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The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs launches the "Three Products, One Standard" Enhancement Initiative: aiming to develop 300 national-level regional public brands and 500 enterprise brands.

Release date:

2021-03-19

On March 18, the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released the "Implementation Plan for the 'Three Products and One Standard' Initiative in Agricultural Production." The "Three Products and One Standard" in agricultural production refer to "variety improvement, quality enhancement, brand development, and standardized production."

The "Plan" outlines the following key objectives for the initiative: By 2025, significant progress will be made in breeding innovation, leading to a noticeable improvement in agricultural product quality. Major breakthroughs will also be achieved in agricultural brand development, further enhancing the overall quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the sector. The plan aims to cultivate a group of core seed resources with independent intellectual property rights, as well as new water-efficient, high-resistance crop varieties. Additionally, it seeks to establish 800 green, standardized agricultural production bases and 500 demonstration farms showcasing standardized livestock and poultry farming practices. Furthermore, the initiative plans to create 300 nationally recognized regional public brands for agricultural products, alongside 500 enterprise-specific brands and 1,000 individual product brands. By then, the number of certified green foods, organic agricultural products, and geographically indicated agricultural goods is expected to exceed 60,000. Finally, the pilot implementation of the compliance certification system for food-grade agricultural products is already yielding positive results.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has urged agricultural departments at all levels to integrate the "Three Products and One Standard" initiative for agricultural production into the broader efforts aimed at revitalizing rural areas and accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural development. Departments are encouraged to develop tailored implementation plans based on local resource advantages and actual production conditions, guiding the concentration of resources and factors in targeted regions while ensuring steady, orderly progress.

The full implementation plan is as follows:

Implementation Plan for the "Three Products and One Standard" Initiative to Enhance Agricultural Production

　　 Promoting green agricultural development represents a profound revolution in our approach to agricultural growth. In recent years, the concept of green development has steadily gained traction, accelerating the shift toward sustainable farming practices and continuously enhancing the capacity to deliver high-quality, eco-friendly agricultural products. However, agricultural production methods remain relatively extensive, and the supply of agricultural goods still lags behind evolving consumer demands for higher-quality, premium offerings. To address these challenges, it’s essential to strengthen guidance, increase investment, and improve the adaptability of agricultural supply systems, thereby fostering high-quality, sustainable agricultural growth. To implement the spirit of the Central Rural Work Conference and the No. 1 Central Document, starting from 2021, we are launching the "Three Products and One Standard" initiative—focused on variety improvement, quality enhancement, brand building, and standardized production—to elevate agricultural development to new heights and deeper levels. This initiative is designed to drive green agricultural progress more comprehensively and effectively.

　　 I. Significant Importance

　　Ensuring the effective supply of essential agricultural products like grain requires not only maintaining quantity but also safeguarding diversity and quality. Promoting variety improvement, quality enhancement, brand development, and standardized production is both a key approach and a critical task.

　　There is a growing need to deeply advance green agricultural development. Overall, China’s agricultural resource use remains intensive, while the efficiency of agricultural input utilization remains relatively low, and agricultural non-point source pollution continues to be a significant issue. Implementing the "Three Products and One Standard" initiative for agricultural production can drive green agriculture toward a transformative model that emphasizes comprehensive resource protection, large-scale regional restoration, integrated supply chains, and all-around support systems—ultimately achieving reduced agricultural input usage, cleaner production processes, waste-to-resource conversion, and ecologically sustainable industrial practices.

　　The need to enhance the quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of agriculture. Currently, China’s agricultural sector faces challenges such as small-scale operations, short industrial chains, relatively low quality and profitability, and weak market competitiveness. Implementing the "Three Products and One Standard" initiative for agricultural production can accelerate the development, selection, and promotion of high-yield, high-quality, and multi-resistant new varieties, thereby improving the quality of agricultural products, building strong agricultural brands, expanding value-added opportunities across the entire industry chain, and ultimately boosting the overall quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of agriculture.

