"Compared with fast-advancing urbanization, industrialization and informatization, our country's agricultural modernization is lagging far behind, seriously impeding the synchronized development of the four aspects," said Li.

Top policymakers at the meeting pledged to make more efforts to speed up agricultural modernization in order to unleash farmer consumption potential and spur investment in rural infrastructure.

A growing agricultural sector will also forge new engines to propel China's economic expansion, according to the statement.

Finding the way out

"Food security should be China's top priority during the agricultural modernization process. China will keep cereal largely self-sufficient and staples absolutely safe," the statement read.

Farmers are encouraged to form new agricultural entities in an innovative way to achieve economies of scale.

To facilitate associating farmers and their lands, China will guide orderly transfer of management rights of rural lands to new agricultural entities.

China will exploit agricultural resources in a more friendly and "greener" way to protect farm land and fresh water.

Policymakers decided to extend greater policy support and beef up financial support to underpin rural development.

China will actively push forward the construction of "new socialist countryside" and improve living environment for farmers.

The country will also wage a war against poverty and release more farmers from poverty. At the same time, rural residents are encouraged to take advantage of urbanization and start small businesses.

The Central Rural Work Conference is an annual event for Chinese policymakers to deliberate on and map out rural policies for next year.

The meeting discussed a guideline of deepening rural reform and advancing agricultural modernization.