As the ninth China Farmers' Harvest Festival approaches, a vibrant tapestry of autumn abundance unfolds across the nation—from apple-laden orchards on the northwestern plateau to golden cornfields in the northeastern black soil, from the fragrant pomelo groves of Lingnan to the rolling rice waves in Guangxi. These scenes of thriving harvests and specialty crops paint a promising picture of rural revitalization.
This season of golden fields and heavy fruit underscores a key lesson: by upgrading the entire industry chain and removing barriers between production, processing, sales, and consumption, agricultural output and farmer incomes can grow in tandem. Only then can the "good harvest" on the farmland translate into tangible wealth for rural communities.
Standardized, Science-Based Farming Lays the Foundation for Stable Incomes
Industry revitalization begins at the source. To secure income growth, it is essential to address production-side bottlenecks by adopting improved seeds, better methods, and standardized management—shifting agriculture from extensive practices to precision-driven, quality-focused operations. For example, pomelo growers in Meizhou, Guangdong, have moved beyond traditional experience-based cultivation. Guided by agricultural technical support, they have improved soil health, implemented precise care routines, and established standardized planting systems, resulting in consistently high yields and superior fruit quality. Similarly, Liuzhou in Guangxi has focused on the upstream of its luosifen (river snail rice noodle) industry, conducting targeted breeding trials for rice suitable for noodle-making, selecting optimal varieties, and developing a 10,000-mu standardized planting base to solidify the raw material foundation for this specialty sector. These practices demonstrate that scientific cultivation and standardized production not only safeguard food security but also elevate core product quality, paving the way for premium pricing and industrial value addition while reducing agriculture's vulnerability to natural and market fluctuations.
Deep Processing Across the Value Chain Drives Industrial Growth
Addressing the persistent challenges of supply-demand volatility and the paradox of "growing more but earning less" hinges on extending the industry chain and enhancing value. A comprehensive approach—from primary processing to deep processing and circular utilization—allows raw agricultural products to gain value at every stage. In Bei'an, Heilongjiang, the corn industry has been transformed through a closed-loop chain encompassing planting, storage, deep processing, and waste recycling. Corn is now converted into starch, corn germ oil, bio-feed, and biodegradable materials. By 2025, local enterprises are projected to process over one million tons of corn annually, raising the average annual income of participating farming households by more than 2,800 yuan. In Yan'an, the apple industry has been bolstered with modern packaging and cold-chain logistics, alongside comprehensive post-harvest services for sorting, storage, and distribution, driving the full-chain output value above 60 billion yuan. Deep processing acts as a stabilizing reservoir for agricultural supply, balancing production cycles, and moves rural products beyond primary sales, enabling value upgrades that keep more industrial gains within rural areas and benefit farmers directly.
New Business Models and Scenarios Connect Urban and Rural Markets
Market circulation is the critical "last mile" for turning harvests into income. As consumer demand evolves from basic needs to experiences and diverse scenarios, leveraging the Harvest Festival to cultivate new business formats and build urban-rural linkages can effectively unleash domestic demand, ensuring premium agricultural products reach the right markets, expand sales channels, and command better prices. In recent years, models like harvest markets, rural experience tourism, and live-stream sales have flourished nationwide. In the first half of 2025, online retail sales of agricultural products grew 12.2% year-on-year, reflecting a robust sales trend. Innovative approaches include Shanghai's "Golden Autumn Consumption Season," which uses themed exhibitions to create emotionally engaging shopping experiences that boost product sales, and Meizhou pomelo farmers who use short videos to share cultivation knowledge and showcase eco-friendly practices, driving online engagement and offline picking tourism while strengthening brand recognition. By aligning with the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday traffic, these initiatives convert festival excitement into rural tourism revenue, supporting homestays, farm stays, and specialty product sales. This expansion of diverse consumption scenarios breaks down geographical and contextual barriers, establishing a smooth system where products move directly from farms to markets and connect seamlessly with consumers.
The beauty of the harvest lies in its abundance; the essence of revitalization lies in the prosperity of the people. As we enter the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China's agricultural and rural economy remains on a steady upward trajectory, with summer grain output increasing, early rice stabilizing, and autumn harvests promising. Rural specialty industries are clustering and improving in quality and efficiency. At this pivotal juncture, deepening efforts in rural industry development—strengthening standardized production, refining processing value chains, and activating consumer markets—while improving benefit-sharing mechanisms like contract farming and shareholding dividends, will ensure farmers are deeply integrated into the full industry chain. This approach will persistently drive the conversion of harvests into income and industries into engines of revitalization, keeping the vast countryside brimming with hope and vitality.
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