The ninth "Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival" has arrived as scheduled, marking another season of plenty across the nation. Yet, behind years of stable production increases, a persistent issue remains: the relatively low profitability of grain farming and the phenomenon of "higher yields without higher income." How can the bottom line of food security be safeguarded? How can farmers' pockets be filled? And how can the dividends of industrial upgrading truly reach the fields? With these questions in mind, we journeyed into the heart of Sichuan to uncover the practical solutions for achieving both abundant harvests and increased prosperity.
During the golden autumn season, the fields of Sichuan stretch out like a carpet of gold. The contiguous rice paddies of the Chengdu Plain are heavy with full grains, the seed production bases in the central hills are celebrating good harvests, and the specialty farming bases in the Daba Mountains are seeing robust production and sales. However, stable farmland and increased grain output do not automatically translate into fuller wallets for farmers. For a major agricultural province like Sichuan, the challenge of the "Granary of Abundance" extends far beyond sheer production volume.
Amidst the roar of harvesters, a long-standing dilemma for grain growers is being re-evaluated: how can heavy rice ears be transformed into tangible income gains for households? In response, Sichuan Province has laid out plans to accelerate agricultural and rural modernization, explicitly aiming to build agriculture into a modern, large-scale industry. The province has initiated an action plan to double farmers' income, ensuring that the vast majority of farmers fully share in the benefits of modernization. As one of China's 13 major grain-producing provinces, Sichuan has always treated safeguarding national food security as a key political task. The challenge is to maintain the food security bottom line while simultaneously solving the puzzle of increasing farmers' income. To see how benefits flow from the field to the bank account, our reporters conducted investigations in Chengdu, Deyang, Suining, and Bazhong.
Key Starting Point: Expanding Income While Securing the Bottom Line
"People cannot live without grain, and grain cannot grow without land." Farmland is the lifeline of food production. The stable high grain output in Sichuan is underpinned by a steady increase in sown area. In 2025, the province's grain sowing area reached 96.185 million mu, marking the fourth consecutive year it has remained above 96 million mu. In recent years, Sichuan has vigorously worked to reclaim abandoned farmland and expand grain acreage. By the end of 2022, the province had rehabilitated 2.176 million mu of contracted farmland, effectively curbing the trend of land abandonment.
Policy support has been continuous and is only intensifying. In January of this year, Sichuan issued the "Guidelines for Positive Optimization of the Red Line for Permanent Basic Farmland Protection (Trial)," which adheres to the principles of "no reduction in quantity, no decline in quality, optimized layout, and improved ecology." It refines the delineation of reserve areas for permanent basic farmland, clarifies adjustment scope, reporting procedures, timelines, and technical requirements, and clearly defines departmental responsibilities, moving policy requirements from paper to practice.
The village history museum in Yongfeng Village, Taihe Town, Dongpo District, Meishan City, meticulously records the local efforts starting in 1978 to transform the "Huangchao Dam" through standard farmland construction and land consolidation. It also documents the village's pioneering achievement in 2012 of achieving fully mechanized rice cultivation, planting, and harvesting in Sichuan, as well as the village party committee's firm resolve during the citrus price surge of 2016 to stabilize land and ensure grain production. For decades, Yongfeng Village has adhered to the principle that "good farmland must be used for grain." This commitment has yielded rich rewards. In 2025, a sample harvest from the village's 1,000-mu high-yield rice demonstration plot set a new record, reaching 820.8 kilograms per mu.
Strictly protecting the farmland red line and ensuring grain output is fundamental. To solve the problem of unprofitable grain farming, innovation in planting models is essential. A prime example is the grain-cash crop rotation model explored in Pidu District, Chengdu. When our reporter visited Donglin Village, Deyuan Street, Pidu District, a light drizzle was falling, and Li Hong, a local large-scale grower, was rushing through the rain. "I'm busy preparing to sow garlic seeds! This year, my planting area is still around 60 mu. Over the past three years, 2024 was the best for prices, and I earned over 400,000 yuan that year. I'm working hard to do the same this year!" Li Hong said with confidence.