　　To meet the growing demand for an evolving consumption structure. With rapid economic growth and significant income increases among urban and rural residents, consumer patterns are rapidly upgrading, leading to increasingly personalized and diversified demands for agricultural products. Implementing the "Three Products and One Standard" initiative in agricultural production can help optimize both the agricultural production structure and product lineup, while enhancing the sustainability, quality, distinctiveness, and brand value of agricultural offerings.

　　 II. General Requirements

　　 (1) Guiding Principles

　　Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will deeply implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the 19th Central Committee. We will fully carry out the guiding principles from the Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Rural Work Conference, anchoring ourselves in the new stage of development, embracing new development concepts, and fostering a new development paradigm. With high-quality development as our overarching theme, we will focus on advancing supply-side structural reform in agriculture, firmly committing to revitalizing agriculture through quality, green practices, and robust branding. We will strengthen standards-based leadership, drive technological innovation, emphasize brand-building efforts, select and develop a batch of groundbreaking crop varieties as well as superior breeds of livestock, poultry, and aquatic products. Additionally, we will establish several green, standardized agricultural product production bases, nurture a group of influential agricultural enterprise clusters, and create renowned agricultural brands that command significant market presence. By accelerating agricultural transformation and upgrading, we aim to better meet consumer demands and provide strong support for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and expediting the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

　　(II) Fundamental Principles

　　Prioritize quality above all else. Implement the requirements of "producing with quality" and "managing for quality," promote standardized production, enforce comprehensive quality oversight throughout the entire process, and enhance both the quality and profitability of agricultural products.

　　Adhere to green development. Uphold the philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," promote green production practices, encourage efficient use of inputs while reducing their volume, improve and protect agricultural land environments, and integrate the green development approach into every stage of agricultural production.

　　Persist in innovation-driven development. Treat scientific and technological innovation as the primary driving force, advance breeding innovations, and strengthen technological innovation and standard-setting across the entire industry chain—including input management, product manufacturing, processing, storage, and logistics.

　　Adhere to market-driven principles. Fully leverage the market's decisive role in resource allocation, unlocking the potential of factors, invigorating both the market and key players, and guiding resources toward concentrating on superior varieties, enhanced quality, and robust brand development.

　　(III) Objectives and Tasks

　　By 2025, significant progress will be made in breeding innovation, leading to noticeable improvements in agricultural product quality. Major breakthroughs will also be achieved in agricultural brand development, further enhancing the overall quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the sector. A group of core seed resources with independent intellectual property rights, along with new water-efficient, high-resistance crop varieties, will be cultivated. Additionally, 800 green, standardized agricultural production bases and 500 livestock and poultry farming facilities meeting national standards will be established. The initiative will also see the creation of 300 nationally recognized regional agricultural public brands, 500 enterprise brands, and 1,000 individual agricultural product brands. Meanwhile, the number of certified green foods, organic agricultural products, and geographically indicated agricultural goods is expected to exceed 60,000. Furthermore, the pilot implementation of the compliance certification system for food-grade agricultural products has already yielded positive results.

　　 III. Key Tasks

　　 (1) Accelerate the advancement of variety improvement. Implement the Action Plan to Turn Around the Seed Industry, speeding up the development and selection of a batch of new varieties. The focus will be on "four key initiatives": - **Identify and harness superior germplasm resources**: Conduct a nationwide survey of agricultural germplasm resources, urgently collecting rare, endangered, unique, and locally adapted varieties. Simultaneously, assess and evaluate existing crop and livestock/aquaculture germplasm resources to pinpoint elite breeding materials. - **Strengthen agricultural germplasm resource conservation**: Enhance the construction and management of agricultural germplasm banks, including seed banks, genebanks, fields, zones, and nurseries. - **Purify and rejuvenate local specialty varieties**: Targeting popular crops and livestock—such as soybeans, wheat, and pigs—that are currently being promoted locally, adopt advanced techniques like variety selection, comparative trials, and original seed propagation to rapidly restore and enhance their quality and productivity. - **Develop high-yielding, high-quality breakthrough varieties**: Launch targeted research into critical core technologies for key seed resources, while also supporting major national science and technology projects focused on agricultural biological breeding. Roll out a new round of genetic improvement programs for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture, ensuring the independent creation of innovative, high-performing varieties. Additionally, bolster intellectual property protection in the breeding sector. Establish robust seed production bases by expanding existing facilities, such as the Northwest National Hybrid Corn Seed Production Base and the Southwest National Hybrid Rice Seed Production Base. In suitable regions, set up regional centers dedicated to producing high-quality seedlings of horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, and tea—as well as breeding and propagating superior livestock and aquatic species.

