Accelerated Advancement of Building an Agricultural Powerhouse and Steady Progress in Comprehensive Rural Revitalization

Accelerated Advancement of Building an Agricultural Powerhouse and Steady Progress in Comprehensive Rural Revitalization

—Series Report IX on Achievements in Economic and Social Development during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

National Bureau of Statistics, June 4, 2026

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core adhered to the principle of prioritizing the issues related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and continued to prioritize the development of agriculture and rural areas. All localities and government departments resolutely implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council concerning work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Anchored on the goal of building an agricultural powerhouse, they effectively promoted comprehensive rural revitalization, accelerated the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, and promoted stable, orderly, and high-quality agricultural and rural development, thus providing solid support for high-quality economic and social development.

I. Steady Progress in the Agricultural Economy with Optimized Industrial Upgrading

(I) Steady Growth in Agricultural Output Value and Continuous Enhancement of Development Resilience

Agriculture serves as the foundation for national economic and social development, with production capacity, quality, and efficiency being important pillars for consolidating this foundation. In 2025, China’s total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery reached RMB 16.6 trillion, an increase of RMB 2.8 trillion over 2020, up 27.0% at comparable prices, with an average annual growth of 4.9%. By sector, all sub-sectors maintained stable growth from 2021 to 2025, with average annual growth rates of 4.0% for farming, 6.4% for forestry, 5.7% for animal husbandry, 4.4% for fishery, and 7.9% for auxiliary activities. The resilience of the agricultural economy continued to strengthen, and the foundational role of agriculture became more solid.

(II) Transformation and Upgrading of Agricultural Development and Continuous Optimization of Industrial Structure

China focused on building a diversified food supply system that coordinates grains, cash crops, and forage crops, and integrates farming, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery. Based on their resource endowments and local conditions, all localities and government departments developed facility agriculture, specialty forestry and fruit cultivation, and deep-sea aquaculture, breaking the traditional single pattern of planting and breeding structure and promoting the coordinated development of all agricultural sectors. In 2025, the shares of output value for agriculture, forestry, fishery, and auxiliary activities for agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery in the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery were 55.5%, 5.0%, 10.4%, and 6.6% respectively, up 3.4, 0.7, 1.1, and 1.5 percentage points from 2020. The share of animal husbandry was 22.5%, down 6.7 percentage points. With the accelerated development of modern, green, quality, and brand agriculture, the comprehensive production capacity of all agricultural sectors was further enhanced, and the structure became more coordinated and rational. A sound industrial structure that balances grains and forage, integrates farming with animal husbandry, and combines forestry with fishery gradually took shape. Industrial coordination and risk resistance were significantly enhanced, demonstrating remarkable achievements in the transformation and upgrading of agricultural development.

(III) Accelerated Advancement of “Agriculture to the Forefront and Industry to Follow” with Extended Industrial Chains

China vigorously promoted the integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas, upholding the principle of “grain planting to the forefront and produce to follow” and “agriculture to the forefront and industry to follow.” Great efforts were made to develop primary processing, intensive processing, and comprehensive utilization and processing of agricultural products, expanding agriculture from a single production function to multiple composite functions. The agricultural product processing industry improved in quality and upgraded, industrial chains continued to extend, value chains steadily improved, and benefit chains became increasingly close-knit. In 2025, there were over 100,000 agricultural product processing enterprises above designated size nationwide, with estimated main business income of RMB 18 trillion, and the processing conversion rate of major agricultural products reached 75% ^[1]. Integrated industrial development has become a core pathway to breaking through bottlenecks in traditional agricultural development and improving comprehensive agricultural efficiency.

II. New Peak in Grain Production, Ensuring Strong Food Security Safeguards

(I) Breakthrough in Grain Output, Solidifying the Foundation of the Nation’s Granary

China deeply implemented the national food security strategy, simultaneously focusing on production capacity and output, production ecology, and yield increase and income growth, consolidating the foundation of food security in all respects. In 2025, the national grain sown area reached 1.791 billion mu, maintaining growth for six consecutive years, an increase of 39.61 million mu from 2020, reaching the highest level since 1979. With the in-depth implementation of the food crop production strategy based on farmland management and application of technology, China’s grain yield per unit area continued to improve. In 2025, the national grain yield per mu reached 399 kilograms, up 17 kilograms from 2020, an increase of 4.4%. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the increase of yield per unit area contributed 67% to the increase in grain production, with this figure exceeding 90% in 2025, demonstrating continuously enhanced comprehensive grain production capacity. In 2024, China’s grain production exceeded 1.4 trillion jin for the first time, and in 2025, it remained above this level, reaching 1.43 trillion jin, an increase of 90.8 billion jin from 2020, up 6.8%. This milestone achievement consolidated the foundation of national food security, laid a solid foundation for accelerating agricultural and rural modernization and solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization, provided strong support for consolidating and expanding the momentum of economic recovery and sustained high-quality development, and made positive contributions to stabilizing the global grain market and safeguarding world food security.