Most of Li Hong's garlic seed plots are located in the Pidu District Rice-Vegetable Modern Agricultural Park in Donglin Village. Not long ago, the park's 10,000-mu rice fields had just been harvested, and the ridges were being prepared for garlic seed sowing. Chen Guo, head of the Deyuan Garlic Professional Cooperative in Pidu District, explained, "The rice season ensures food production capacity, while the garlic season boosts economic returns. One field, two uses, two harvests a year—this not only upholds the bottom line of using farmland for grain but also solves the problem of low returns from traditional grain farming." The park's garlic seed planting area is approximately 7,000 mu, accounting for 70% of Pidu District's total. The seeds are mainly sold to Yunnan, Guizhou, and other provinces, generating an annual output value of around 200 million yuan. "The net profit from one mu of garlic seeds can reach 10,000 yuan, and the per capita disposable income of farmers in the park is about 20% higher than the district average."
From Yongfeng Village's commitment to using good farmland for grain to Donglin Village's innovative pursuit of dual gains, these grassroots practices together build a solid foundation for Sichuan's stable and increasing grain production. In 2025, Sichuan's grain output surpassed 73 billion jin for the first time. Yields for rice, wheat, and corn increased by 11 kilograms, 15 kilograms, and 28 kilograms per mu, respectively; rapeseed production increased by 1.29 billion jin, ranking first in the country for the 16th consecutive year.
Core Goal: Reducing Costs, Boosting Efficiency, and Promoting Shared Prosperity
In agricultural and rural work, the ultimate measure of success is increasing farmers' income. The Ninth Plenary Session of the 12th Sichuan Provincial Committee proposed making farmers' income growth the central task, implementing a plan to double farmers' income, with the goal of doubling the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the province compared to 2025 within 10 to 15 years. There are various ways to boost farmers' income, such as developing deep processing of agricultural products, promoting integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, and facilitating full employment of the rural labor force. However, when you get down to the field level, you have to ask: why are some plots of land not profitable? And why does some land end up abandoned?
"There are many factors, but changing mindsets has to be the first step. In 2020, I organized over 70 village meetings to promote a double-cropping rice and rapeseed seed production model, explaining the advantages and policies. But actions speak louder than words. That year, I took the lead in developing nearly 200 mu, showing the villagers the potential returns and getting them on board," said Ding Hongsheng, Party Secretary of Changyu Village, Lueping Town, Luojiang District, Deyang City. Drawing on Changyu Village's years of experience with double-cropping seed production and large-scale farming, Ding further explained, "During the planting process, increasing mechanization significantly reduces labor costs. Many family farms and moderately scaled smallholders are also increasing yields by actively selecting improved varieties and refining cultivation techniques, which, combined with standardized processing and procurement procedures, contributes to cost reduction and efficiency gains."
Today, Changyu Village's seed industry generates an income of 3,500 yuan per mu, with per capita income for farmers increasing by 1,500 yuan. The industry has drawn over 2,000 people from surrounding areas to participate and has successfully established a national-level seed production base. Across Sichuan, more and more farmers are diversifying their household operations to generate comprehensive income. "Abandoned land? That's not a problem here. You can see my phone hasn't stopped ringing; I'm talking to farmers about increasing investment and expanding production," said Kuang Shili, head of the Shaobing Family Farm in Lucheng Village, Sanjia Town, Anju District, Suining City. He put down the phone to tell our reporter that a bank had recently visited the village to offer low-interest loans to encourage farmers to scale up. "First, our green rice under contract is purchased at a price 8 to 12 yuan higher per 100 jin compared to ordinary paddy. Second, the crayfish raised in the paddy fields, harvested early and available for a long season, provides farmers with a substantial annual income." Kuang Shili noted that his family farm has helped facilitate the creation of over 20 other family farms in surrounding villages. In the core area of the Anju District Grain and Oil Modern Agricultural Park, where his farm is located, farmers' per capita disposable income is about 14% higher than the district average.
