Abstract:Science and technology courtyard is an innovative organizational model for the development of modern agriculture, and it is also an important scientific and technological support for promoting rural revitalization. Based on the macro and micro levels, this paper explains the practical needs of science and technology academies, analyzes its development evolution and functional positioning in combination with field research systems, discusses its operation guarantee mechanism and practical results, and puts forward ideas and suggestions to guide the high-quality development of science and technology academies. The research shows that the emergence of science and technology institutes conforms to the increasing demand of farmers for advanced agricultural technology at the micro level, and the practical needs of the increasing dependence of modern agricultural development on agricultural scientific and technological progress at the macro level. The science and technology institute takes the university research institute as the core, and different goal-oriented interest connection mechanisms have been formed between the subjects, in which the formal system imposes normative constraints, service interaction is integrated into social norms, and multi-party support constitutes a material guarantee to promote the effective operation of the science and technology institute. The Science and Technology Academy has innovated the agricultural technology promotion model, promoted the high-quality development of modern agriculture, improved the comprehensive quality level of farmers, created a new model of agricultural talent training, and achieved significant comprehensive benefits. Therefore, in the future, the development of science and technology academies should deeply clarify the functional positioning, strengthen institutional constraints, strengthen organizational innovation and promote experience models, and take the road of dislocation development, standardized development, integrated development and shared development.
Keywords: science and technology courtyard; innovation and development; functional positioning; safeguard mechanisms; agricultural technology extension; social services; Talent development
The progress of agricultural technology is not only a lasting driving force for agricultural growth, but also a key guarantee for the development of the national economy [1]. Only by firmly grasping the initiative in the development of agricultural science and technology can we provide solid scientific and technological support for the mainland to move from an agricultural country to an agricultural power [2]. In 2021, the contribution rate of agricultural science and technology progress in the mainland exceeded 61%, and the overall R&D strength of agricultural science and technology entered the forefront of the world, but in many fields, the mainland is still in a state of running and following [3], and the conversion rate of agricultural science and technology achievements is not high, and the role of agricultural technology progress has not been effectively played. In order to continue to promote the progress of agricultural technology and the transformation of agricultural scientific and technological achievements, the mainland has vigorously strengthened the construction of a socialized service system for agricultural science and technology, encouraged universities and scientific research institutes to give full play to their advantages in scientific and technological innovation, innovated agricultural science and technology service methods, and carried out intellectual services for rural revitalization. The Science and Technology Academy is one of the many innovative service models for universities and research institutes to serve rural revitalization, and has become the most dynamic and effective organizational model. However, there is a serious disconnect between the practical development of science and technology institutes and theoretical research, and theoretical guidance is urgently needed to avoid misunderstandings in development. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to theoretically explore the innovation and development of science and technology institutes and examine them in practice to promote the progress of agricultural science and technology and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in mainland China.
The internal impetus for change and the external environment in the new era have provided conditions for the "three rural" issues to break through the previous constraints, play new functional values, and accumulate new development momentum [16], and also give birth to the service function and innovative development of the science and technology courtyard. In view of this, on the basis of explaining the practical needs of the science and technology academy, this paper analyzes its development and evolution and functional positioning based on the field research system, theoretically discusses its operation guarantee mechanism, objectively examines its practical effectiveness, and puts forward useful thoughts and suggestions for the future development of the science and technology academy, in order to provide guidance for the healthy development of the science and technology courtyard from the theoretical level, and give full play to the scientific and technological mission of the science and technology courtyard to help agriculture and rejuvenate agriculture.
First, the practical needs of the science and technology courtyard
Agricultural development is faced with the dilemma of disconnection between scientific research and agricultural production, scientific and technological personnel and rural farmers, and talent training and social needs. At the micro level, farmers' demand for advanced agricultural technology has increased, but the effective supply in the market is insufficient. At the macro level, the development of modern agriculture is more dependent on the progress of agricultural science and technology, and it is more necessary to rely on scientific and technological innovation to drive and lead and support the development of modern agriculture.
