Cultivating talent for nation's food security

The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period is critical for laying a solid foundation toward basic socialist modernization and for accelerating the revitalization of rural China. As the mainstay for serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers, agricultural universities have a distinct responsibility. With a history of 120 years, Sichuan Agricultural University has remained committed to strengthening agriculture and contributing to national and regional development.

Entering the new chapter of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the university will align closely with national priorities and advance the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent. In doing so, we aim to provide strong and sustained support for rural revitalization.

Disciplinary and program systems are the core vehicles through which higher education in agriculture empowers rural revitalization. Our focus is to build high-level disciplines that match the needs of agricultural modernization and align with regional industrial development.

We will optimize the layout of disciplines and majors, guided by national and regional priorities in agriculture and rural development. A dynamic adjustment mechanism will be established, supported by a closed-loop evaluation system linking admissions, faculty, training and employment. This end-to-end approach will ensure that academic programs stay closely matched with industrial demand and rural vitalization goals.

At the same time, we will strengthen traditional disciplines such as crop science, animal science and veterinary medicine. By integrating modern biotechnology, information technology and intelligent equipment, we will upgrade disciplinary content and research paradigms, building distinctive clusters with regional leadership, industry influence and international competitiveness.

The university will also proactively cultivate emerging interdisciplinary fields. Responding to trends in agricultural modernization, we will break down disciplinary barriers and promote deep integration between agriculture and engineering, natural sciences, humanities and management. Priority will be given to strategic areas such as smart agriculture, bio-manufacturing, food security and rural governance, fostering new disciplines that underpin the next generation of agricultural productivity.

Talent is the primary resource for comprehensive rural revitalization. Reforming education and training systems is therefore essential to nurturing professionals who understand agriculture and are committed to rural development.

We will reform curricula by building four interconnected modules — general education, professional education, practical education and personalized education. Artificial intelligence and related courses will be incorporated into general education, while distinctive "farming-and-reading" programs will encourage students to move from "learning for application" to "learning through application".

Training pathways will also be restructured. Innovative undergraduate experimental classes will be expanded, with selected graduate-level courses introduced into undergraduate programs. Leveraging initiatives such as doctoral research programs, international industry-academia collaboration and biotechnology breeding projects, we will implement integrated bachelor-master-doctoral training in authorized doctoral disciplines through a "2+2+X" model, shortening the doctoral training cycle to eight years.

Parallelly, we will strengthen professional training systems. Flagship programs such as the "Leading Geese" talent initiative for rural vitalization will help promote the downward flow of talent and technology. Targeting agricultural managers, grassroots village cadres and extension professionals, we aim to establish a practical talent training network that covers Sichuan, serves southwest China and spreads nationwide — nurturing more "local experts" and "field specialists" rooted in rural communities.

Agricultural science and technology innovation is the core driver of rural vitalization. To unleash this momentum, we will push for deeper integration between research and industry.

Scientific research will focus on national priorities and local challenges — such as seed industry revitalization, intelligent agricultural machinery, deep processing of agricultural products and green agricultural development. Throughout the innovation process, we will adhere to a demand-driven, scenario-based and user-evaluated approach, ensuring that research addresses real needs and delivers practical results.

We will also strengthen systems for translating research into practice. Relying on platforms such as the national industry-education integration base for biological breeding and provincial university science parks, we will build a full-chain transformation pathway from concept validation and pilot testing to industrial application. Improved incentive mechanisms will help overcome longstanding bottlenecks in moving innovations from laboratories to fields.

Finally, we will deepen collaborative innovation with local governments and leading enterprises. By jointly establishing modern industry colleges, doctoral workstations and industrial research institutes, and by promoting models such as "chief scientist plus resident graduate students" and rural innovation workstations for young professionals, we will encourage faculty and students to take root in production areas and engage deeply on the front lines.

Through these efforts, agricultural higher education can play a more dynamic and decisive role in China's rural vitalization — turning knowledge into productivity, talent into momentum, and innovation into lasting prosperity.

The author is a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and the president of Sichuan Agricultural University.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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