　　(2) Accelerate the enhancement of quality. Promote superior crop varieties, including high-quality wheat varieties with strong or weak gluten, high-protein and high-oil corn, premium Japonica and Indica rice, and soybeans rich in oil and protein. Additionally, introduce top-tier late-maturing citrus fruits, specialty teas, premium vegetables, and authentic medicinal herbs. Introduce improved breeds for poultry, pigs, dairy cows, and aquaculture species. Integrate and disseminate advanced agricultural technology models by developing cutting-edge farm machinery and equipment tailored to hilly, mountainous regions, as well as specialized tools suited for fruit, vegetable, tea, and livestock/aquaculture production. Collaboratively innovate green farming practices such as soil improvement and fertility management, water-saving irrigation systems, precision fertilization and pesticide application, waste recycling technologies, and sustainable methods for harvesting, storing, transporting, and processing agricultural products. Purify agricultural production environments by addressing region-specific soil degradation or contamination issues. Develop comprehensive strategies to tackle soil acidification in southern regions, salinization in northern areas, black soil erosion in Northeast China, and heavy metal contamination in cultivated lands. Speed up remediation efforts to restore soil health and boost fertility, ensuring that clean production environments yield high-quality, safe agricultural products. Promote eco-friendly agricultural inputs, including bio-organic fertilizers, controlled-release fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, high-efficiency foliar sprays, and low-toxicity, low-residue pesticides—as well as biological control agents like biopesticides. Encourage the use of insect traps, LED insecticidal lamps, and pheromone-based pest control solutions to support environmentally friendly disease and pest management. Finally, establish a robust core quality indicator system for agricultural products, carefully selecting key metrics specific to each industry and variety. Develop standardized evaluation methods to ensure consistent quality assessments, paving the way for graded product classification, refined packaging, and clear labeling across the agricultural sector.

　　(3) Accelerate the promotion of standardized production. Drive the standardization of the entire modern agricultural value chain, adhering to the principle of "adopt standards where they exist, create standards where none exist, and integrate standards throughout the process." Speed up the development and revision of key standards covering critical areas such as farm-site environments, input management, agricultural and veterinary drug residues, product processing, storage, transportation, preservation, brand building, and grading/sorting. Work toward establishing a comprehensive standard system for the entire modern agricultural value chain, launch 30 pilot projects focusing on full-chain standardization across specific product categories, set up 300 integrated application bases for modern agricultural value-chain standards, and cultivate a group of leading agricultural enterprises that excel in setting industry benchmarks. Foster the growth of new types of agricultural business entities by nurturing family farms and farmer cooperatives, expand pilot programs aimed at enhancing the quality of farmer cooperatives at the county level, and promote large-scale, standardized agricultural production. Quickly develop leading agricultural industrial enterprises, supporting a number of key players that spearhead agricultural industrialization initiatives—organizations where leading enterprises take the lead, family farms and farmer cooperatives follow closely behind, and smallholder farmers broadly participate—thereby driving large-scale, standardized production practices. Strengthen the socialized service system by cultivating diverse, specialized agricultural service providers. These organizations will deliver a range of services, including input distribution, contract farming and planting, unified pest control, and post-harvest drying, storage, and procurement solutions, helping to advance professional, standardized, and intensive agricultural production methods. Boost the agro-processing sector by expanding primary processing capabilities, constructing on-farm storage, preservation, and cold-chain logistics facilities to extend product shelf life and ensure superior quality. Simultaneously, focus on developing sophisticated, high-value-added processing techniques to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the agricultural value chain. Finally, prioritize demonstration efforts in key regions, including agricultural modernization demonstration zones, pilot areas for green agricultural development, counties dedicated to agricultural product quality and safety, as well as national-level modern agricultural industrial parks, advantageous and distinctive industrial clusters, strong agricultural towns, and model villages and towns promoting the "One Village, One Product" initiative. By implementing the "Three Products and One Standard" approach across these areas, we aim to create a series of exemplary models that showcase best practices in agricultural production.

