Xiaogang village is known as the birthplace of China's rural reforms. In 1978, eighteen farmers signed a secret agreement to divide communally-owned farmland into individual pieces called household contracts. Grain production then sky-rocketed. And after forty years of reform and opening-up, the village has seen considerable transformation. CGTN's Omar Khan has the details.

Xiaogang Village in eastern Chinese Fengyang County, was the first in China to implement a household responsibility system, under which land was leased to families in return for the delivery of fixed output quotas. In 1978, the total amount of grain production in the village was only around 148-thousand tons. But after decades of rural reform, the total amount reached nearly 750-thousand tons in 2017 around 5 times more than 40 years ago. The pioneers of the household responsibility system say that the primary purpose of the rural reform, is to increase the added value of land, through land transfer and distribution.

YAN JINCHANG PIONEER OF HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM "We transferred our land to enterprises at 800 Yuan per mu. Our farmers' incomes did not decrease, and we could liberate our labor force to do other things. For example, in my case, I can spend more time opening a restaurant, or crafting local specialties. I can even work in an enterprise to earn a wage. All these are measures we took to increase farmers' incomes."

Officials say that in order to enhance the development levels of modern agriculture in Xiaogang, China's Ministry of Science and Technology has approved to establish a new project -- a modern agricultural science and technology park.

XU GUANGYOU PARTY SECRETARY OF FENGYANG COUNTY "This project has just been issued, and it's about to be implemented. After the implementation of this project, the current technical level of grain production and agricultural production, as well as the technical level of agricultural processing, will be greatly improved. We will use new technology, new materials, and new products to promote prosperity."

Xu believes Xiaogang Village is not only limited to agriculture development but can also be reinforced in many other aspects.

XU GUANGYOU PARTY SECRETARY OF FENGYANG COUNTY "In the past, we only engaged in agriculture. But now, we also develop tourism, sales, and we push Xiaogang village to open to the world through an online presence."

And in terms of future rural reforms, Yan says the key to agriculture are the mechanisms.

YAN JINCHANG PIONEER OF HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM "Only new mechanisms can help reduce the burden on farmers and increase their incomes. Therefore, we must continue to deepen reforms. The great reform leads to great development, and small reform leads to small development. It's difficult to achieve development without reform."

Forty years on, and just like Yan believes, rural reforms are bound to continue. Omar Khan, CGTN, Fengyang County, Anhui Province.