The 30-Year Transformation of China's Farmland

Over the past 30 years, China's agriculture has undergone a profound transformation from "facing the soil and back to the sky" to "farming with mobile phones and data management". Traditional agriculture relied on human labor and experience. However, in today's farmlands, technologies such as drones, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence are intertwined with the thousand-year-old agricultural civilization, promoting the development of agricultural production towards high efficiency, intelligence, and sustainability.

I. Smart Agriculture Technology: The Leap from Mechanization to Digitalization

Intelligent agricultural machinery equipment: The "Steel Army" Liberating human labor

Thirty years ago, farmers relied on hoes, sickles and oxen for ploughing. Nowadays, unmanned agricultural machinery has become the main force. For instance, the L4-level autonomous driving tractor developed by Shandong Wuzheng can independently complete the entire process of operations such as plowing, sowing and harvesting, with an efficiency increase of over 30%. The rice transplanters in Tailai County, Heilongjiang Province, are equipped with the Beidou Navigation system, ensuring that the row spacing of the seedlings is precise to the centimeter level, which helps increase rice production by 5%. These devices not only liberate the labor force but also solve the operational problems in complex terrains such as hilly and mountainous areas.

2. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Remote Sensing Technology: The "Air Steward" of Farmland

Jiangsu Yinbao Farm has utilized XAIRCRAFT drones to achieve aerial seeding of rice. It can complete the work of a traditional machine transplanting rice seedlings in just two hours, reducing costs by 13%. Drones also undertake field patrol tasks. By analyzing the growth of crops and pests and diseases through AI, they apply pesticides precisely, reducing the amount of pesticides used by 21%. Remote sensing technology, through high-definition images and terrain analysis, optimizes land leveling and irrigation planning, providing data support for scientific planting.

3. Internet of Things and Big Data: The "Digital Nerve" of Farmland

In the high-standard farmland of Xinxiang, Henan Province, the "Six Conditions Monitoring Station" collects real-time data on seedling conditions, soil moisture conditions, pest conditions, etc., guiding precise irrigation and fertilization, and increasing the yield per mu by 100 to 150 jin. The smart greenhouses in Zhengding, Hebei Province, monitor parameters such as temperature, humidity and light through sensors and remotely control the environment, increasing the output of fruits and vegetables by more than 50%. Data-driven management has enabled agriculture to bid farewell to the era of "relying on experience" and enter the era of "relying on algorithms".

Management Experience: Standardization, Intensification and Sustainability

Full-process digital management

The "Gengyun" platform of Shandong Wuzheng digitizes the entire process of "ploughing, sowing, management and harvesting", achieving visualized operation trajectories and integrated water and fertilizer management. The yield of desert wheat per mu has reached 600 jin. Hunan Huada Tianyuan remotely controls the water and fertilizer irrigation of 400 mu through the Internet of Things platform, saving 300,000 yuan in labor costs. The products are fully traceable throughout the process. This model reduces resource waste and enhances the transparency of the industrial chain.

Efficient utilization of resources and green production

Henan Province has promoted the integrated water and fertilizer technology, covering 8 million mu of farmland and reducing irrigation water use by 30%. Dezhou, Shandong Province, has customized "nutritious meals" for different plots through intelligent fertilizer mixing stations, increasing the fertilizer utilization rate by 20%. The research and development of new energy agricultural machinery (such as hydrogen fuel tractors) further promotes the low-carbonization of agriculture.

Experience replication and talent cultivation

Jiangsu Yinbao Farm is managed by two 90s technicians with no experience at all, covering 5,000 mu of rice fields. With the help of a smart agriculture system, it has achieved an output of 1,400 jin per mu, verifying that digital technology can make up for the lack of experience. The Henan Agricultural Machinery Cloud Platform integrates 37,000 agricultural machines across the country. Farmers can dispatch equipment through the APP, solving the problem of "difficulty in finding machines". This platform-based service model has accelerated the popularization and large-scale application of technology.

Future Outlook: Agriculture 4.0 and Rural Revitalization

At present, China's agriculture is upgrading from 3.0 (mechanization + informatization) to 4.0 (unmanned + intelligence). Henan Province plans to build 94.59 million mu of high-standard farmland by 2030. The Xinxiang Demonstration Zone has achieved "5G coverage + all-element upgrade". In the future, unmanned farms, digital plant factories, and AI pest and disease prediction systems will be further popularized, driving the grain production capacity towards the target of 140 billion jin.

Conclusion

Over the past 30 years, China's farmlands have transformed from being "drenched in sweat" to "flowing with data". Smart agriculture has not only increased production and efficiency but also reshaped the role of farmers - transforming them from manual laborers to technical managers. Behind this transformation lies the joint impetus of policy support, technological breakthroughs and market demand. As Li Jianguo, a farmer from Shandong Province, said, "Data can reflect problems and even predict the future." With the support of digital technology, Chinese agriculture is writing a new story of harvest.