Guangdong Province, a leading agricultural hub in China, is leveraging technology to promote agricultural development and revitalize rural areas.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2023, the contribution rate of agricultural science and technology progress in China has exceeded 63%, and the overall research and development strength of agricultural science and technology has taken its place in the front ranks of the world.
With its agricultural trade volume ranking first in China, Guangdong's contribution rate of scientific and technological progress in agriculture has exceeded 72%, 9 percentage points higher than the national average level.
With the aid of advanced agricultural machinery and innovative techniques, farmers in the province are embracing a new era of efficient and sustainable farming. For example, Maoming in western Guangdong, the world's largest litchi growing region, now boasts the country's 1st high-standard intelligent orchard.
By utilizing high-tech tools such as plant protection drones, intelligent weeders, and orchard shredders, the orchard has realized mechanization from litchi planting to harvesting, helping reduce the cost of production by 35% to 42% and increasing the yield by 10% to 20%.
In addition, Guangdong also has a group of leading agricultural technology companies, such as DJI and XAG. According to the marketing department of DJI, the company's agricultural drones have operated over 1.7 million hectares of farmland in the province as of December 2023, with a cumulative inventory of 5,000.
According to the provincial department of agriculture and rural areas, as of October 2023, Guangdong has built high-standard farmland spanning more than 1.8 million hectares. The level of farming mechanization has increased by an average of 15-20% and has enabled farmers an income raise of about 500 yuan per mu (about 0.067 hectares).
As the weather is getting warmer, spring farming is underway across Guangdong, hoping to embrace a good harvest for the new year. Let's see what new agricultural science and technologies Guangdong will make use this year to better support its high-quality development and further promote global agriculture.
Reporter | Abby, Eastbrook
Poster | Mia
Editor | Olivia, Nan, James