# 01 The development of modern agriculture urgently needs the support of advanced agricultural science and technology
Since the beginning of the new century, due to the sluggish grain prices and the implementation of the policy of returning farmland to forests, the grain planting area has dropped by a large margin, coupled with the peasants' enthusiasm for grain planting and the decline in the yield level [17], the mainland's grain output has fallen off a cliff, with grain output falling by 9.09 percent year-on-year in 2000 and the lowest grain output since the 90s of the 20 th century in 2003, only 431 million tons, posing a great threat to the mainland's food security. Improving the overall production capacity of agriculture and restoring and stabilizing grain production became the main goals of agricultural development during this period. In 2005, the No. 1 document of the Central Committee proposed that "it is necessary to take the strengthening of agricultural infrastructure construction, the acceleration of agricultural scientific and technological progress, and the improvement of comprehensive agricultural production capacity as a major and urgent strategic task, and earnestly grasp it". The role of agricultural technological progress in stabilizing grain income, improving quality and efficiency is becoming more and more important, especially with the shortage of agricultural resources and the tightening of environmental constraints, the dependence of modern agricultural development on agricultural science and technology has increased, therefore, from the overall perspective of agricultural development at that time, it is urgent to build a technical system that meets the requirements of high-yield, high-quality, efficient, ecological and safe agricultural development. From the perspective of the development trend of modern agriculture, on the one hand, green, high-quality and efficient have become the main theme of modern agricultural development; On the other hand, modern information technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence are gradually applied to the agricultural field, and "Internet + agriculture" is transforming traditional agriculture, and the impact of "intelligent, precise, digital, and controllable" agricultural production methods on the development of modern agriculture is becoming more and more important [18], and the emergence of science and technology courtyards can accelerate and lead this trend.
# 02 Agricultural technology extension cannot effectively meet the practical needs of agricultural development
Science and technology is an important support for the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas, and promoting the transformation and implementation of scientific and technological achievements has always been a topic of great concern to the mainland government. In 2020, the contribution rate of agricultural science and technology progress in the mainland reached 60.7%, and the overall strength of agricultural science and technology entered the forefront of the world. However, compared with developed countries, the conversion rate of agricultural scientific research results in mainland China is still low, which is still a problem that plagues the development of modern agriculture [19]. In particular, after the complete abolition of agricultural tax in 2006, the funds for the promotion of agricultural technology at the grassroots level were insufficient, and after the comprehensive opening of a new round of reform of township institutions in 2009, the promotion of agricultural technology has seen a shrinking situation of "broken lines, broken networks, and scattered people" [20], and the problem of disconnection between supply and demand of agricultural science and technology has become more serious, and the demand for advanced agricultural technology in agricultural development cannot be effectively met. Moreover, with the acceleration of the differentiation of agricultural operators, the technical needs of small farmers and new agricultural operators and the ways of integrating into modern agriculture are different, and the promotion of traditional agricultural technology is even more stretched. Based on demand-oriented, the science and technology institute carries out "bottom-up" agricultural technology innovation and promotion, and can effectively meet the practical needs of agricultural development by sinking to farmers and leading farmers to do it through scientific and technological services.
Second, the development and evolution of science and technology courtyards and their functional positioning
# 01 The background of the emergence of the Science and Technology Academy
Science and Technology Backyard was first established in 2009 by the College of Resources and Environment of China Agricultural University, with the goal of achieving high crop yield and resource efficiency (referred to as "double high"), with zero distance, zero threshold, zero time difference and zero cost service as the means, and a scientific and technological service platform integrating agricultural science and technology innovation, demonstration and promotion and talent training featuring the long-term residence of graduate students and scientific and technological personnel. The first batch of three science and technology institutes are located in Quzhou County, Hebei Province, Lishu County, Jilin Province and Jiansanjiang Reclamation District, Heilongjiang Province, originating from the school-local cooperation in the early stage of agricultural science and technology innovation and promotion such as the co-construction of 10,000 mu double-high demonstration bases, soil testing and formula fertilization demonstration, and precision agriculture development, and China Agricultural University has built experimental stations in Quzhou County and Lishu County, so the Science and Technology Academy was also known as the Science and Technology Academy of China Agricultural University at the beginning of its establishment.
