农垦是国有农业经济的骨干和代表，是推进中国特色新型农业现代化的重要力量。农垦是在特定条件下为承担国家使命而建立的，经过多年来的艰苦创业，形成了组织化程度高、规模化特征突出、产业体系健全的中国特色农业经济体系。现有35个垦区、1787个国有农场、1412万人口、1.06亿亩耕地，是全面推进乡村振兴、加快建设农业强国的重要战略力量。2022年，全国农垦企业资产总额超1.6万亿元，粮食产量达769.72亿斤，占全国粮食总产量的5.6%，生产总值达9568.53亿元。

中国共产党领导的农垦事业起源于抗日战争时期。1939年冬，在毛泽东同志“自己动手、丰衣足食”的号召下，陕甘宁边区开展军民大生产运动，延安创办了抗日民主根据地第一个农场――光华农场。王震同志率领120师359旅，按照“农业为第一位、工业与运输业为第二位、商业为第三位”的方针，开发建设了南泥湾。1947年，东北各省创建了一批国营农场。1948年，华北人民政府农业部在河北省冀县、衡水、永年交界的千顷洼建立了解放区第一个机械化国营农场――冀衡农场。1949年，建立了一批以安置荣誉军人为主的荣军农场和组织国民党“解放军官”生产劳动的解放团农场。

新中国成立后，在毛泽东等老一辈无产阶级革命家的亲自决策和领导下，以成建制的人民解放军转业官兵为骨干、吸收大批知识分子、支边青年组成农垦大军，奔赴边疆和内地的亘古荒原，开始了大规模垦荒造田、兴办国有农场的创业历程。新中国农垦事业的发展历程大体上可分为五个阶段：

第一阶段：建国初期艰苦开拓（1949-1966年）。新中国成立之初，为迅速恢复和发展生产，妥善安置大批军人，中央人民政府人民革命军事委员会决定组织军队参加农业生产，农垦事业开始大规模发展。1951年，政务院作出《关于扩大培植橡胶树的决定》，在华南地区开荒建设橡胶农场。1956年中共中央、国务院决定成立农垦部，统一管理全国军垦农场和地方经营的国营农场。1958年起，在中央部署下，大批转业官兵、内地支边青年和城市知识青年纷纷奔赴边疆、荒原和戈壁滩建设农场。到1966年，全国共建立了1940个农场，有职工284万人，耕地4784万亩，天然橡胶250万亩，年产粮食81亿斤，干胶2.3万吨。

第二阶段：“文化大革命”中遭遇挫折（1967-1976年）。在此期间农垦部及省级农垦管理机构被撤销，大批国营农场被下放，原有的管理制度被破坏，农垦系统连年亏损，十年间共亏损32亿元。

第三阶段：改革开放中不断发展（1977-2001年）。十一届三中全会以后，农垦系统进行了一系列重大改革。1978年，国务院决定在农垦系统国营农场试办农工商联合企业，实行农工商综合经营，突破了农场长期单一经营农业的格局。1983年起，农垦系统兴办职工家庭农场，建立大农场套小农场的双层经营体制，解决了职工吃企业“大锅饭”问题。这期间，农垦系统以市场经济为导向，逐步建立和完善现代企业制度，加大对外开放力度，完善职工社会保障制度。

第四阶段：前进步伐全面加快（2002-2014年）。农垦系统加快推行集团化、企业化、股份化改革，不断理顺管理体制，创新运行机制，着力激发农垦内在活力；积极开展改革办社会职能、建立社会保障体系、加大土地管理力度、努力化解债务，着力优化农垦发展环境；积极实施农业“走出去”战略。农垦管理体制更加适应市场经济体制要求，企业经营机制更加灵活高效，打造了一批具有市场竞争力的现代农业企业集团。农垦经济效益保持持续高速增长，自2002年全系统扭亏为盈以来，经济增长率连续13年保持在10%以上。

第五阶段：农垦改革发展进入新时代（2015年至今）。2015年11月27日，中共中央、国务院印发《关于进一步推进农垦改革发展的意见》。以此为标志，农垦改革发展进入新时代。文件指出，新形势下农垦承担着更加重要的历史使命。努力把农垦建设成为保障国家粮食安全和重要农产品有效供给的国家队、中国特色新型农业现代化的示范区、农业对外合作的排头兵、安边固疆的稳定器。全国农垦贯彻落实中央农垦改革发展文件精神，用3年左右时间基本完成了农垦国有土地使用权确权登记发证和改革国有农场办社会职能任务。垦区集团化和农场企业化改革稳步推进，建设现代农业大基地、大企业、大产业，把农垦建设成为具有国际竞争力的现代农业企业集团，努力形成农业领域的航母。

About China State Farm

The state farm system is the core and model of China's state-owned agricultural economy, as well as the main force in promoting modernization of Chinese characteristics agriculture. The state farm system was established under certain conditions to undertake national missions. Over decades of hard exploration, it has formed an agricultural- economic system with Chinese characteristics, that is, high degree of organization, large scale of production and a sound industrial system. It has developed the main force of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization andaccelerating the construction of a strong agricultural country, with 35 reclamation areas, 1787 state-owned farms, 14.12 million population and 7.07 million hectares of farmland. Up to 2022,  enterprises of the state farm system has total assets of RMB 1.6 trillion yuan, grain yield of 38.49 million tons (accounts for 5.6% of the national total), and GDP of 956.85 billion yuan.

