Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: A number of pioneering smart agriculture demonstration projects will be completed within three to five years.

Recently, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the “Guidance on Digital Development for Agricultural Modernization Demonstration Zones” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidance”), calling for significant progress in the digital transformation of these zones within three to five years, with a broad expansion of big-data application scenarios and the establishment of a number of pioneering smart‑agriculture demonstration projects.

The Guidelines emphasize that digital development is a foundational and pioneering endeavor in building a modern socialist country, and that the digital economy has now become an unstoppable global trend. Establishing demonstration zones for agricultural modernization is a strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, playing a crucial role in comprehensively advancing rural revitalization and accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. Against the backdrop of a historic convergence between digitalization and agricultural and rural modernization, these demonstration zones should prioritize the application of digital technologies to transform the agricultural sector across all dimensions and throughout the entire value chain, enhance total factor productivity in agriculture, and leverage the amplifying, synergistic, and multiplicative effects of digital technologies on agricultural and rural economic development, thereby achieving high-quality agricultural growth.

The Guidelines clearly state that demonstration zones should focus on the key priorities of agricultural modernization, with an emphasis on deepening the integration of digital technologies into agriculture and rural areas. They will prioritize 11 core tasks across four areas: building information infrastructure, fostering the aggregation and sharing of data resources, driving digital transformation across the entire agricultural value chain, and expanding application scenarios supported by digital technologies. Specifically, in advancing the digital transformation of the entire agricultural value chain, three tasks have been identified: accelerating the smart transformation of agricultural production, promoting the intelligent upgrading of agricultural product processing, and guiding the digital transformation of agricultural product distribution.

It is essential to accelerate the deep integration of modern information technologies—such as the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and 5G—into agricultural production, establishing a number of smart farms, smart ranches, and smart fisheries. The core objective is to develop a suite of digital solutions, thereby propelling smart agriculture from a “showcase” to a “landscape.” We must build IoT platforms to collect critical data, construct intelligent processing facilities for agricultural products, and integrate advanced information technologies with comprehensive sets of smart processing equipment to enhance both the efficiency and quality of agricultural product processing. Furthermore, we should promote the digital transformation of origin‑based agricultural markets, strengthening end-to‑end digital management across inbound and outbound logistics, transportation, and trading, thus improving logistics operational efficiency and supply‑demand alignment, and boosting online sales of agricultural products.

In terms of expanding digital‑enabled application scenarios, the Guidelines clearly outline four key tasks: developing a unified map for monitoring and managing farmland use; establishing a comprehensive online platform for agricultural socialized services; building a cloud‑based information service system for agricultural science and technology; and implementing a single QR code to track the quality and safety of agricultural products. Drawing on the needs of government agencies and market entities, the Guidelines identify four application areas that already benefit from a solid digital infrastructure: farmland‑use management and agricultural product‑quality oversight for government regulators; and agricultural socialized services and science‑and‑technology information services for market players. With the support of national agricultural and rural big‑data platforms, localities may also tailor and develop customized application scenarios based on their specific requirements, prioritizing the deployment of digital technologies in key sectors such as biological breeding, grain production, swine farming, and the enhancement of oilseed‑crop capacity. This will provide robust support for revitalizing the seed industry, safeguarding food security, and ensuring an adequate supply of critical agricultural products.

In addition, to ensure that the counties (cities and districts) tasked with establishing demonstration zones achieve tangible results in advancing digitalization, the Guidelines propose establishing four mechanisms: coordinated promotion, factor aggregation, monitoring and evaluation, and publicity and training. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has already taken the lead in setting up an expert advisory group for demonstration‑zone development, which will actively provide technical advice, planning support, and matchmaking services to facilitate the digital transformation of these zones. As part of the implementation of digital agriculture projects, priority should be given to establishing, within the demonstration zones, a number of innovative application bases for digital crop production, digital facility agriculture, digital animal husbandry, digital fisheries, and digital seed industries. Local authorities are encouraged to coordinate existing agricultural policies and funding channels to concentrate resources on supporting the construction of key smart‑agriculture projects in the demonstration zones.

The Guidelines stipulate that indicators such as the level of agricultural production informatization will be incorporated into the annual monitoring priorities for demonstration zones. Demonstration zones that demonstrate strong commitment and tangible results in digital development will be commended and incentivized, while those with inadequate performance will be publicly notified. Specialized training on agricultural digitalization will be organized for these zones, with a focus on distilling and disseminating exemplary practices and innovative approaches from across regions, and on intensifying publicity and outreach efforts to foster a favorable environment in which digital technologies drive and guide the development of demonstration zones.

Source: WeChat Official Account: Agricultural Industry Watch