(Adopted at the 2nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on July 2, 1993; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Popularization of Agricultural Technology at the 28th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on August 31, 2012; and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Popularization of Agricultural Technology, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors, and the Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China at the 9th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People's Congress on April 26, 2024)

Contents

Chapter I    General Provisions

Chapter II    Agricultural Technology Popularization System

Chapter III   Popularization and Application of Agricultural Technology

Chapter IV   Support for the Popularization of Agricultural Technology

Chapter V    Legal Liability

Chapter VI   Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I   General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is formulated with a view to strengthening the work of popularization of agricultural technology, enabling the timely application of results of agricultural scientific research and practical technologies to agricultural production, reinforcing the supporting and safeguarding capacities of science and technology, promoting the sustainable development of agriculture and rural economy, and realizing the modernization of agriculture.

Article 2 For the purpose of this Law, the term "agricultural technology" refers to scientific research results and practical technologies applied to crop cultivation, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, including:

(1) technologies for good strains breeding and cultivation, fertilizer application, and animal rearing;

(2) technologies for preventing and controlling plant pests and diseases, animal diseases, and other harmful organisms;

(3) technologies for harvesting, processing, packing, storing, and transporting agricultural products;

(4) technologies for ensuring the safe use of agricultural inputs and the quality and safety of agricultural products;

(5) technologies for farmland irrigation and water conservancy, water supply and drainage in rural areas, soil improvement, and water and soil conservation;

(6) technologies for mechanization of agriculture, agricultural aviation, agricultural meteorology, and agricultural information;

(7) technologies for prevention and reduction of agricultural disasters, security of agricultural resources and agricultural ecology, and development and utilization of energy in rural areas; and

(8) other agricultural technologies.

For the purposes of this Law, "popularization of agricultural technology" refers to the promotion of the application of agricultural technology throughout the entire process of agricultural production, including pre-production, production, and post-production, by means of experiment, demonstration, training, guidance, and consultation services.

Article 3 The state supports the undertaking of agricultural technology popularization, speeds up the promotion of the application of agricultural technology and develops high-yield, high-quality, efficient, eco-friendly and safe agriculture.

Article 4 The following principles shall be observed in the popularization of agricultural technology:

(1) to be conducive to the sustainable development of agriculture and rural economy and the farmers' income;

(2) to respect the will of agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations;

(3) to tailor measures to local conditions through experimentation and demonstration;

(4) to conduct classified management of public-interest popularization and commercial promotion; and

(5) to take into account both economic and social benefits and attach importance to ecological benefits.

Article 5 The state encourages and supports scientific and technical personnel to develop and extend the use of advanced agricultural technology, and encourages and supports agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations to apply advanced agricultural technology.

The state encourages the use of modern information technology and other advanced means of communication in popularizing knowledge of agricultural science and technology, innovating the modes of and approaches to agricultural technology popularization, and improving the efficiency of popularization.

Article 6 The state encourages and supports the introduction of advanced agricultural technology from foreign countries and promotes international cooperation and exchange in the popularization of agricultural technology.

Article 7 People's governments at various levels shall strengthen their leadership over the work of agricultural technology popularization and organize the relevant departments and entities to take measures to improve the popularization services and promote the development of the popularization undertaking.

Article 8 Entities and individuals that have made contributions to the work of popularization of agricultural technology shall be awarded.

Article 9 The agriculture and rural affairs, forestry and grassland, water resources and other relevant departments under the State Council (hereinafter referred to as "agricultural technology popularization departments" collectively) shall be responsible for the popularization of agricultural technology throughout the country according to their respective functions and duties. Agricultural technology popularization departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall, under the leadership of the people's governments at the same level, be responsible for the popularization of agricultural technology within their administrative areas according to their respective functions and duties. Other departments of people's governments at various levels shall be responsible for other work related to the popularization of agricultural technology at their corresponding levels according to their respective functions and duties.

