context: this strategic repositioning of agriculture aligns with the 2024-35 agri-powerhouse plan's objectives to enhance sectoral value and rural vitality. By integrating technological innovation, industrial chain extension and service-sector convergence, Beijing aims to create a more resilient, profitable and modern agricultural sector capable of ensuring food security and driving balanced national development.
For villagers in Hainan's Sanya, the transition from pig farming to catering and homestays illustrates a fundamental shift in the PRC's rural development strategy: transforming agriculture from a primary production activity into a diversified, high-value modern industry. This pivot, a core theme of the 2026 Two Sessions, operationalises the no.1 document's call to 'build agriculture into a modern major industry'.
The first challenge is extracting greater value from finite land. This requires a conceptual shift towards the 'big agriculture' and 'big food' approaches, diversifying supply sources beyond traditional cropping. This means leveraging agricultural biodiversity by developing local speciality varieties across farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries. Du Zhixiong 杜志雄, a National Committee member and Party Secretary at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Rural Development Institute, notes that tangible progress is being made by sourcing food from forests, oceans, saline-alkali lands and through intensive protected agriculture. This strategy has underpinned national food grain output consistently exceeding 650 million tonnes, meat production surpassing 100 million tonnes and fisheries output remaining world-leading for 36 years.
The second challenge is ensuring high-quality resources translate into higher incomes by strengthening the entire industrial chain. While progress is evident—annual revenue from large-scale food processing firms now exceeds C¥18 trillion—gaps remain. Liu Yonghao 刘永好, a National Committee member and Chairman of New Hope Group, advocates for more precise policy support and institutional breakthroughs in talent and funding to boost chain resilience. 70 percent of the county's 600,000-tonne annual lemon harvest is sold raw, leaving farmers exposed to price volatility. She champions deeper processing and targeted talent attraction to stabilise rural industries.
The third challenge involves unlocking rural areas' potential beyond production through integrated cultural and tourism development. By leveraging its proximity to Yalong Bay and preserving Li ethnic culture, his village transformed idle homes into distinctive homestays, achieving over 80 percent occupancy and C¥9.75 million in revenue during the recent Spring Festival holiday. Wang Jing 王静, a National Committee member and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, advises villages with untapped potential to develop differentiated, immersive rural experiences rooted in local customs and speciality products.