitoring, forecasting, and early-warning systems to bolster disaster prevention and mitigation. The "vegetable basket" initiative will be upgraded to improve quality, efficiency, and the diversity of food supply. Protection and quality improvement of cultivated land will be reinforced, the farmland red line strictly observed, and high-standard farmland developed through categorized, zoned, and quality-oriented approaches. 

Breakthroughs in core agricultural technologies and the efficient application of scientific advances will be accelerated, fostering new productive forces in agriculture tailored to local conditions.

Secondly, preventing large-scale relapse into poverty or a return to poverty. A coordinated and regular mechanism will be established to prevent both relapse into poverty and new cases of poverty that may arise. The regular support policy system will be improved, continued assistance will be provided to less-developed regions, and efforts will continue to consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation.

Thirdly, promoting stable employment and higher incomes for farmers. Efforts will focus on increasing farmers' incomes and strengthening income mechanisms for grain growers. Support for migrant workers — both in urban employment and in returning home for jobs or entrepreneurship — will be enhanced. County-level industries that drive shared prosperity will be strengthened, expanding farmers' participation in industrial development and improving mechanisms that link agriculture more closely with rural households.

Fourthly, advancing the development of livable, business-friendly, and beautiful villages. Implementation mechanisms for rural development will be tailored to local conditions. Rural spatial planning will be optimized in a coordinated manner, with faster progress made to address gaps in modern living conditions and to create high-quality rural living environments.

Continuous improvement of the rural living environment will be promoted, with a focus on issues such as toilet renovation and waste management. Elections of rural grassroots organizations will be properly conducted to strengthen the effectiveness of Party-building in guiding rural governance. Efforts to foster civilized rural customs will be deepened, outdated practices will be reformed, and the "Fengqiao Experience" will be upheld and developed in the new era to help resolve conflicts and disputes at an early stage, ensuring rural stability and social harmony.

Fifthly, deepening rural reforms to unleash internal momentum. Rural reforms will be further advanced, including comprehensive provincial-level pilot programs to extend the second round of rural land contracts by 30 years upon expiration. Efforts will be made to regulate and revitalize rural resources in an orderly manner, while innovating investment and financing mechanisms for rural revitalization, continuously injecting momentum and vitality into rural development.

Agricultural and rural modernization is an integral part of Chinese modernization. Anchored to this overarching goal, China will steadily advance all-around rural revitalization, promote integrated urban–rural development, and accelerate the building of a strong agricultural nation. 

(Cover via VCG)