(II) Continuous Optimization of Planting Structure for Balanced Development of Grain Varieties

With the upgrading of residents’ consumption and adjustments in dietary structure, China has placed greater emphasis on optimizing the internal structure of grain and balancing supply and demand across varieties. The combined output of rice and wheat has remained stable at around 690 billion jin, firmly securing the absolute safety baseline for staple grains. The expansion of the high-yielding crop, corn, yielded significant results. By 2025, the sown area of corn increased by 55.45 million mu compared to 2020, with output increasing by 81.1 billion jin. The contribution of increased corn production to the overall grain increase approached 90%, achieving a dynamic balance between the absolute security of staple grains and the stable supply of feed grains. The production capacity of soybeans and oil crops continued to improve. In 2022, soybean output exceeded 20 million tons, reaching 20.91 million tons in 2025, an increase of 1.31 million tons compared to 2020, with the sown area exceeding 150 million mu for four consecutive years, and China’s “oil bottle” being increasingly filled with domestically produced oils.

(III) Stabilizing Role of Major Producing Areas Reinforced and Contribution of Non-Major Areas Strengthened

China’s regional distribution of grain production was adjusted and optimized, with production capacity steadily improving in both major and non-major producing areas, jointly shouldering the responsibility for food security. In 2025, the output of China’s 13 major grain-producing areas ^[2] reached 1.1 trillion jin, an increase of 58.5 billion jin from 2020, accounting for 77.7% of the nation’s total grain output. Their contribution to the grain output increase during the 14th Five-Year Plan period was 64.4%, continuously consolidating their role as the “cornerstone” for stable and increased grain production. Non-major producing areas also firmly shouldered their food security responsibilities, effectively reversing the downward trend in grain output through measures such as curbing the non-grain use of cultivated land and restoring abandoned farmland. In 2025, grain output in non-major producing areas reached 319.3 billion jin, an increase of 32.3 billion jin from 2020, accounting for 22.3% of the national total and contributing 35.6% to the increase in grain production during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

(IV) Production Conditions Steadily Improved with Solid Foundation for Stable and High Yields

China continuously consolidated the foundation of grain production, vigorously advanced the construction of high-standard farmland, improved irrigation and water conservancy facilities, strengthened support from agricultural technology and equipment, and continuously enhanced agricultural quality, efficiency, and competitiveness. By the end of 2025, the cumulative area of high-standard farmland built nationwide exceeded 1 billion mu, and the irrigated area of cultivated land nationwide exceeded 1.09 billion mu, an increase of over 53 million mu from the end of 2020. By the end of 2024, over 27 million small-scale farmland water conservancy facilities, over 10 million kilometers of canals, and over 12 million kilometers of field roads ^[3] had been built nationwide, leading to continuous improvements in farmland infrastructure. The level of agricultural mechanization rose steadily. In 2025, the comprehensive mechanization rate for crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting nationwide reached 76.7% ^[4], effectively alleviating the traditional agricultural reliance on weather conditions.

III. Stable Production and Guaranteed Supply of Important Agricultural Products, with a Diverse and Rich Food Supply

(I) Improved Quality and Efficiency of Cash Crops, Enriching Variety on Residents’ Tables

The production of major agricultural products in China developed steadily, with ample supply of cotton, oil, sugar, fruits, vegetables, and tea of high quality, and a diversified food supply system gradually taking shape. In 2025, the sown area of cash crops in China reached 820 million mu, up 7.4% from 2020. The structure of grain and cash crop production became more balanced, with cash crops accounting for 31.3% of the total sown area of all crops, up 1.0 percentage point from 2020. By variety, vegetable (including edible fungi) output reached 890 million tons in 2025, up 18.6% from 2020; fruit and melon output reached 350 million tons, up 23.4%; oilseed output reached 40.96 million tons, up 14.2%; tea output reached 3.92 million tons, up 33.6%; and cotton output reached 6.64 million tons, up 12.4%. While ensuring stable and secure supply, China placed greater emphasis on variety improvement, quality enhancement, standardized production, and the building of regional public brands. The efficient supply of off-season, high-quality, and cross-regional agricultural products enriched the tables of urban and rural residents, effectively meeting diversified consumption demands.

