A single grain of rice can hold a remarkable story of transformation and value creation. By-products are getting a second life, scenery is being reinvented, and the entire process demonstrates how agricultural innovation can drive prosperity.
In Feixi County, Anhui Province, the leftovers from rice milling, such as broken grains once destined for animal feed, are now being brewed into red yeast rice wine, dramatically increasing their worth. The distiller's grains produced during this process are further processed into organic fertilizer, pushing the utilization rate of rice to an impressive 96%.
Meanwhile, in Licheng District, Jinan, Shandong Province, creative paddy field art has emerged from the soil, attracting flocks of tourists. These fields serve dual purposes—offering scenic views and food production—while connecting a diverse range of rural business activities and promoting the deep integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism.
The key to developing rural industry lies in extending, strengthening, and reinforcing the industrial chain. A single grain of rice can link an entire chain, where value escalation comes from the coordinated efforts of industrial integration. This illustrates that to build agriculture into a modern major industry, we must fully leverage the "grain head and food tail," "livestock head and meat tail," and "agriculture head and industry tail" concepts. From start to finish, every link generates wealth and presents an opportunity for prosperity.
Breaking new ground often requires daring to blaze new trails. In Lichuan City, Hubei Province, miniature potatoes that were once ignored have been transformed by streamlining the entire process from production and processing to sales. They are now turned into popular snacks, converting "clumps of earth" into "golden beans." To escape the model of merely selling primary products, the agricultural sector must abandon conventional thinking and carve out new realms of value appreciation through deep processing. This journey involves accelerating the development of cold-chain logistics and brand building to shift from selling raw materials to selling finished products.
Deep processing of agricultural products cannot follow a one-size-fits-all approach; it must be rooted in local resource endowments and industrial foundations to chart a differentiated and distinctive development path. In the first half of this year, the value-added output of China's agricultural and sideline food processing industry above a designated size grew by 4.8% year-on-year. The agricultural product processing industry can be organically combined with rural tourism and rural e-commerce, optimizing the industrial chain through diverse business models.
Achieving success demands technological superiority. Scientific and technological innovation is becoming a powerful engine for deep agricultural processing. In Huanan County, Heilongjiang Province, which has leveraged its local perilla industry, authorities have bolstered technological support to build a complete chain encompassing germplasm innovation, green cultivation, deep processing, and brand marketing. This has led to the development of over 120 deep-processed perilla products, including oil, tea, and health supplements, shifting the sales model from selling by the kilogram to selling by the milligram.
The powerful momentum unleashed by new technologies has opened up new avenues for value escalation in agricultural products. The key is to ensure technology yields tangible results by integrating the innovation chain directly into the industrial chain. This year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has already supported the creation of 40 new advantageous industrial clusters, 50 modern agricultural industrial parks, and 200 strong agricultural industry towns, establishing platforms and highlands for modern agricultural development.
Answering the call for rural revitalization hinges on keeping farmers at the core. The benefits of expanding the agricultural product processing industry must be shared more broadly and fairly with the farming community. In Xuyi County, Jiangsu Province, the humble crayfish has grown into a major industry that enriches the local population. The total output value of the Xuyi crayfish industry has surpassed 40 billion yuan, providing employment and income for one-sixth of the county's population. Notably, 32.5% of Xuyi's rural residents' income now comes from crayfish.
Farmers are transitioning from mere bystanders to active participants in the industrial chain, filling their pockets and ensuring the vitality of rural specialty industries. By improving mechanisms that link farmers to industrial development, the "golden shoulder poles" of the villagers can carry heavier loads with greater stability. It is essential to strengthen institutional safeguards for wealth creation and shared benefits, broaden the channels for farmers to engage in rural industries, and encourage more farmers to adopt standardized production and participate in industrialized operations.
As various new business models and interest-linking mechanisms take root, the agricultural industry chain is continuously unlocking new prospects for enriching the people. By effectively implementing the "three heads and three tails" strategy in agriculture, promoting the coordinated development of primary processing, deep processing, and comprehensive utilization of by-products, and improving the mechanisms that link industries with farmers, the vast fields of China are poised for even greater vitality and prosperity.