The national spring plowing and sowing activities are now in full swing. In the first quarter, fixed asset investment in the primary industry increased by 15.9% year-on-year, while retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas rose by 3.1%. At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on April 23, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Mardan Mugeti stated that the agricultural and rural economy has maintained a positive development trend while discussing the first-quarter performance of the agriculture, rural areas, and farmers sector.
The growth condition and developmental stages of winter wheat have largely caught up to normal annual levels. The progress of spring grain sowing is slightly faster compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter, China's grain and oil production maintained a solid foundation. According to Lü Xiutao, an official from the Department of Crop Management at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, summer grain output accounts for slightly more than 20% of the annual grain production and represents the first season of the year. Current spring management indicates that, due to effective measures promoting the transformation of weak seedlings into strong ones and generally favorable weather conditions from last winter through this spring, the condition of winter wheat seedlings has continued to improve. The progress of spring sowing is normal, with overall stable intended planting area. Supply of chemical fertilizers for spring farming is sufficient, and domestic fertilizer prices remain significantly lower than international prices.
The latest crop condition survey from the Ministry shows that the area planted with winter rapeseed is stable with good growth. Spring grain sowing has surpassed the 20% mark, progressing at a pace similar to or slightly faster than last year. Specifically, over 80% of early rice has been transplanted, more than 10% of spring corn has been sown, and spring soybean sowing is underway.
With approximately 40 days remaining until the summer grain harvest, challenges such as pests and diseases, lodging, dry hot winds, and harvest-time rain still lie ahead. The peak period for spring sowing is also approaching. Lü Xiutao emphasized the need for precise and meticulous spring management, timely spring sowing, and unwavering efforts in disaster prevention and mitigation.
A key factor behind China's consecutive grain harvests is the vigorous promotion of large-scale yield increases. By 2025, yield improvements are projected to contribute over 90% to the national grain output growth. This year, China continues to implement large-scale yield enhancement actions for grain and oil crops. The number of county-wide promotion units will increase from 702 to 1,000, and 20 city-wide promotion initiatives will be launched. Efforts will persist in integrating high-standard farmland, superior seeds, advanced machinery, and effective farming techniques to promote balanced yield increases over large areas.
The positive situation in agricultural production relies on the support of agricultural science and technology. The intelligent and digital transformation of agriculture in China is accelerating, with various smart equipment playing significant roles. The number of agricultural drones in operation exceeds 300,000, ranking first globally. Mardan Mugeti stated that during the "16th Five-Year Plan" period, efforts will focus on deeply integrating technological innovation with industrial innovation, fully leveraging the advantages of the new national system, continuously enhancing the overall efficiency of the agricultural science and technology innovation system, and accelerating the achievement of high-level self-reliance and strength in agricultural technology.
Rural residents' per capita disposable income saw a real-year-on-year increase of 5.4%. "Since the beginning of the year, grain purchase prices have shown a steady increase with some rises. The employment situation for migrant workers and those finding jobs locally or nearby has been generally stable, contributing to steady growth in farmers' incomes," said Xu Jianmin, Director of the Assistance Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in the first quarter, the real per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 5.4% year-on-year, a growth rate 2.2 percentage points faster than that of urban residents. Wage income and net business income contributed over 70% to this income growth.
As an important source of farmer income, rural industries aimed at enriching the populace are developing favorably. In the first quarter, the agricultural product processing industry progressed steadily, with the added value of large-scale agricultural and sideline food processing industries increasing by 6.8% year-on-year. In March, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for national key leading agricultural industrialization enterprises was 58.1%, remaining above the 50% expansion threshold. It increased by 6.8 and 3.8 percentage points compared to the previous month and the same period last year, respectively, indicating a sustained improvement in industry confidence.
The five-year transition period for consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation and effectively linking them with rural revitalization has been successfully completed. This year marks the first year of shifting towards regularized assistance. Xu Jianmin explained, "The Party Central Committee has made comprehensive arrangements for establishing a regularized mechanism to prevent a return to poverty and the occurrence of new poverty. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with relevant departments, has formulated and issued a series of supporting policy documents to guide localities in meticulously implementing various measures for regularized and precise assistance, continuously consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation, and firmly holding the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty." In the first quarter, new small assistance credit totaling 10.13 billion yuan was issued to support assisted households in developing production. The employment situation for assisted individuals remained generally stable.
In March, the Ministry publicly released a list of central government financial policies benefiting farmers directly, including 16 subsidies such as the cultivated land fertility protection subsidy, agricultural machinery purchase and application subsidy, and the wheat "single spray for triple prevention" subsidy. "We will work with relevant departments to fully implement these policies without compromise, transforming policy benefits into tangible income gains for farmers," Xu Jianmin said.
It is essential to ensure that the original contracted land of the vast majority of farming households remains stable and that the contract extension proceeds smoothly. Maintaining the stability of rural land contracting relations for the long term and extending the second round of land contracts for another 30 years upon expiration is a major decision and deployment made by the Party Central Committee.
This year's Central Document No. 1 explicitly called for the comprehensive launch of province-wide pilot programs for extending the second round of land contracts for 30 years after expiration. On March 18, a joint opinion from the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on conducting the pilot work for the extension was officially released, providing specific arrangements for this task.
Chen Bangxun, Director of the Development Planning Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, stated that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, a total of 7 province-wide pilots and 221 county-wide pilots were conducted nationwide, with over 26 million farming households successfully signing contract extension agreements.
"Carrying out the contract extension pilot work requires adhering to the principle of extension, upholding 'major stability, minor adjustments,' and standardizing the extension procedures," Chen Bangxun stated. He emphasized the need to properly resolve disputes arising during the extension process. For the minority of village groups where special circumstances, such as damage to contracted land due to natural disasters, exist and there is a widespread demand for land adjustment, "minor adjustments" can be made. However, the premise must be "major stability." It is essential to ensure that the original contracted land of the vast majority of farming households remains stable and that the extension proceeds smoothly. The system cannot be overturned and restarted, nor can land be redistributed randomly. It is impermissible to use this opportunity to illegally adjust or reclaim farmers' contracted land.