Sichuan is also building a strong modern agricultural science and technology support system, promoting innovation and the transfer of agricultural technology, advancing the revitalization of the seed industry, and vigorously developing smart agriculture. The core base of the Wanchun Science and Technology Innovation Demonstration Park in Gaoshan Village, Wanchun Town, Wenjiang District, Chengdu, focuses on cultivating two key crops: rice and rapeseed. "The base has developed 40 new rice lines that have passed provincial-level technical appraisal, and 139 new varieties have passed national or provincial approval. The breeding results are significant," said Xu Jinghong, Director of the Crop Research Institute at the Chengdu Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences. He added that the "Rong 18A" variety, bred at the base, is the most widely promoted disease-resistant pioneering germplasm in the southwestern rice region, and with 49 supporting varieties developed, it has been promoted on over 17 million mu cumulatively.
Focusing on the goal of doubling farmers' income, many regions in Sichuan are starting by changing production mindsets, achieving cost reduction and efficiency gains through scaled operations and integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. Combined with seed industry revitalization and agricultural technology empowerment, these efforts are broadening the channels for increasing farmers' income.
Key Driver: Extending the Chain to Reap Greater Benefits
Innovation in the production sector has opened up income opportunities for farmers. However, for a qualitative leap in agricultural efficiency, there must be a push to extend the value chain downstream to unlock its potential. "We must vigorously promote building a strong agricultural industry chain that connects the primary sector with processing and services, accelerating the transformation of agriculture into a modern, large-scale industry. Sichuan has made plans for developing specialty industries, building agricultural parks, and fostering agricultural product brands, aiming to cultivate vegetable, fruit, tea, and other industries worth over 100 billion yuan and create a number of leading national specialty products," said Jiang Gang, Director of the Provincial Agriculture and Rural Affairs Office and Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
In Tongjiang County, Bazhong City, nestled in the Daba Mountains, the focus is on the national geographic indication product, log-cultivated Tremella. The county is continuously driving the industry's upgrade from simple cultivation to a full-chain model. "We have built a 120,000-square-meter standardized processing plant, attracted over 150 new business entities, and developed seven series with more than 30 products, including tremella soup, freeze-dried tremella, tremella masks, and tremella wine. We are positioning ourselves in three sectors: food and beverages, cosmetics, and medicine and health. The dried tremella that was once sold by weight, once transformed into high-end consumer goods, has seen its added value multiply several times over," explained Wang Kailin, Deputy Director of the Bazhong Tongjiang Tremella (Edible Fungi) Industry Development Center.
"The full industry chain upgrade has brought even more tangible benefits to individual growers of log-cultivated tremella," Wang Kailin said. This was confirmed by Xie Shoubin, head of the Yun'er Manor Family Farm. "This year, I planted 10,500 log segments. Each segment yields nearly 350 grams of fresh tremella. My investment cost is around 250,000 yuan, and I estimate the annual output value will reach about 600,000 yuan," Xie said. In Bazhong, there are many other examples of "local specialties" transforming into "major industries." As the industry chain extends from cultivation to consumption, the pace of comprehensive agricultural upgrading is accelerating.
"Bazhong is optimizing its agricultural product structure by category and grade. For instance, focusing on Nanjiang yellow goat and Bashan beef cattle, we're building a product matrix of 'mass-market staples, specialty high-quality items, and niche supplements.' Leveraging Yunding tea and Tongjiang tremella, we're developing 'convenience, gift box, and cosmetic' series. And based on Qinba authentic medicinal herbs like honeysuckle and Chuanminshen, we're developing a series of wellness products. At the same time, we're promoting deep integration of agriculture with cultural tourism and study tours, creating an interconnected industrial system," said Pu Lang, Deputy Director of the Bazhong Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau. Across Bazhong, more specialty products are following the path of "planting/breeding-processing-services" for upgrade. With each step the industry chain extends, the space for farmers to increase their income widens.