Chapter II  Agricultural Technology Popularization System

Article 10 A system for the popularization of agricultural technology shall be adopted, which shall involve state agricultural technology popularization institutions, agricultural scientific research institutes, relevant schools, specialized farmers' cooperatives, agriculture-related enterprises, people's organizations of science and technology, agricultural technicians, and other parties concerned.

The state encourages and supports supply and marketing cooperatives, other enterprises and public institutions, societies, and scientific and technological personnel in all walks of life to provide agricultural technology popularization services.

Article 11 State agricultural technology popularization institutions at all levels are public service institutions and shall perform the following public-interest functions and duties:

(1) to introduce, test, and demonstrate key agricultural technologies as determined by people's governments at various levels;

(2) to monitor, forecast and prevent plant pests and diseases, animal diseases, and agricultural disasters;

(3) to provide consulting and technical services with regard to inspection, testing, and monitoring in the process of agricultural production;

(4) to provide monitoring services with regard to the agricultural resources, forest resources, agroecological security, and the use of agricultural inputs;

(5) to provide technical services with regard to the management of water resources, flood control and drought relief, and construction of facilities for farmland irrigation and water conservancy;

(6) to provide publicity, education, and training services relating to public agricultural information and agricultural technology; and

(7) to perform other functions and duties as provided for in laws and regulations.

Article 12 State agricultural technology popularization institutions shall be established at the county, town, township, and regional levels on the basis of local conditions, in accordance with the principle of adhering to a science-based and rational approach and the principle of pooling resources, and in light of the characteristics of agriculture, forest resources, river systems, distribution of irrigation and water conservancy facilities, and other characteristics of a county.

State agricultural technology popularization institutions at the town or township level may be mainly subject to the administration of agricultural technology popularization departments of people's governments at the county level, or mainly subject to the administration of people's governments at the town or township level, while receiving professional guidance from agricultural technology popularization departments of people's governments at the county level. The specific measures shall be determined by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or cities directly under the Central Government.

Article 13 The staffing of a state agricultural technology popularization institution shall be reasonably determined according to the scale of planting or breeding in the region it serves, the scope of its services, and its tasks, so as to ensure the fulfillment of its public-interest functions and duties.

The positions established in state agricultural technology popularization institutions shall be mainly composed of professional and technical ones. All of the positions in state agricultural technology popularization institutions at the town or township level shall be professional and technical ones. The number of professional and technical positions in state agricultural technology popularization institutions at the county level shall be no less than 80 percent of the total positions therein, while the number of professional and technical positions in other state agricultural technology popularization institutions shall be no less than 70 percent of the total positions therein.

Article 14 Professional technicians of state agricultural technology popularization institutions shall have the corresponding professional and technical capabilities and meet the requirements of their positions.

Newly employed professional technicians of state agricultural technology popularization institutions shall have a junior college education or above in relevant fields and shall have passed professional and technical examinations organized by relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county level. In autonomous counties, ethnic townships, and contiguous areas of dire poverty recognized by the state, personnel with secondary vocational school education in relevant fields or with corresponding professional skills may be employed upon approval of relevant departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or cities directly under the Central Government.

The state encourages and supports graduates from institutions of higher education and scientific and technological personnel to engage in the popularization of agricultural technology at the community level. People's governments at all levels shall take measures to attract talents and expand and strengthen community-level agricultural technology popularization teams.

Article 15 The state encourages and supports village agricultural technology service stations and farmer technicians to engage in the popularization of agricultural technology. In accordance with relevant regulations, subsidies shall be provided to farmer technicians who help with public-interest popularization of agricultural technology.

Farmer technicians who are proved to meet relevant requirements upon examination may be conferred corresponding technical titles and issued corresponding certificates in accordance with relevant regulations.

State agricultural technology popularization institutions shall strengthen guidance for village agricultural technology service stations and farmer technicians.

Villagers' committees and rural collective economic organizations shall encourage and help village agricultural technology service stations and farmer technicians to carry out their work.