The real economic and social benefits of the science and technology courtyard were loved by the local people and the government, and soon spread throughout the country, with rapid growth in number and continuous expansion of the coverage area. In 2020 and 2021, the science and technology courtyard was successively written into policy documents such as "Several Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Agricultural Science and Technology Socialized Service System" and "Opinions on Accelerating the Revitalization of Rural Talents", becoming an innovative service model for agricultural technology research and development and promotion, rural talent revitalization and even comprehensive rural revitalization.
On the basis of China's local practice, the Science and Technology Academy gradually shares its development experience with the international community and exports the Science and Technology Academy model. In 2018, the Lao Science and Technology Academy was established, marking the road of international development of the Science and Technology Academy. In 2019, the Science and Technology Academy entered Africa and has now spread to 10 countries in Africa; In 2021, the science and technology courtyard model became a typical case of agricultural technology innovation and application of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and was widely recognized by the international community.
# 02 Functional orientation for the development of science and technology courtyards
From the perspective of the origin and development practice of the science and technology courtyard, it has the triple functions of agricultural science and technology innovation, agricultural social service and agricultural talent training, and the triple function positioning is linked by science and technology, forming a close incentive compatibility relationship.
The first is "bottom-up" agricultural science and technology innovation. Agricultural science and technology innovation is the essential function of the science and technology courtyard, and it is also the most prominent embodiment of the advantages of the science and technology courtyard. Before the emergence of the Science and Technology Academy, China Agricultural University has carried out school-local cooperation with Quzhou County, Lishu County and Jiansanjiang Reclamation District, established scientific research bases, and jointly carried out agricultural science and technology innovation and promotion work, which runs through the development process of the Science and Technology Academy. The emergence of the science and technology courtyard is actually a further institutional norm for this main line. Relying on the support of the scientific research strength of universities and research institutes, as well as the scientific and technological experimental sites provided by the local area, the science and technology institute is stationed in the village to carry out the "bottom-up" agricultural science and technology innovation and promotion work guided by the actual production needs. In this model, farmers have strong embeddedness, which can stimulate their enthusiasm for applying new technologies and form a continuous learning state to the greatest extent [22]. At the beginning of the establishment of the science and technology institutes, according to the current development status and needs of local industries, each science and technology institute has established the main varieties, technologies or products demonstration area and on-site observation and training area, laying the information feedback foundation for the supply and demand of agricultural technology.
The second is the "popular science volunteering" type of agricultural social service. Different from the first functional positioning, this function is mainly embodied in the volunteer service of science popularization, which to a certain extent belongs to the expansion and extension of the first function, which is closely related to the work responsibilities of the Agricultural Technology Association. The Agricultural Technology Association is a grassroots science popularization organization of science popularization volunteer service, and science popularization volunteer service is one of its main businesses. Judging from the survey results, the science and technology courtyard relies on the work site to form a fixed agricultural science popularization visit place, with the science and technology courtyard as the center, forming a science popularization volunteer service field with the radius of the local society, receiving surrounding farmers to visit at any time or providing science popularization volunteer services in the form of organizing science and technology corridors, opening field schools, and creating WeChat public accounts. The use of the platform of the Smart Agricultural Technology Association has further expanded the boundary scope of the volunteer service of science popularization in the Science and Technology Academy, and the teachers and students of the Science and Technology Academy upload work logs, popular science graphics and videos through the platform of the Smart Agricultural Technology Association to achieve online science popularization. The volunteer service of popular science also improves the scientific and cultural quality of farmers through immersion, improves their awareness and adoption of new varieties, new technologies and new models, creates a strong atmosphere of agricultural technology extension services, and promotes agricultural technology promotion from the essential level of farmers' consciousness change.
