Spring awakens the fields: China sows seeds of a new harvest

Editor's note: Li Chunding is a professor at the College of Economics & Management of China Agricultural University. Zhou Yanni is a doctoral candidate at the College of Economics & Management of CAU. The article reflects the authors' opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Spring marks the beginning of the agricultural calendar, and spring plowing and planting are the first and most crucial battle in annual grain production. It also signifies the starting point of China's national food security strategy. Today, from north to south and east to west, China's vast farmlands are bustling with the energy of the season — roaring tractors, sowing machines shuttling back and forth, and hundreds of millions of farmers diligently planting the seeds of hope for the nation's food supply.

As the world's largest grain producer and consumer, China feeds nearly 20 percent of the global population with less than 9 percent of the world's arable land. Behind this remarkable achievement are continuous breakthroughs in agricultural technology and the coordinated efforts of macroeconomic policies and market mechanisms. Amid a global landscape marked by rising food market volatility and China's own ongoing economic recovery and structural optimization, securing key stages of spring plowing is not only essential to ensure stable grain production but also to maintain macroeconomic stability and strengthen resilience against external risks.

Steady agricultural foundation strengthens economic confidence

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's total grain output reached 706.5 million tonnes in 2024, remaining above 650 million tonnes for 10 consecutive years. This provides a solid foundation for national food security. In the face of frequent extreme weather events and ongoing global geopolitical uncertainties, Chinese agriculture has demonstrated remarkable resilience and risk resistance.

However, challenges remain. Agricultural input costs have continued to run high, raising planting expenses. Extreme weather conditions have also caused delays in spring sowing in some regions. Meanwhile, global supply chains for food remain fragile, and the risks from external shocks persist. Against this backdrop, efficient organization and coordination of spring farming have become a key lever for ensuring production, stabilizing supply, and anchoring market expectations.

Technology and policy as twin engines: A smarter spring season

From an economic perspective, new forms of agricultural productivity are reshaping the spring farming landscape. In the Songnen Plain of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the BeiDou satellite navigation system has been widely deployed in unmanned farming machinery, achieving sowing accuracy within two centimeters. In central Henan, new varieties of salt-tolerant and lodging-resistant wheat are being rapidly promoted to support stable yields in major grain-producing areas.

At the same time, robust policy support has followed suit. During the 2025 spring farming season, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice requiring local governments to enhance fertilizer production and stabilize the supply of energy and raw materials, ensuring adequate and affordable inputs for spring and annual farming. Additionally, Jiangsu Province in east China has allocated 1.89 billion yuan ($259 million) in fiscal funds to support spring plowing and management, including subsidies for strip intercropping of soybean and corn and agricultural machinery purchases. Jiangxi Province in the same region has also pre-allocated nearly 6 billion yuan for soil fertility protection and machinery subsidies to safeguard spring production. The synergy of policy, technology, and market mechanisms is driving the spring farming toward greater efficiency and higher quality.

Capturing the right moment: Winning the first battle

Timing is everything in spring farming. Missing the seasonal window means missing potential yields. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has emphasized a closed-loop management approach —  ensuring seed distribution, input reserves, and meteorological services before sowing; strengthening technical guidance and machinery coordination during sowing, and accelerating water and fertilizer management and pest control afterward.

Notably, grassroots organizations have become the "stabilizers" of spring plowing. From village-level agronomists to county-level service centers and intelligent monitoring platforms built in many regions, the professionalization and digitalization of farming services have advanced significantly. Contract farming is also on the rise across the country, strengthening links between production and markets, and improving efficiency across the entire agricultural cycle.

Agriculture as the anchor of macroeconomy

A stable agriculture sector underpins not only food security but also the broader macroeconomy. Spring farming has extensive spillover effects, driving demand in sectors like agricultural inputs, machinery, logistics, and finance, while also providing large-scale rural employment. Ensuring smooth spring operations and stable farmer incomes helps activate rural consumption, stabilize price expectations, and release domestic demand potential.

With global food prices increasingly volatile and energy markets prone to disruption, maintaining stable domestic grain supply is vital for reinforcing China's economic resilience against external shocks. Through the strategic role of spring farming, the country is steadily building a food security system with long-term depth and resilience.

A new vision for spring: The start of a strong agricultural nation

As spring returns, the fields awaken. Today's spring farming is not only the beginning of agricultural production — it is also a reflection of national governance capabilities and the effectiveness of establishing a modern agricultural system. With high-standard farmland construction, green agricultural transformation, and accelerated development of new productive forces, a new vision for agriculture that is technology-driven, well-organized, and sustainable, is emerging across the country.

Looking ahead, China will continue to uphold its strategy of "storing grain in land and technology," accelerating high-quality agricultural development. The seeds planted this spring are not just crops — they are seeds of confidence and hope for the future.