International Desk: Agricultural supplies remain a vital strategic pillar in ensuring national food security, while increased grain production and higher rural incomes are closely linked to the comprehensive empowerment of agricultural production through a modernized agricultural supply industry.

In recent years, China has continued to strengthen its supply and marketing cooperative system, building an integrated and efficient agricultural support network that is playing an increasingly important role in rural revitalization, food security, and green agricultural development.

In Henan Province, the provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative integrated 52 agricultural supply enterprises to establish a centralized procurement and distribution alliance. The initiative introduced a supply-and-price stabilization mechanism built around the framework of “Supply and Marketing Cooperative + Alliance + Enterprise + Financial Institution,” enhancing the efficiency and stability of agricultural supply chains.

Meanwhile, in Guiding County of Guizhou Province, local supply and marketing cooperatives introduced a “compensation-before-verification” mechanism for counterfeit agricultural products. By tightening quality supervision and strengthening accountability, the system has reinforced safeguards for agricultural production and food security.

In Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province, cooperatives have developed an integrated agricultural service system combining centralized distribution of pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural films with scientific application methods and unified recycling processes. The initiative is helping accelerate the green transformation of agricultural supply services and promoting environmentally sustainable farming practices.

Serving agriculture has long remained the core mission of China’s national supply and marketing cooperative system. To strengthen agricultural supply guarantees, the nationwide network has implemented a series of reforms focused on organizational modernization, price stabilization, green transformation, and digital network upgrades. These efforts have gradually established a nationwide, interconnected, and highly efficient agricultural supply and distribution service system.

According to official figures, the cooperative system has supplied nearly 70 percent of China’s total fertilizer demand in recent years. A subsidiary of the China Supply and Marketing Group sold more than 28 million tons of fertilizer, ranking first in the industry nationwide.

Compared with 2020, sales of fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural films across the system increased by 17.68 percent, 52.72 percent, and 22.5 percent respectively in 2024, further strengthening China’s food security framework.

Beyond agricultural production, cooperatives are also contributing to rural tourism and local economic revitalization. In Hongmiao Village of Anji County, Huzhou City in Zhejiang Province, a cooperative initiative led by university student entrepreneurs and local villagers transformed an abandoned mining pit into a thriving tourist destination.

The cooperative adopted a “Two Partnerships, Three Profit-Sharing” operational model, converting collective resources into assets, capital into shares, and farmers into shareholders. The approach has created new income opportunities for rural residents while promoting sustainable tourism development.

Reform continues to serve as the driving force behind the development of China’s supply and marketing cooperatives. Over the past five years, structural innovation, technological empowerment, and green development strategies have enabled cooperatives to bridge the “last mile” in rural services. By integrating every stage of the industrial chain into income-generating opportunities for farmers, the cooperatives are emerging as a major force in advancing agricultural and rural modernization.

At the same time, China is also expanding international cooperation in the agricultural sector. Products such as Bulgarian rose essential oil, Korean red ginseng, and Sri Lankan Ceylon tea are increasingly entering the Chinese market with the support of cooperative associations.

Alongside attracting foreign products and investment, Chinese cooperatives are also helping high-quality Chinese products reach global markets. In recent years, the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives has intensified efforts to support the Belt and Road Initiative by expanding its international partnership network.

Currently, China’s cooperative organizations maintain economic and trade cooperation ties with cooperative associations and international organizations in more than 70 countries worldwide. Through technological exchanges, trade collaboration, and shared development initiatives, Chinese cooperatives are actively promoting mutually beneficial international cooperation.

Source: Cai-Alim-Wang Haiman,China Media Group (CMG)