The third is the cultivation of agricultural talents with the "integration of industry and education". It is the mission and responsibility of the Science and Technology Academy to help the revitalization of rural talents, not only to cultivate high-quality talents with both theoretical and practical literacy, but also to cultivate local talents directly engaged in agricultural production activities and other stakeholders engaged in the "three rural" work, the most obvious embodiment of which is the training of professional masters. The core participants of the Science and Technology Academy are the resident graduate students. Each science and technology school should have at least one graduate student stationed for a long time, and the resident graduate students should be mainly three-year professional masters, and the training mode of "0.5 + 2.0 + 0.5" should be implemented, that is, the graduate students should take course credits in the school for half a year before admission, and then go to the science and technology school for two years to find scientific problems in agricultural technology demonstration and production practice, and use this as the basis or direction for the selection of the master's thesis topic, carry out scientific research and thesis writing simultaneously, and return to the school in the last half year to complete the graduation defense and other matters. In recent years, due to the expansion of graduate enrollment and the shortage of internship funds, how to strengthen the practical teaching link has been the focus of the reform of various universities [23]. With the advantages of low cost and high efficiency, the Science and Technology Academy can closely combine teaching and education, field and classroom, theory and practice, scientific research and promotion, innovation and service, forming a "integration of production and education" agricultural high-quality talent training system, and creating a new model of postgraduate training.
3. The operation guarantee mechanism of the science and technology courtyard
In the operation of the science and technology institute, it involves university research institutes, local science and technology associations, local government departments, agriculture-related enterprises, new agricultural business entities, etc., forming an innovative development model of "leadership of science and technology associations, implementation of colleges and universities, guidance of teachers, permanent residence of students, and multi-party support". The scientific research institutes of colleges and universities are the core of the daily operation of the science and technology institutes, and professional master's students are arranged to stay in the science and technology institutes for a long time to engage in scientific and technological research, promotion and science popularization such as high-yield demonstration, field experiments, technical training, field guidance, and demonstration drives; Based on the overall consideration of local industrial development, the local government supports the implementation of science and technology courtyards, and even provides project funding support; The Association for Science and Technology and the Agricultural Technology Cooperation are the management or guidance units of the Science and Technology Academy, which is a powerful platform for its agricultural technology promotion and science popularization volunteer services, as well as a development model for its innovative working methods. Other relying or co-construction units form a close cooperation mode with the science and technology institute through technical needs, on the one hand, to provide necessary venues, facilities and equipment for the operation of the science and technology institute, and on the other hand, to obtain technical support and services to meet their own development needs. On the whole, different goal-oriented interest connection mechanisms have been formed between the subjects. From the perspective of the action situation of the participants, the science and technology courtyard operates in the combination and interweaving of formal and informal systems, and the support of multiple parties constitutes the material guarantee basis for its stable operation.
# 01 Impose normative constraints on the formal system
From the perspective of management system, the China Association for Science and Technology is the highest leading body of the Science and Technology Academy, which is guided by the China Agricultural Technology Association. In order to improve the management system of science and technology institutes, with the support of the China Association for Science and Technology in 2018, the Science and Technology Academy Alliance of the China Agricultural Technology Association was established in Nanning, Guangxi, which is responsible for integrating the resources of all parties in society and promoting the continuous development and growth of the grid system of science and technology courtyards. The Alliance of Science and Technology Colleges of China Agricultural Technology Association has also established a provincial science and technology academy alliance at the provincial level and an industrial science and technology academy alliance (such as the citrus science and technology academy alliance) at the industrial level to promote the development of science and technology courtyards from point to line and surface and grid. The Alliance of Science and Technology Academies can carry out collaborative innovation activities to form an open and orderly networked innovation model, fully rely on the mechanism of incentive elements to accelerate the complementary advantages, knowledge sharing, resource integration, and information exchange of alliance members, so as to achieve efficient cooperation, and strengthen the construction of the government's system and policy system on both the supply and demand sides, which is more conducive to supporting and ensuring the continuous operation and performance of the alliance [24].
