(Source: "Economic Daily" 2025-11-04)

At present, the construction of an agricultural science and technology innovation system centered on good land, good seeds, good opportunities, and good methods is accelerating. Modern agricultural new productivity is booming, and land output, labor productivity, and resource utilization are simultaneously improving, injecting power into ensuring food supply and promoting high-quality agricultural development.

Fertile farmland improves quality and strengthens the foundation, and scientific and technological innovation increases fertile soil. High-standard farmland construction is a solid foundation for scientific and technological innovation to support grain harvests. Arable land is the lifeblood of food production, and fertile land is a prerequisite for the efficient implementation of good seeds, good opportunities, and good methods. In recent years, our country has vigorously promoted the construction of high-standard farmland, and the disaster resistance and comprehensive production capacity of farmland have been significantly improved. In terms of management methods, modern means such as remote sensing monitoring and the Internet of Things are used to dynamically assess soil conditions to provide accurate basis for scientific planting. In terms of soil improvement, policies are implemented according to local conditions and classified. The saline-alkali land focuses on promoting salt discharge projects and biological improvement. The black soil areas in the northeast focus on promoting conservation tillage. The red and yellow soil areas in the south focus on acidification control and soil fertility improvement. According to statistics, after the completion of the high-standard farmland, the average grain production capacity per mu will increase by about 10%, and the disaster prevention and reduction capabilities will be significantly enhanced, becoming a veritable "ballast stone" for national food security.

High-quality seeds break down barriers, and science and technology strengthen the core. Breakthroughs in the seed industry are the core engine for technological innovation to drive grain harvests. As the "chip" of agriculture, seeds' research and development level is directly related to national food security and sustainable agricultural development. Since the "14th Five-Year Plan", my country has accelerated the construction of a modern seed industry innovation system with enterprises as the mainstay, market-oriented, and deep integration of industry, academia, and research. Relying on cutting-edge technologies such as gene editing and whole-genome selection, China has successfully cultivated and promoted a number of new varieties with high yield, high quality, disease resistance, stress tolerance, and wide adaptability. At present, the national farmland coverage rate of improved varieties has exceeded 96%, of which more than 95% are independently selected and bred. The sources of major food crops such as rice, wheat, and corn are basically independently controllable, laying a solid foundation for stable and increased grain production.

Opportunistic integration to improve performance, intelligent green dual-driver. Agricultural machinery modernization is an important starting point for scientific and technological innovation to empower food harvests. At present, the total power of agricultural machinery in the country exceeds 1.1 billion kilowatts, the comprehensive mechanization rate of main crop cultivation and harvest exceeds 75%, the equipment structure continues to be optimized, and operating efficiency has been significantly improved. In terms of technology integration, modern information technology is deeply integrated with agricultural machinery and equipment. Technologies such as Beidou navigation, intelligent control, and the Internet of Things are widely used in mainstream agricultural machinery. There are 2.2 million agricultural machinery and equipment equipped with Beidou terminals nationwide, and the number of plant protection drones exceeds 250,000. Models such as precision seeding, variable fertilization, and intelligent irrigation are accelerating in the main production areas. In terms of green transformation, agricultural machinery and equipment are moving in the direction of low-carbon and cleanliness. Through measures such as improving emission standards, phasing out old machinery, and piloting electric agricultural machinery, we are exploring collaborative paths for reducing pollution and reducing carbon emissions. At the same time, agricultural machinery socialized services show a development trend of diversified subjects, full-process content, intelligent models, regional scale, and institutionalized policy support, which enhances the stability and competitiveness of grain production.

The integration of good methods promotes transformation, and demonstration drives increased benefits. Technology integration is an effective way for scientific and technological innovation to boost grain harvests. By establishing a replicable and scalable technology integration model, scientific research knowledge is transformed into production plans, and agricultural production is promoted to standardization, scale, and green upgrading. This not only increases the willingness of small farmers to adopt technology, but also builds a stable and efficient production capacity system for major grain-producing areas. In recent years, my country has continued to implement green, high-quality and efficient actions, covering thousands of major grain-producing counties, integrating and promoting a number of regional and standardized technology models, and creating a number of demonstration models for high and stable yields.

Based on the present and looking for the long term, we will start again by strengthening agriculture through science and technology. We are currently at the historical intersection of the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan. We must systematically promote innovation in the entire agricultural chain, promote the coordinated development of good land, good seeds, good opportunities, and good methods; focus on key core technologies such as biological breeding and smart farmland, accelerate the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements, and promote the deep integration of scientific and technological elements with agriculture; accelerate the cultivation of new professional farmers who understand technology and are good at management, enhance the endogenous development power of agriculture, and promote the organic connection between small farmers and modern agriculture. Only by deeply integrating science and technology into the entire process of agricultural production can we continuously consolidate the foundation of food security and build a solid granary for a great country.

(The authors are all special researchers at the Beijing Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)

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