Article 16 Agricultural scientific research institutes and relevant schools shall adapt themselves to the needs of the development of rural economy, carry out the work of agricultural technology development and popularization, and speed up the promotion of the application of advanced technology to agricultural production.

Agricultural scientific research institutes and relevant schools shall take the achievements made by their scientific and technological personnel engaged in the popularization of agricultural technology as an important indicator when assessing their work performance or conferring professional titles on them.

Article 17 The state encourages farms, forest farms, pastures, fisheries, and entities managing irrigation and water conservancy projects to provide agricultural technology popularization services to society.

Article 18 The state encourages and supports the development of rural specialized technology associations and other people’s organizations of science and technology, and gives play to their role in the popularization of agricultural technology.

Chapter III  Popularization and Application of Agricultural Technology

Article 19 The popularization of key agricultural technologies shall be included in relevant national and local development planning and programming, the implementation of which shall be organized by agricultural technology popularization departments in cooperation with other relevant departments according to their respective functions and duties.

Article 20 Agricultural scientific research institutes and relevant schools shall take technological problems that need to be solved in agricultural production as their research subjects and may popularize their scientific research results via relevant agricultural technology popularization organizations or directly among agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations.

The state guides agricultural scientific research institutes and relevant schools in providing public-interest agricultural technology popularization services.

Article 21 Agricultural technologies to be popularized among agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations shall first be proved to be advanced, applicable and safe through experiments in the areas of popularization.

Article 22 The state encourages and supports agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations to participate in the popularization of agricultural technology.

Relevant departments and entities shall provide support in terms of technical training, funding, materials, sales, etc. to agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations in applying advanced agricultural technologies in production.

Agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations shall apply agricultural technology on a voluntary basis. No entity or individual may compel them to apply any agricultural technology.

In the popularization of agricultural technology, farmer households, regions, or engineering projects that meet the relevant requirements shall be selected to demonstrate the application of agricultural technology.

Article 23 State agricultural technology popularization institutions at the county, town and township levels shall organize agricultural workers to acquire knowledge of agricultural science and technology, so as to improve their capability to apply agricultural technology.

Departments of education, human resources and social security, agriculture and rural affairs, forestry and grassland, water resources, science and technology, and other relevant departments shall support agricultural scientific research institutes and relevant schools in carrying out vocational education and technical training with regard to the popularization of agricultural technology, so as to improve the technical competence of agricultural technology popularization personnel and agricultural workers.

The state encourages non-governmental sectors to conduct training on agricultural technology.

Article 24 State agricultural technology popularization institutions at all levels shall earnestly perform their public-interest functions and duties as prescribed in Article 11 of this Law, and provide free services in popularizing agricultural technology among agricultural workers and agricultural production and operation organizations.

Entities and scientific and technological personnel other than state agricultural technology popularization institutions may charge fees for their services when providing agricultural technology through transfer of technologies, technical services, technical contracting, technology consulting, technology-based equity investment, or the like. Their legitimate income therefrom and their intellectual property rights, such as new plant varieties and agricultural technology patents, shall be protected by law. The parties shall enter into a contract to specify their respective rights and obligations in the case of transfer of technologies, technical services, technical contracting, technology consulting and technology-based equity investment.

Article 25 The state encourages and supports specialized farmers cooperatives and agriculture-related enterprises to provide farmers with technical services in various forms with regard to the application of advanced agricultural technologies.

Article 26 The state encourages and supports the construction of agricultural demonstration areas focusing on the production of staple agricultural products and superior and specialty agricultural products, so as to give play to the leading role of demonstration areas in the popularization of agricultural technology and promote the industrialization of agriculture and the development of modern agriculture.

Article 27 People's governments at all levels may, by purchasing services or other means, guide non-governmental sectors to participate in public-interest agricultural technology popularization services.

Chapter IV  Support for the Popularization of Agricultural Technology

Article 28 The state gradually increases input in the popularization of agricultural technology. People's governments at all levels shall guarantee in their budgets the funds for the popularization of agricultural technology and an annual increase in such funds in accordance with relevant regulations.