Institutional guarantee is the premise and criterion for the standardized development of science and technology institutes. Just as the trust of members in the cooperative organization is formed[25], the Alliance of Science and Technology Colleges needs a complete set of rules and regulations to regulate or restrain the behavior of members, ensure the orderly operation of the Science and Technology Academy, and also ensure the trust of members in the alliance organization. To this end, the China Agricultural Technology Association has formulated the "China Agricultural Technology Association Science and Technology Academy Alliance Management Measures", which clarifies the application process and organizational structure of the science and technology institute, guides the establishment and operation of the science and technology institute, and also forms normative constraints on the development of the science and technology academy to avoid "alienation" or "distortion". In order to build the popular science brand of the science and technology courtyard, the China Agricultural Technology Association issued the "Notice on the Establishment of the Incentive Mechanism for the Brand Promotion of the Science and Technology Institute of the China Agricultural Technology Association" to encourage the construction, publicity and popularization of science and technology institutes, and serve the improvement of farmers' scientific quality and rural revitalization. For example, the Fujian Agricultural Technology Association has formulated the "Guiding Opinions on the Construction and Management of Fujian Science and Technology Courtyards of the China Agricultural Technology Association", and the Guangxi Agricultural Technology Association has issued the "Guangxi Science and Technology Courtyard Management Measures" and "Guangxi Science and Technology Courtyard Special Fund Management Measures (Trial)", etc., to inject institutional vitality and create a more favorable institutional environment for the healthy development of science and technology institutes.
# 02 Integrate social norms through service interaction
Rural areas are acquaintance societies, and informal institutions play an important complementary role to formal institutions. Villagers interact in a limited space, refining rules of behavior from familiarity and believing in the reliability of these rules [26]. This is a ceremonial society that is different from the modern de jure society, and the effectiveness of traditional customs as social norms is extremely significant [27]. The science and technology courtyard is located in the countryside, and its daily operation directly deals with farmers, so it is natural to be constrained and even excluded by the informal system. In the early days of the establishment of the Science and Technology Academy, due to the lack of formal authority, family affection, and the guarantee of acquaintance society, the process of entering the hospital from the outside to the inside encountered many setbacks, and it stood in the outermost ring of the trust relationship in the village [14]. However, the science and technology academy is not only engaged in the research and development and promotion of agricultural science and technology closely related to the production activities of farmers, but also often carries out square dance competitions, social gatherings, children's English training and other activities, strengthens communication and interaction with villagers, enhances the trust of villagers, and gradually changes from "outsiders" to "insiders", and is accepted by the social norms of the village. In some areas, during the New Year's holidays, villagers will also rush to invite teachers and students of the science and technology courtyard to their homes, and take pride in this, and the science and technology courtyard has become the authority of the village sages in the acquaintance society, realizing the triple "off-site" embedding of identity, capital, and values [28].
# 03 Constitute material security with multi-party support
Analogous to farmers' cooperatives, science and technology courtyards can be regarded as a series of contracts, whose survival and development are inseparable from the investment and attention of stakeholders, and their growth process is a process of comprehensively balancing the interests of various participants and maximizing benefits [29]. However, as a non-profit organization, the science and technology academy has its own particularity, and it cannot generate income, and faces daily expenses such as living subsidies for settled students, daily scientific research material purchases, and short-term employment, so it needs to have stable financial support, otherwise it cannot operate effectively for a long time. The diversification of the participants of the science and technology academy provides a strong material and financial guarantee for it. At the national level, the China Association for Science and Technology has set up a special project for the Science and Technology Institute of the China Agricultural Technology Association to provide certain financial support for the construction of the Science and Technology Academy. The scientific research institutes of colleges and universities are the most important source of funds to maintain the operation of the science and technology institutes, and the teachers stationed in the science and technology institutes can use their own scientific research project funds for the related scientific research activities of the science and technology institutes, and some universities also provide supporting financial support for the science and technology institutes. In order to support the construction and operation of science and technology courtyards, local associations for science and technology, agriculture and rural bureaus and other government departments will also provide support and help through preferential land and electricity use and policy projects. The science and technology institute jointly builds or relies on enterprises to provide necessary facilities and equipment or financial sponsorship for the science and technology institute, and forms a good win-win cooperation relationship with the science and technology institute.
Fourth, the practical results of the innovation and development of science and technology courtyards
After more than ten years of exploration and development, the science and technology institute has continued to grow and develop, the operation mechanism has been continuously improved, and the practical results have become increasingly significant, which has become an important scientific and technological support for the development of local industries, and has also become the main position of the China Agricultural Technology Association to carry out agricultural technology promotion and science popularization services.
