By Faridat Salifu
China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA) is to focus heavily on boosting the per unit yields of grain and oil crops across expansive areas in 2025.
Pan Wenbo, the chief agronomist at the MOA, disclosed this during a recent press conference, saying that this decision follows a period of steady progress in agricultural production, largely driven by improvements in per unit yield.
Over the last two years, China has managed to maintain and grow its grain production, primarily through advancements in efficiency, Pan recalled.
Building on this success, he said the MOA plans to continue focusing on optimizing the integration of high-quality fields, seeds, machinery, and farming techniques, with the goal of replicating past yield improvements over even larger tracts of farmland.
In 2024, the MOA launched an initiative aimed at increasing per unit yields of both grain and oil crops, which saw early successes.
The annual per unit yield of grain rose by 5.1 kilograms compared to the previous year, with the increase in yield accounting for more than 80 percent of the overall production growth.
The plan to scale up this success is reinforced by the objectives set at the 2024 Central Rural Work Conference, which stressed the importance of large-scale yield increases.
As 2025 marks the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the MOA is also focusing on furthering rural revitalization and poverty alleviation efforts.
Zhang Xingwang, vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs, highlighted ongoing initiatives aimed at improving rural employment quality, enhancing industrial support, and fostering development in key agricultural regions.
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The emphasis on per unit yield increases aligns with recommendations made at the Central Rural Work Conference.
Experts, such as Wang Gangyi from Northeast Agricultural University, point out that stabilizing production hinges on cultivating new technological advancements and fostering larger-scale planting techniques.
According to Li Guoxiang of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, digitalization in agriculture will play a pivotal role in improving productivity.
The shift towards modernization in China’s agricultural sector has also gained momentum.
In 2024, mechanization across planting, harvesting, and crop cultivation reportedly exceeded 75 percent, with comprehensive efforts ensuring resilience against natural disasters.
This modernization has helped secure another bumper grain harvest in 2024, despite challenges posed by extreme weather events.
In terms of agricultural output, grain production surpassed 1.4 trillion jin (700 million tons) for the first time, with an increase of 22.18 billion jin from the previous year.
Other key sectors, including soybeans, oil crops, and livestock production, have shown stable growth, reinforcing China’s efforts toward food security and self-sufficiency.
The domestic supply of agricultural products like meat, eggs, dairy, fruits, and vegetables remains strong, contributing to healthier diets for the Chinese population.
Food security continues to be a primary concern for China, with agricultural authorities emphasizing the need to sustain and further increase production levels to meet the demands of a growing population and evolving consumer needs.
