Four major changes in China's agricultural layout and production patterns

“Huguang ripe, the world fed” “grain transported from south to north” “facing the yellow earth with back to the sky”…… These traditional impressions of grain production are now undergoing earth-shaking changes.

First, grain-producing areas are rapidly shifting northward.

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are a traditional grain-producing region, long known for the saying “Huguang ripe, the world fed.” Today, although the five provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui) still rank among China's 13 major grain-producing areas, their contribution rate to national grain output has dropped significantly due to a marked reduction in rice planting area.

On the contrary, the Northeast region, historically regarded as a “barren land” beyond the passes, has now become the most important grain-producing area. At present, the autumn grain output of the four northeastern provinces (regions) (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia) accounts for nearly one-third of the national total. Heilongjiang, the “Great Northern Granary,” has been China's top grain-producing “champion” for four consecutive years since 2011, with annual total grain output accounting for more than one-tenth of the national total.

This has also led to the transformation of the millennia-old pattern of “grain transported from south to north” into “grain transported from north to south.” Historical records show that during the Ming Dynasty, more than 9,000 grain transport ships traveled northward along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. During the Qing Dynasty, as much as 4 million dan of grain was levied from the south and transported north each year. Today, among the 5 grain-exporting provinces (regions) nationwide - Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Anhui and Jiangxi - the Northeast accounts for 3.

Second, grain-producing areas are highly concentrated.

Data shows that China currently has 13 major grain-producing provinces and regions, whose output accounts for 75% of the national total. The Northeast has become one of the most concentrated production areas. Over the past decade, national grain output increased by 350 billion jin, with the four northeastern provinces (regions) contributing 40%. There are more than 400 major grain-producing counties with output exceeding 1 billion jin each, accounting for more than half of the national total. There are 33 major grain-producing cities (prefectures) with output exceeding 10 billion jin each, accounting for 43% of the national total. The concentration of grain-producing areas has increased markedly.

Third, the level of mechanized farming has risen substantially.

The traditional agricultural scenes of “ox plowing and horse harrowing,” “cracking whips and calls,” and farmers “facing the yellow earth with back to the sky” have now undergone fundamental changes. China's grain production has shifted from being primarily reliant on human and animal power to a historic new stage dominated by mechanization.

Data shows that China's comprehensive mechanization level for crop cultivation and harvesting exceeds 60%, nearly 30 percentage points higher than 10 years ago. Among them, the comprehensive mechanization rates for the three major grain crops - rice, wheat and corn - all exceed 75%. Wheat production in China has basically achieved full-process mechanization. The mechanized planting and harvesting levels for rice have risen from 6% and 27% a decade ago to 38% and 81% now, respectively, while the mechanized harvesting level for corn has increased from 2% to 55%.

Fourth, per-unit grain yield capacity continues to improve.

While grain sown area has declined over the years, China's grain output has still maintained consecutive years of bumper harvests, owing to the continuous improvement in per-unit yield capacity. Take rice, which accounts for more than one-third of China's output of the three major grain crops, as an example. Since 1949, China's per-mu rice yield has experienced two leaps: first, the dwarfing of rice in the late 1950s, and second, the promotion and application of hybrid rice after the mid-1970s. Both leaps increased the national per-mu rice yield by nearly 100 jin. China launched the super rice program in 1996, and currently, per-mu rice yield is breaking through toward 1,000 kg.