# 01 Innovate the agricultural technology extension model
From the perspective of its service supply attributes, scientific and technological services have the attributes of public goods and cannot be effectively supplied through market mechanisms. From the perspective of the main body of service demand, under the reality that small farmers will still exist for a long time, there are endogenous obstacles such as weak farmers' acceptance ability and external resistance to agricultural technology promotion, and the demand for digital, intelligent and green agricultural technology promotion in modern agricultural development has increased, and traditional agricultural technology promotion cannot effectively adapt to this new situation change. In response to the dilemma of the supply side, the Science and Technology Institute follows the "four zero service" guidelines of zero distance, zero threshold, zero time difference and zero cost, breaks the traditional "top-down" agricultural technology promotion model, and carries out "bottom-up" agricultural technology promotion from the problem orientation, which significantly improves the efficiency of agricultural technology promotion. According to the research data of the research group, an average of 2.8 new varieties and 3.5 new technologies will be promoted in each science and technology college, and in 2021, an average of about 10 training sessions and 733 farmers will be trained in each science and technology college.
The operation of the science and technology courtyard involves multiple subjects such as relying units and co-construction units, especially in the context that the teachers and students of the science and technology courtyard eat and live together with the villagers and are accepted by the village social norms, the science and technology courtyard belongs to the village collective in terms of social identity, that is, the integration of the supply and demand of science and technology services is realized, and the positive externalities of science and technology services are internalized, and the problem of insufficient supply of science and technology services is easily solved. In response to the dilemma of the demand side, the science and technology courtyard has gradually gained the trust of farmers through long-term immersive exchanges, and the experimental demonstration has made farmers feel the power of science and technology. The science and technology courtyard has the main varieties, technologies or product demonstration areas and on-site observation and training areas, which can achieve precise technological innovation on the "point", drive the development of related industrial "lines", provide comprehensive support for agricultural production and efficiency, and green transformation, and form a new agricultural technology promotion system of "accurate, long and wide", which not only solves the dilemma of "broken lines, broken networks, scattered people" and mismatch between supply and demand of traditional agricultural technology promotion, but also better adapts to and even leads the development needs of modern agriculture. In fact, the promotion of technology is to promote people's hearts, let go of the difference of identity in life, weaken the difference of habits, and let the teachers and students of the science and technology academy integrate into the villagers, and also make technology take root in the local society [30]. According to the statistics of the China Agricultural Technology Association, at present, the science and technology institute has carried out a total of 1,566 field experiments and 463 field demonstrations, with a demonstration area of 20,000 hm2 and a technical radiation area of 8.67 million hm2, which has achieved good economic and social benefits and created a new model of agricultural technology promotion in the mainland.
# 02 Promote the high-quality development of modern agriculture
Each science and technology courtyard has a main variety or industry, which can be reflected from the naming rules of the science and technology courtyard, "province name + county name + product name". The China Agricultural Technology Association is committed to creating a science and technology courtyard in accordance with the leading industry of "one county, one product" to help the revitalization of rural industries. On the one hand, the Science and Technology Institute focuses on the "bottleneck" problem of local industrial development, carries out scientific and technological research, and solves practical problems in agricultural production; On the other hand, through the research and development, demonstration, promotion and application of agricultural science and technology, new varieties, new technologies and new models have been introduced into the development of local modern agriculture, and the agricultural production system has been innovated. According to the research data of the research group, 88.3% of the persons in charge of the science and technology institutes reported that the science and technology institutes played a relatively large or very large role in the development of the local agricultural industry. According to incomplete statistics, as of May 2021, the first batch of seven science and technology institutes created by the Jiangxi Science and Technology Academy of the China Agricultural Technology Association have solved a total of 129 practical technical problems, indirectly creating economic benefits of 150 million yuan. High yield and high efficiency are the main goals of the establishment of science and technology institutes, and some science and technology institutes have effectively reduced the use of chemical fertilizers and promoted the green and high-quality development of agriculture through soil improvement experiments, formulated reasonable fertilization plans, and promoted soil testing and formula fertilization technology. From 2016 to 2020, Fujian Pinghe Pomelo Science and Technology Institute has successively carried out technical experiments and demonstrations of "weight loss, acid increase, magnesium supplementation and efficiency increase" with 15 farmers, which can reduce the use of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers by more than 50% and increase yield by up to 11%.