People's governments at all levels shall, through government financial allocations and withdrawal of a certain proportion of funds from the agricultural development fund, raise special funds for the popularization of agricultural technology, which shall be used for implementing agricultural technology popularization projects. The central finance shall provide subsidies for the popularization of key agricultural technologies.

The operating funds for state agricultural technology popularization institutions at the county, town, and township levels shall be determined according to the scale and performance of services in the local areas and borne jointly by government finance at all levels.

No entity or individual may withhold or misappropriate funds for the popularization of agricultural technology.

Article 29 People's governments at all levels shall take measures to guarantee and improve the working and living conditions as well as the welfare benefits of the professional technicians of state agricultural technology popularization institutions at the county, town, and township levels and provide subsidies to them in accordance with relevant regulations of the state, so as to maintain the stability of state agricultural technology popularization teams.

The conferment of professional titles to professional technicians engaged in the popularization of agricultural technology in counties, towns, townships, and villages shall be mainly based on their technical competencies and performance in the popularization.

Article 30 People's governments at all levels shall take measures to guarantee the necessary testing and demonstration premises, office space, popularization and training facilities and equipment, as well as other working conditions for state agricultural technology popularization institutions.

Local people's governments at all levels shall protect the testing and demonstration premises, means of production, and other property of state agricultural technology popularization institutions from encroachment.

Article 31 Agricultural technology popularization departments and state agricultural technology popularization institutions at or above the county level shall carry out in a planned way technical training for agricultural technology popularization personnel and organize them to participate in specialized continuing education programs, so as to update their knowledge and enhance their vocational level.

Article 32 Agricultural technology popularization departments at or above the county level and people's governments at the town or township level shall supervise and appraise the performance of public-interest functions and duties by state agricultural technology popularization institutions that are subject to their administration.

Agricultural technology popularization departments and state agricultural technology popularization institutions at all levels shall establish a work responsibility system and an appraisal system for the professional technicians of state agricultural technology popularization institutions.

In the performance appraisal, position appointment, and promotion of personnel of state agricultural technology popularization institutions at the town or township level that are mainly subject to the administration of agricultural technology popularization departments of the people's governments at the county level, the opinions of the people's governments at the town or township level in places of their services and their service recipients shall be fully solicited.

In the performance appraisal, position appointment and promotion of the personnel of state agricultural technology popularization institutions at the town or township level that are mainly subject to the administration of people's governments at the town or township level, which also receive professional guidance from agricultural technology popularization departments of people's governments at the county level, the opinions of agricultural technology popularization departments of the people's governments at the county level and their service recipients shall be fully solicited.

Article 33 Those engaged in agricultural technology popularization services may enjoy preferential treatment in terms of tax, loan and credit, etc. in accordance with the regulations of the state.

Chapter V  Legal Liability

Article 34 Where relevant departments of people's governments at various levels or their staff members fail to perform their duties in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be given sanctions in accordance with law.

Article 35 Where state agricultural technology popularization institutions or their staff members fail to perform their duties in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the competent organs shall order them to make rectification within a time limit and circulate a notice of criticism thereof; and the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be given sanctions in accordance with law.

Article 36 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, popularizes agricultural technologies that have not been proved to be advanced, applicable or safe by experiments among agricultural workers or agricultural production and operation organizations and causes damages shall be liable for the loss arising therefrom.

Article 37 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, compels agricultural workers or agricultural production and operation organizations to apply any agricultural technology and causes damages shall be liable for the loss arising therefrom.

Article 38 Where any funds for the popularization of agricultural technology are withheld or misappropriated in violation of the provisions of this Law, the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be given sanctions in accordance with law; where such an act constitutes a crime, they shall be held criminally liable in accordance with law.

Chapter VI  Supplementary Provisions

Article 39 This Law shall go into effect on the date of its promulgation.