By Faridat Salifu
China’s investment in artificial intelligence (AI), smart machinery and precision agriculture has pushed technology’s contribution to the country’s agricultural productivity above 64 per cent, highlighting the growing role of digital innovation in food production.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Han Jun said China is accelerating the adoption of AI and advanced farming technologies to strengthen food security as the country responds to climate change, geopolitical pressures and rising food demand.
He said the transition marks a shift from resource-intensive farming to innovation-driven agriculture, with AI becoming one of the country’s fastest-growing digital sectors.
China currently operates more than 300,000 agricultural drones, the largest fleet globally, using them for crop spraying, field monitoring, agricultural data collection and transporting farm inputs and harvested produce.
The country is also expanding the use of robotics and smart farming equipment, with the mechanisation rate for crop cultivation, planting and harvesting reaching 76.7 per cent.
The increased adoption of precision agriculture is helping China produce more food while using fewer resources.
Compared with 2020, fertiliser use has declined by 5.3 per cent and pesticide application has dropped by 1.5 per cent, while grain production and crop quality have continued to improve.
China is also investing in smart greenhouses, intelligent aquaculture and biotechnology to diversify food production beyond conventional farming.
Its offshore smart fish farming systems can produce up to 1,000 metric tonnes of fish annually from a single cage, while research continues into plant-based proteins and cultivated meat.
China remains the world’s largest producer of fruits and vegetables, accounting for around half of global apple production, more than 60 per cent of peaches and watermelons, about 70 per cent of lychees and pears, and nearly half of global farmed fish production.
The growing deployment of AI and digital technologies is expected to further strengthen China’s agricultural resilience while reducing production costs and environmental impacts.