# 03 Improve the overall quality of farmers
By carrying out various forms of agricultural technology demonstration and promotion activities, such as organizing science and technology gatherings and science and technology lecture halls, establishing science and technology corridors and science and technology alleys, distributing clear papers, and setting up science and technology display boards, the science and technology courtyard has improved the farmers' awareness and adoption level of advanced production technology, imperceptibly improved the level of scientific and cultural quality of farmers, cultivated a group of new professional farmers and local talents, and created a local help team that cannot be taken away. In addition, the teachers and students of the Science and Technology Academy also used their spare time to carry out a variety of cultural and entertainment activities such as square dance competitions, harvest festivals, children's English training, and social gatherings, which promoted the construction of local rural culture, enriched the spiritual and cultural life of farmers, and effectively improved the comprehensive quality level of farmers. According to the research data of the research group, in 2021, an average of 1 711 people will benefit from each science and technology courtyard through science popularization activities, of which a single science and technology courtyard will benefit more than 30,000 people at most, and 89.1% of the persons in charge of the science and technology courtyard will report that the science and technology courtyard will play a relatively large or very large role in promoting the comprehensive quality level of local farmers.
# 04 Created a new model for cultivating farmers' talents
The Science and Technology Academy has innovated the training mode of professional degree graduates, broken the dilemma of disconnection between graduate training and practice, and has been highly affirmed by the Ministry of Education. The "0.5+2.0+0.5" postgraduate training model has realized the transformation of postgraduate training from academic research orientation to problem exploration orientation, and the integration and interaction between academic research and production practice have become more in-depth and frequent, forming a relationship of mutual support and verification. The graduate students who settle in the Science and Technology Academy are endowed with a variety of missions and multiple roles, such as the administrator of the student dean who is responsible for the daily operation of the Science and Technology Academy, the academic researcher who carries out the research and development and promotion of agricultural technology, and the science popularization volunteer who organizes various science popularization volunteer service activities and participates in village-related matters, etc., greatly improves the scientific research and academic ability, practical ability, organization and coordination ability, and interpersonal communication ability of the graduate students in the school. According to the research group's survey data on 472 students in the Science and Technology Academy in 2022, after settling in the Science and Technology Academy, 79.5% of the students reported that their social skills had improved greatly or very much, 69.3% of the students reported that their scientific research ability had improved relatively large or very large, and 83.2% of the students reported that their comprehensive ability had improved relatively large or very large. The Science and Technology Academy has cultivated a group of outstanding high-level compound agricultural technical talents with "one understanding and two loves", and has achieved the purpose of training professional degree graduates with high quality and efficiency. At the same time, the Science and Technology Institute has also cultivated and driven a group of outstanding soil experts, Tian Xiucai and other local talents, as well as new agricultural business entities such as farmers' cooperatives and cooperatives.
Wu, thoughts and suggestions on the future development of the science and technology courtyard
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, as of the end of April 2021, there were 2.259 million farmer cooperatives registered with the industrial and commercial departments, driving nearly half of the country's rural households. Tracing back to the source, the science and technology courtyard and the farmer cooperatives have the historical logical consistency of development and evolution and the comparability of functional positioning, so we should fully learn from the experience and practices of the development of farmers' cooperatives and embark on a sustainable development path that conforms to the characteristics of the science and technology courtyard itself.
