shift from land-saving technologies to land- and labor-saving technologies is required. Water- and energy-saving technologies as well as environmental protection technologies also need to be improved. China can learn from advanced countries to push the frontiers of technology development in these areas.
Climate change will have a huge impact on China’s agricultural sector. Agriculture will have to adapt to the changes in temperature and precipitation. Besides, extreme weather events like floods, droughts and storms are likely to become more frequent. And agriculture can be used to mitigate climate change by switching to lowcarbon farming practices. For that, new policies, investments and technologies will be critical.
The adoption of agricultural technologies varies according to regions across China. Although many Chinese farmers have welcomed modern technologies, there are many others, particularly in the central and western regions, that continue to rely on traditional technologies. Research shows that while large numbers of small farmers in the northern and eastern regions have benefited by growing Bt cotton, for example, adoption rates have been much lower in the western region.
Similarly, there is evidence that agricultural research investment in the central and western regions is much lower compared to that in the eastern region. Therefore, the government has to pay more attention to less-developed regions, where farming has become unattractive and less productive.
It is particularly important that new agricultural technologies are low on cost and highly divisible to meet the needs of small farmers. Modern technologies must suit different contexts, too, and be able to coexist with traditional technologies.
In addition to the needs and priorities of small farmers, technological innovation must also consider other economic and cultural conditions such as local gender and diversity issues. And education campaigns to increase farmers’ awareness about these new technologies and other public policies, such as technical assistance, finance and regulation, needed to accelerate the adoption of modern technologies must be put in place.
An International Food Policy Research Institute study shows that investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) has the largest impact on agricultural growth and second largest impact on poverty reduction. It is next only to rural education investment. But public investment in agricultural R&D in China is still below the desired level.
The government has to invest more and at a faster rate, in agricultural R&D, increasing it to at least 1 percent of agricultural gross domestic product in 2012, 1.5 percent in 2015 and 2 percent in 2020.
Also, the government should improve regulations, policies and incentives for the private sector to increase its investment in agricultural R&D. Chinese enterprises in the agricultural and food sectors have increased exponentially over the past decade, but their investment in R&D is still comparatively small. The protection of intellectual property rights, tax concessions and secured access to land for experiment are some of the policies that the government should consider continuing to improve the situation.
Moreover, China can also strengthen collaboration with international agricultural research systems such as the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research and its supported agricultural research centers. The system is undergoing reform and has developed large research programs on rice, wheat, corn, climate change, forestry, nutrition and policy. There is a great potential for Chinese institutions to learn from and contribute to these programs.