No. 1 central document to guide China's path to food security through technology: experts

China is aiming to empower modern agriculture by fostering an ecosystem of technological innovation in the sector, a policy priority that has been underscored in this year's "No. 1 central document," which was released on Sunday.

The blueprint document is the first policy statement released by China's central authorities each year. This year, the document has set a clear agenda of leveraging scientific innovation in the modernization of agriculture, building on the country's rapid advancements in biotech and smart farming equipment.

It also outlines its priorities in deepening rural reforms and takes solid steps to advance all-around rural revitalization.

The document emphasizes the importance of developing new quality productive forces in agriculture according to local conditions and calls for the cultivation of leading high-tech agricultural enterprises and the acceleration of breakthroughs in seed varieties.

Experts highlighted the imperative of leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital solutions, and modern biotechnology to boost agricultural productivity comprehensively.

"As a country with a large population and limited resources, we need to significantly improve our agricultural productivity in order to ensure food security and the supply of important agricultural products. This is crucial for achieving modernization with such a vast population. The application of advanced technologies is vital in this regard," said Lin Wanlong, vice president of China Agricultural University.

Another key area of interest is the strategic nurturing of scientists and young talents, with some experts advocating a holistic approach to drive significant advancements in agricultural productivity nationwide.

Furthermore, the central document deems the establishment of an agricultural technology innovation system and the creation of independent innovation platforms as essential to driving the development of new-quality productivity and empowering comprehensive rural revitalization efforts.

"This year's No. 1 central document specifically calls for promoting collaborative research and development. This is a crucial policy response to the current challenges facing technological innovation. We need to establish a system and mechanism for collaborative research, coordinating various resources within the national agricultural science and technology innovation system, and building platforms for collaborative innovation," said Jin Wencheng, director of the Research Center for the Rural Economy, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

No. 1 central document to guide China's path to food security through technology: experts

Smart technologies have reshaped China's ecological and environmental monitoring system, Huang Runqiu, minister of Ecology and Environment, said Thursday in Beijing on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress(NPC).

"Regarding ecological and environmental monitoring, we have been promoting the digitalization, informatization, and intelligentization of the entire monitoring process in recent years, reshaping the ecological and environmental monitoring system. For instance, in water environment monitoring and sampling, we have used intelligent drones which can quickly locate sampling points, collect samples accurately, return rapidly, and they are safe and reliable, improving work efficiency by over 70 percent. They are particularly advantageous for sampling during flood seasons and in remote areas," Huang told the press.

"In terms of environmental sample analysis, we have developed 'lights-out laboratories' in recent years. As the name suggests, these labs operate without lights and are unattended. Through robotic arms, robots, and intelligent management systems, they achieve full-process automation and intelligence from sample handover, testing, and analysis to report generation. This has significantly enhanced work efficiency, increasing it by more than eightfold compared to traditional labs. More importantly, it reduces human interference, human error, and even data falsification," he said.

Thanks to the improved ecological and environmental supervision capabilities, the number of environmental violation cases nationwide has decreased from 130,000 five years ago to 43,000 last year, representing a decline of 68 percent, Huang said.

The minister said China has already applied environmental DNA technology in the biodiversity monitoring work.

"In the field of biodiversity monitoring, monitoring aquatic organisms remains a weak point. However, significant progress has been made in recent years as we have developed environmental DNA technology. Although this chip is very small in size, it contains DNA detection information for aquatic organisms, including the finless porpoise and the Chinese sucker, from 19 state-controlled sections in the Jiangsu segment of the Yangtze River. The results showed that over the past five years, more than 20 species of aquatic organisms have increased in this river section, fully demonstrating the tangible effectiveness of the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River," Huang said while showing a chip to reporters.

The 14th NPC, China's national legislature, concluded its fourth session on Thursday.

Smart technologies reshape China's ecological, environmental monitoring system: minister