Science and technology parks have outstanding advantages in terms of developing modern agriculture and can expedite industrial upgrading and the growth of newly-emerging industries through the research and development of high and new technologies and the application of advanced practical technologies. They will also play a dominant and demonstrative role in transforming traditional agriculture into modern agriculture.

China's challenges include strategic restructuring of agriculture and the rural economy, transformation of agricultural growth patterns and the resolution of some deep-laid contradictions, such as those between household operation and the changing market, between small-scale production by farming households and the employment of modern equipment and advanced technology, between rural and urban areas and between high social agricultural returns and low personal returns.

Agricultural science and technology parks can be a useful tool to address these problems. They will vigorously promote the transfer of the rural labour force and realize full employment.

China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has brought us serious challenges in the agricultural sector. We often suffer serious losses in international farm produce trade due to the low quality of our agricultural products.

Science and technology is the only effective way to meet such challenges. Agricultural science and technology parks play a supportive and demonstrative role in expanding the scale of agriculture, increasing the standardization and industrialization of agriculture and raising the quality of farm produce and international competitiveness.

Agricultural science and technology parks will be effective in transferring surplus rural labour, co-ordinating urban and rural development and pursuing a new way of industrialization.

In the early 1990s, various types of agricultural science and technology demonstration parks were set up in China's countryside. In this new situation we should also seriously deal with the difficulties and problems in the development of science and technology parks. For instance, the innovative capacity of science and technology parks should be further improved, and the operational market mechanism should be further enhanced.

Efforts will be made to further explore the operational mechanism of the science and technology parks, make in-depth research into the operational mode of "company + base + farming household + science and technology," and lead the enterprises to rely on science and technology.

More needs to be done to develop dominant local industries in these parks, orient them towards the market and serve farmers with a view to properly handling the relationship between enterprises and farmers and providing effective support in increasing farmers' incomes and improving agricultural efficiency.

While constantly strengthening the parks' capacity in translating scientific and technological achievements and technological innovation, constant efforts should also be made to enhance their capacity in guiding and promoting regional agricultural development.

The parks will be encouraged to demonstrate and spread agricultural science and technology in various forms, such as technological service, co-operation and transfer.

Governments at various levels should increase their input in agricultural science and technology parks. To redouble its support for the parks, the Ministry of Science and Technology has set up a project specially devoted to agricultural science and technology parks.

We must actively attract enterprises to take part in the building of agricultural science and technology parks, making them the new subjects of technological input and innovation in the parks.

We should intensify our research in financial policies for the parks, promoting the integration of finance and science and technology, seeking support from financial authorities and actively exploring ways of fundraising for agricultural industrialization from capital market.

We must take the opportunity of our WTO accession to strengthen international scientific and technological exchange and co-operation, to introduce overseas science and technology talents to China.

Meanwhile, we need to encourage and support research institutes in rural and social development area to actively participate in international co-operation and strengthen personnel training.