"In the past, we sold paddy by the jin, but now we sell branded rice by the bag. 'Sanjia Rice,' processed through over ten steps like husking, milling, and color sorting, sells for 4 yuan per jin, doubling the added value compared to raw grain. The processing profits stay in the village and benefit the farmers," Kuang Shili told us. To ensure the premium quality of the rice, farmers use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides throughout the entire planting process, adopting a green "rice-crayfish symbiosis" model. Now, each mu in the Anju District Grain and Oil Modern Agricultural Park yields about 1,400 jin of mid-season and ratoon rice and around 300 jin of crayfish annually.
To push advantageous specialty agricultural industries towards the 100-billion-yuan and even trillion-yuan level, building a strong industry chain is the essential path. Across the vast fields of Bashu, two interconnected threads are taking shape. One is a tangible industrial chain rooted in production areas, connecting specialty products like premium rice, rapeseed oil, and peanut oil from field to market. The other is an intangible brand chain, led by public brands like "Tianfu Granary" and "Tianfu Rapeseed Oil," driving the clustered development of "1+1+8" 100-billion-yuan advantage industries like grain and oil, live pigs, pickled vegetables, and lemons. Impressive data confirms the strength of the industry: Sichuan has built 24 national-level modern agricultural industrial parks, ranking first in the country. In 2025, the operating revenue of agricultural product processing enterprises above a designated size exceeded 830 billion yuan, laying a solid foundation for agricultural industry chain development.
Key Factor: Leveraging Brand Strength to Expand Markets
If a complete industry chain is the skeleton, a strong brand is the industry's calling card. Sichuan continues to use brand building as a key tool to upgrade "Sichuan-brand" products from "selling raw materials" to "selling brands." Recently, the Agricultural Products Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced the first batch of national famous, special, new, and superior agricultural products for 2026, with 102 specialty brands from Sichuan on the list. As of June this year, Sichuan's total number of such national products reached 714, ranking third in the country. Sichuan will also continue to carry out brand promotion activities for the "Tianfu Granary" series, using this provincial public brand as the core engine to help more Sichuan agricultural products reach markets both within China and abroad.
With provincial public brands setting the stage, regional public brands performing, and business entities actively following suit, Sichuan's agricultural brand building has formed a coordinated development pattern. In Tongjiang County, the regional public brand value of "Tongjiang Tremella" exceeds 9.6 billion yuan, firmly placing it in the top tier of national edible and medicinal mushroom brands. The Qingyu pig, a national geographic indication product and a rare local breed, has also grown from a unique deep-mountain variety to a "golden brand" for the local rural industry. "The brand premium for Qingyu pigs comes from the dual support of product and channel," said Zhang Yuxian, Chairman of Bashan Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. On the product side, Qingyu pork is tender and flavorful with a distinct taste, offering clear differentiation and targeting the mid-to-high-end fresh and gift markets. On the channel side, the product is strategically placed in branded supermarkets, high-end restaurants, and membership e-commerce platforms, giving it stronger market pricing power. Through the Qingyu pig industry, Bashan Animal Husbandry has driven over 12,000 households in Tongjiang County to participate in supporting roles like pig farming, feed supply, and labor transport. Zhang Yuxian added: "Under the standardized breeding model we promote, farmers can reliably earn about 450 yuan more per pig. Besides income from the main breeding business, farmers can also find work at the conservation farm or processing plants, or receive dividends from land transfers. Households involved in the full Qingyu pig industry chain can increase their annual income by an average of 16,000 yuan."