　　(Four) Accelerate the development of agricultural brands. Cultivate well-known brands, establish standardized criteria for agricultural branding, and encourage local governments, industry associations, and other stakeholders to create a group of regionally distinctive, product-specific public brands. In conjunction with the development of grain production zones, critical agricultural product protection areas, and specialized agricultural product advantage zones, foster a selection of robust, high-quality, and influential agricultural brands—both large yet outstanding, as well as small but beautifully crafted. Additionally, encourage leading enterprises to enhance their capacity for independent innovation and build competitive corporate brands. Strengthen brand management by developing comprehensive guidelines for agricultural brand operations, further advancing the establishment of China’s Agricultural Brand Directory system. Regularly publish the Brand Directory alongside consumer indices to provide valuable insights. Establish a robust agricultural brand evaluation system, releasing an annual Public Interest Agricultural Brand Evaluation and Development Index to track progress. Continuously refine evaluation and exit mechanisms to ensure sustained brand integrity. Intensify oversight of agricultural brands through dynamic management practices, cracking down rigorously on counterfeit, unauthorized, and improperly used brands. Finally, promote effective brand marketing by deepening the exploration and enrichment of brand narratives, nurturing vibrant brand cultures, and leveraging platforms such as agricultural trade shows, producer-consumer matchmaking events, and e-commerce channels. Encourage 1,000 top-tier domestic agricultural brands to participate in internationally recognized expos, while supporting the establishment of overseas exhibition and sales centers to amplify their global reach and influence.

　　(5) Continuously strengthen quality oversight of agricultural products. Strictly regulate the use of agricultural inputs, enforce agricultural input registration and licensing in accordance with the law, enhance management of production and marketing activities, and provide guidance on proper usage. Establish comprehensive records for the purchase, sale, and distribution of agricultural inputs such as pesticides and prescription veterinary drugs. Promote reductions in the use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary medicine, ensuring strict adherence to prescription-only regulations and drug withdrawal periods. Advance full-chain traceability management for agricultural product quality, implement initiatives to ensure agricultural safety and quality, bolster risk monitoring and early warning systems, and deepen efforts to establish national-level demonstration counties focused on agricultural product safety and quality. Build a robust, end-to-end traceability system for agricultural products, leveraging advanced information technologies and pioneering the "Sunshine Agri-Safety" smart supervision model. Drive forward initiatives toward standardized production practices, intelligent regulatory frameworks, distinctive product labeling, and clear product identification. Strengthen enforcement of quality and safety regulations by launching targeted campaigns like "Addressing Prohibited Substances and Driving Improvement," rigorously investigating and addressing violations related to the unauthorized use of banned or restricted pesticides, prohibited pharmaceuticals in food animals, and other harmful compounds, as well as cases of exceeding regulatory limits. Refine the registry of agricultural producers, intensify routine inspections and spot checks, increase inspection frequency for high-risk entities, and fully comply with the "dual-random" inspection protocol. Conduct thorough supervisory sampling and unannounced inspections to ensure compliance and maintain high standards of safety and quality across the industry.