The cause of China State Farm led by the Communist Party of China is originated in Anti-Japanese War. In the winter of 1939, under Chairman Mao Zedong's call for "ample food and clothing by working with our own hands", the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border area began a mass production campaign among the army and the people, establishing the first farm, Guanghua Farm, in the Anti-Japanese Base Area. Under the guideline of "agriculture first, industry and transportation second, business third", General Wang Zhen led Division 120 NRA and Brigade 359 NRA  to construct and develop Nanniwan. In 1947, the Three Northeast Provinces established a batch of state farms. In 1948, the People's Government  of North China built the first mechanized farm, Jiheng Farm, in the thousand-hectare puddle located in the border area of Jixian, Hengshui and Yongnian in Hebei Province. In 1949, a batch of farms was established, including merit farms for the honored soldiers, and liberation farms for the Kuomintang's soldiers.

Since the People's Republic of China was founded, under the leadership of predecessors of proletarian revolution represented by Chairman Mao, the pioneers consisted of demobilized soldiers, intellectuals and border-supporting youths went to the frontier and wilderness to reclaim wasteland and build state farms. The development of China State Farm is broadly divided into five stages:

Stage I: tough beginning in early years of New China (1949-1966). In the early years of New China, in order to resume the production rapidly and place numbers of soldiers properly, People's Revolutionary Military Committee of the Central Government decided to organize troops to support the nation's agricultural production. Since then, the cause of China State Farm developed fast on a large scale. In 1951, the State Council published Decision on Expansion of Rubber Trees Planting, started to open up wasteland for rubber farms in South China. In 1956, the Central Committee of CPC decided to found Ministry of State Farm, which was in charge of the unified management of the nation's army farms and the locally-operated state farms. Since 1958, under the arrangement of the Central Committee, the pioneers consisted of demobilized soldiers, intellectuals and border-supporting youths went to the frontier and wilderness to reclaim wasteland and build state farms. Till 1966, China had established 1940 farms, with 2.84 million workers, 3.19 million hectares of crop land, 0.17 million hectares of rubber land, 4050 million kilograms of annual grain output, and 23 kilotons of dry glue.

Stage II: suffering setbacks in the "Cultural Revolution" (1967-1976). In this period, Ministry of State Farm and its provincial agencies were abolished, together with the delegation of state farms to local governments. Because of the former administration system being damaged, the state farm system suffered continued loss, which was totally RMB 3200 million in a decade.

Stage III: developing steadily in Reform and Opening Up (1977-2001). Since the Eleventh CPC Central Committee, the state farm system has made a series of major reforms. In 1978, under the State Council's decision of developing agro-industrial-commercial combines in state farm system, breaking through the former pattern of farms operating agriculture only. Since 1983, the state farm system had established worker's family-owned farms in the large farms, which had solved  "common big rice pot" among the employees. Driven by market economy during this time, the state farm system has gradually developed modernized enterprise institution, kept opening to the world, and improved social security system of the employees.

Stage IV: developing fast in all aspects (2002-2014). The state farm system has made efforts to its development: making reform in collectivization, enterprization and share-holding, improving management regimes and operation mechanism, to stimulate the internal vitality; depriving social functions, establishing social security provisions, optimizing land management and releasing debt, to improve the  circumstance for better development; carrying out the "Going Out" Strategy in agriculture. With all these efforts, the management regimes and operation mechanism of state farms has adapted to the market economy much better, and a batch of competitive modern agricultural enterprises (groups) has been built. The state farm system has achieved remarkable economic results in this period. Since achieving profitability in 2002, its benefit growth rate has reached over 10% for 13 consecutive years.  

Stage V: the reform of state farm system in new era (2015 till now). On November 27th, 2015, the Central Committee of CPC and the State Council has published Guidance on Further Promoting Reform in State Farm System. Markedly, the reform in state farm system has developed in new era. As the document claims, the state farm system undertakes a more important mission in new era, that is, guaranteeing food security and important food supply of the nation, establishing demonstration area of modernized Chinese characteristics agriculture, developing agricultural international cooperation, and defending the frontier. Putting the Guidance into action, all the state farms accomplished state-owned land right registration and certification in around three years. Nowadays, collectivization in reclamation areas and enterprization in farms are advanced steadily, with modernized big base, large enterprise and grand industry in agriculture being built. Moreover, since the modernized enterprises (groups) from state farm system are more competitive in the world, its place of model in agricultural field has gradually been shaped.