# 01 Clarify the functional positioning and take the path of misplaced development
Compared with other new agricultural business entities, the science and technology courtyard has a clear target positioning and distinctive scientific and technological attributes. The Science and Technology Academy specializes in scientific and technological volunteer services, thanks to the scientific research support provided by powerful universities and research institutes, as well as the material guarantee provided by multiple co-construction or relying entities, and its service content has a high business differentiation and market entry threshold. In addition to the main line of science and technology volunteer service, the science and technology academy also engages in other volunteer organization activities closely related to the lives of farmers, deepening the emotional interaction with the main body of service needs. In addition, at the level of science and technology service methods, the "four zero service" advantages of zero distance, zero threshold, zero time difference and zero cost of science and technology courtyards are incomparable to any other service organization, "zero distance" improves the main interaction of agricultural technology promotion, "zero threshold" improves the main cognition of agricultural technology promotion, "zero time difference" improves the availability of agricultural technology promotion, and "zero cost" improves the market demand of agricultural technology promotion. On the whole, the science and technology institute has outstanding comparative advantages compared with other types of entities in terms of service content, service nature, and service mode, and the substitution of these advantages is weak. Therefore, the science and technology courtyard should adhere to the main line of science and technology services, develop in dislocation with other new agricultural business entities, especially farmers' cooperatives, and become bigger and stronger by relying on characteristics.
# 02 Strengthen institutional constraints and take the road of standardized development
The existing rules and regulations and informal systems have formed a strong constraint on the development of science and technology institutes, but science and technology institutes are still in the initial stage of development of quantitative expansion, and the management of quality development is relatively little or even lacking. In view of the existence of "shell societies", "zombie cooperatives", and alienated cooperatives in the development of farmer cooperatives, which have caused serious harm to the development of farmer cooperatives in mainland China [32]. Science and technology institutes should take this as a reference, not rush to pursue the expansion of quantity, follow the principle of maturity and development, and standardize the development of science and technology courtyards. Issued policy documents to promote the standardized development of science and technology academies, clarified the standardized development direction of science and technology academies from the aspects of strengthening early guidance, improving internal management, and promoting information disclosure, so as to better stimulate the vitality of science and technology academies. Formulate assessment standards for science and technology academies, carry out the grading of science and technology academies, carry out regular assessment and acceptance, and give policy preferences or rewards to science and technology academies with excellent assessments. Establish an exit mechanism or early warning mechanism for science and technology courtyards, clean up and rectify science and technology courtyards that are not operating well, and rectify and standardize them within a time limit.
# 03 Strengthen organizational innovation and take the road of integrated development
While the science and technology courtyard and other new agricultural business entities are developing in dislocation, exchanges and cooperation should be strengthened, and the road of integrated development should be taken to achieve complementary advantages and win-win cooperation among different subjects, so as to jointly meet the needs of modern agricultural development. Integrated development is reflected in two aspects, one is business content, business cooperation; The second is to organize operations and innovate the organizational system. Among them, organizational innovation is the key to the integrated development of science and technology institutes. Drawing on the innovative model of farmers' cooperatives, encourage science and technology institutes to unite with new agricultural business entities such as agricultural enterprises, farmer cooperatives, and family farms to form agricultural industrialization associations, or jointly establish science and technology institutes within science and technology institutes; Encourage the establishment of (temporary) party branches within science and technology courtyards, or jointly establish joint party branches with farmers' cooperatives and village "two committees", build the party building brand of science and technology courtyards, consolidate the construction of grassroots organizations of the party, form a number of party building to lead the new model of science and technology courtyards, and better play the role of science and technology in helping agriculture.
# 04 Promote exemplary experience and take the road of shared development
Cooperatives originated in Germany and have now taken root all over the world and have become important rural cooperatives that help, uplift, and enrich farmers. As a useful exploration of the development of modern agriculture in the mainland, the science and technology institute has formed a mature experience development model, which should be summarized and promoted in a timely manner to establish a demonstration model. Give full play to the functional role of the Agricultural Technology Association in developing friendly relations with relevant foreign organizations, carrying out non-governmental international exchanges, and promoting international scientific and technological cooperation, build a platform for the exchange of international experience of science and technology institutes, and share the development experience of science and technology institutes with the international community; Encourage universities and research institutes to export the model of science and technology academies to foreign countries through international students in China, international cooperation organizations, international seminars, etc., and even help establish science and technology academies, so that China's experience can benefit the world. With the deepening of the international development of science and technology institutes, it is also necessary to explore the organizational innovation of science and technology institutes from an international perspective and establish a sound global shared development mechanism.