Behind the halo of well-known brands lies the painstaking journey of countless agricultural entrepreneurs building a brand from scratch, a point echoed by Yang Yanxia, head of the Yumin Family Farm in Pidu District. "Building a brand is never easy," Yang recalled. In 2024, she introduced a colored wheat variety from Northwest A&F University for trial planting. Determined to produce high-quality, additive-free noodles, she once loaded 300 jin of colored wheat flour and drove over four hours to a processing plant in Jiange County, Guangyuan City, to test noodle production. Compared to regular wheat, which yields about 1,000 yuan per mu, her colored wheat can achieve an average output value of over 1,400 yuan per mu. The noodles made from it are superior in both nutritional value and taste. Now, she has established a stable processing partnership in Chengdu, focusing on polishing her product quality and building her own agricultural brand.
In 2023, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs officially launched the "Tianfu Granary" provincial-level public brand for agriculture. Marking this as a starting point, Sichuan is focused on writing the chapter on "local specialties," accelerating the upgrade of "Sichuan-brand" products into "special, refined, superior, and beautiful" offerings. This includes establishing a provincial agricultural brand catalog system, selecting 430 excellent agricultural brands for dynamic management, and cultivating 200 "Tianfu Granary" premium brands. The province has also issued an action plan to upgrade the "Tianfu Granary" brand, scheduling actions for standardized quality production at the source, strengthening the brand matrix with premium products, and systematic institutional support, building a complete system for the cultivation, development, and protection of "Sichuan-brand" agricultural products.
From guarding the farmland red line to innovating planting models, from reducing costs and increasing efficiency to establishing brand recognition, Sichuan is building its prosperity on a foundation of "bumper grain harvests" and a focus on "people's wealth." The province is painting a picture of common prosperity across the Bashu region, characterized by "secure granaries, full wallets, and beautiful villages," adding a vivid footnote to the modernization transformation of a major western agricultural province.
Commentary: The Win-Win Logic of Grain Farming and Income Growth
When discussing the profitability of grain farming, a common lament at the grassroots level is, "You work hard all year and barely make any money." There's a perception that protecting the farmland red line and ensuring grain production is an either/or choice against filling farmers' pockets and driving rural income. However, Sichuan's exploration of building a new, higher-level "Granary of Abundance" offers a different answer: ensuring production is not a ceiling on income growth, but rather the fundamental base for industrial potential. Many localities, when contemplating agricultural efficiency, instinctively think about adjusting planting structures and switching to cash crops, as if upholding the grain bottom line precludes profitability. But Sichuan's practice proves otherwise: the value of farmland has never been limited to the yield of a single season's grain. Pidu District's rice-garlic rotation model, where the rice season firmly upholds food production capacity and the garlic season generates nearly 10,000 yuan in net profit per mu, exemplifies a deep exploration of farmland's composite output capacity. By moving beyond the misconception that "ensuring production means sacrificing efficiency" and innovating planting models without violating the farmland red line, it's possible to find increased income within existing land.
The innovation in planting models at the production end addresses the superficial pain point of "unprofitable grain farming." Yet, the extension and upgrading of the industrial chain is the core secret to a qualitative leap in agricultural efficiency. For a long time, the root cause of low agricultural efficiency has been the industry's stagnation in the initial stage of "selling raw grain" and "selling raw materials," with most of the value-added potential leaking into downstream links. Tongjiang tremella, for example, expanded from dried goods sold by weight to a series of food, cosmetic, and wellness products, multiplying its added value. Ordinary paddy, when deeply processed into a branded rice, can see its value increase several times over. When the industry chain extends from the planting and breeding end to the processing and branding end, agriculture is no longer a weak industry that only earns hard-earned money, but a wealth-creating industry capable of continuously unlocking its value-added potential. Food security is a matter of national importance, but it is never an isolated task. Only when those who grow grain find it profitable and promising can production capacity remain stable. Using production assurance as the foundation and efficiency enhancement as the key, and climbing the industrial chain step by step, agriculture can become an industry with a bright future, and the goal of common prosperity in rural areas can be more solidly achieved.