　　(6) Deeply advance the development of safe, green, and high-quality agricultural products. Actively promote the production of green foods, organic agricultural products, and geographically indicated agricultural goods, and implement the system of issuing compliance certificates for food-grade agricultural products. Strengthen certification and regulatory oversight of agricultural products by refining the certification review processes and technical standards for green foods, organic agricultural products, and geographically indicated agricultural goods. Ensure proper use of certification labels, enhance risk monitoring and post-certification oversight, steadily expand the scale of certified products, and enforce a rigorous mechanism for phasing out non-compliant items. Cultivate a group of standardized production bases for green food raw materials and organic agricultural product production sites. Further implement the Geographical Indication Agricultural Products Protection Project by establishing specialized breeding centers and core production facilities for distinctive varieties, while also preserving and promoting traditional farming cultures. Drive the standardization of production practices, the enhancement of product uniqueness, the implementation of clear identity labeling, and the adoption of full-process digitalization for geographically indicated agricultural goods. Promote the issuance of compliance certificates for food-grade agricultural products and encourage pilot regions to adopt digital management systems where feasible. Provide guidance to producers on properly issuing these certificates based on self-monitoring and self-testing, thereby boosting the credibility and market recognition of certified agricultural products. Finally, integrate the certificate system seamlessly with existing regulatory frameworks and explore the development of a credit evaluation mechanism for certificate-issuing entities.

　　IV. Assurance Measures

　　 (1) Strengthen organizational leadership. Enhance overall coordination to establish a collaborative framework that links efforts across all levels and involves multiple stakeholders. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has set up a Promotion and Guidance Group for the "Three Products and One Standard" Initiative in Agricultural Production, tasked with boosting coordination, providing robust guidance and support, and ensuring effective implementation of targeted measures. Provincial-level agricultural and rural departments should likewise establish corresponding coordination and guidance teams, refine implementation plans, streamline project funding, and reinforce accountability to drive progress effectively. Additionally, counties (or cities) selected as pilot sites in key regions should form promotion teams led by the region’s top government official, fostering stronger collaboration, pooling resources, and ensuring tangible results.

　　(II) Innovative Promotion Mechanism: Develop a task list, aligning with the "Three Products and One Standard" requirements and key priorities, and assign specific tasks to relevant departments and bureaus. Ensure implementation is targeted at priority regions, addressing each item and area systematically. Encourage and support new agricultural business entities—such as family farms, farmer cooperatives, and leading agricultural enterprises—to proactively adopt the "Three Products and One Standard" approach in agricultural production. Additionally, refine the evaluation system by incorporating the "Three Products and One Standard" initiative into the performance assessment framework for implementing the Rural Revitalization Strategy.

　　(III) Strengthen policy support. Enhance fiscal support policies by directing project funds—such as those for agricultural green development, rural industry growth, the cultivation of new types of agricultural business entities, high-quality seed breeding in crop and livestock production, and agricultural product quality and safety oversight—toward regions where the "Three Products and One Standard" initiative for agricultural production is being implemented, based on local needs. Additionally, bolster financial support measures by encouraging financial institutions to back the "Three Products and One Standard" approach in agricultural production and expanding credit availability. Finally, leverage the role of the financing guarantee system to further strengthen its capacity to provide guaranteed financing.

　　(Four) Strengthen science and technology support. Support research institutions in conducting joint breeding initiatives, accelerate the development of breakthrough varieties, and enhance the core competitiveness of the seed industry. Promote deep integration between science and business, and encourage leading seed companies to join commercial breeding systems. Guide counties (and cities) to establish expert advisory groups focused on "high-quality, high-value, high-efficiency, and standardized" agricultural production, providing robust technical guidance and organizing specialized training programs.

　　(5) Strengthen legal safeguards. Accelerate the formulation and revision of relevant laws and regulations in areas such as standardized production, agricultural land environmental protection, quality and safety supervision, and agricultural brand development. Collaborate with departments like market regulation and ecological environment to intensify enforcement and oversight, and strictly enforce the law against illegal activities—including the use of prohibited inputs, the production and sale of substandard agricultural products, and actions that harm agricultural resources and the environment.

　　(6) Strengthen publicity and guidance. Leverage various media channels—such as radio, television, newspapers, websites, and new media—to widely promote and guide public awareness. Utilize platforms like the China International Agricultural Products Trade Fair to expand product showcases and promotions, boosting the visibility of agricultural goods. Additionally, encourage local areas to promptly identify and highlight exemplary cases, amplifying their reach through targeted publicity efforts and fostering a positive, supportive environment.

Source: Website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

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