(II) Steady Growth in Livestock Production and Ample Supply of Meat, Eggs, and Milk

China’s comprehensive livestock production capacity continued to strengthen, with output of meat, eggs, and milk steadily increasing. In 2025, the total national output of meat reached 101.92 million tons, exceeding 100 million tons for the first time, an increase of 24.43 million tons or 31.5% compared to 2020. Pork output reached a record high. In 2025, pork output was 59.38 million tons, an increase of 18.25 million tons or 44.4% compared to 2020. The production of beef and mutton developed steadily. In 2025, beef and mutton output reached 12.97 million tons, up 1.32 million tons or 11.4% from 2020, accounting for 12.7% of total meat output. Milk output reached 40.91 million tons, up 6.51 million tons or 18.9% from 2020. Poultry farming developed rapidly. In 2025, poultry meat output reached 28.37 million tons, up 4.76 million tons or 20.2% from 2020; poultry egg output reached 34.98 million tons, up 0.30 million tons or 0.9% from 2020. China’s per capita consumption of meat and poultry eggs both exceeded the world average, with the supply capacity of livestock and poultry products continuously reinforced and the modernization level of animal husbandry markedly improved.

(III) High-Quality Development of the Forestry Industry and Steady Progress in Modern Fisheries

China actively applied an all-encompassing approach to agriculture and food, sourcing food from forests and from rivers, lakes, and seas. The forestry product industry, edible fungi, specialty forest-based health and wellness, and collection industries continued to grow, while the fishery industry underwent transformation and upgrading. In 2025, national timber output reached 139.37 million cubic meters, up 35.9% from 2020. Output of forestry products such as chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and oil-tea camellia seeds all grew relatively rapidly. Fishery resources were reasonably developed and utilized, with accelerated development of large-water ecological fisheries and deep-sea aquaculture, and the accelerated construction of “blue granaries.” In 2025, China’s aquatic product output reached 76.57 million tons, up 16.9% from 2020, with a rich variety and ample supply of aquatic products.

(IV) Green Transformation of Agricultural Development with Continuous Improvement in Quality and Safety

China accelerated the green transformation of its agricultural development model, effectively safeguarding the “safety on the tip of the tongue” for the people. Technologies such as green pest control and scientific fertilization were widely promoted. The application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides decreased for consecutive years, while their utilization efficiency steadily improved. In 2025, the national application of agricultural chemical fertilizers was 49.71 million tons, a decrease of 2.79 million tons or 5.3% from 2020; pesticide usage in crop farming was 237,500 tons, a decrease of about 10,000 tons from 2020. Ecological recycling agriculture developed steadily, and the resource utilization level of agricultural waste continued to rise. In 2025, China’s agricultural film recovery and disposal rate exceeded 85%, the comprehensive utilization rate of straw remained stable at over 88%, and the comprehensive utilization rate of livestock and poultry manure reached 80.1%. Supervision over the quality and safety of agricultural products was strengthened, and the supply capacity of green agricultural products steadily increased. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the percentage of agricultural products that passed quality and safety tests remained above 97.5%, and the total number of green, organic, famous, special, excellent and new, and geographical indication agricultural products exceeded 86,000. [5]

IV. Reform and Innovation in Systems and Mechanisms and Flourishing of Modern Agriculture

(I) Orderly Advancement of Land Transfer and Improved Quality and Efficiency of Scale Operations

China continued to consolidate and improve the basic rural management system, improved the system of separating the ownership, contract rights, and management rights of rural contracted land, further liberalized management rights, and promoted land transfers in a steady and orderly manner. Information service platforms for land transfers at the county, township, and village levels, as well as dispute mediation and arbitration systems, were established and improved across the board, fully safeguarding the legal property rights of both parties to the transfers. The continued advancement of land transfers effectively promoted the steady development of appropriately scaled operations and significantly improved the level of agricultural scale operations. In 2024, China achieved a large-scale pig farming rate of over 70% and a large-scale broiler chicken farming rate of over 88%, with the accelerated standard, large-scale, and intensive development of agriculture.

(II) Vigorous Development of New Agricultural Business Entities and Continuous Improvement of Socialized Service Systems

New agricultural business entities in China continued to grow and develop, becoming the “main force” in modern agricultural production and providing an important pathway to solving the problems of “who farms the land” and “how to farm the land.” By the end of 2025, more than 2 million farmer cooperatives and nearly 4 million family farms had been cultivated nationwide. Agricultural socialized services developed rapidly, with 1.11 million operational service entities offering socialized services, covering an annual service area of over 2.29 billion mu-times and serving nearly 93 million small rural households. The scope of services expanded from major grain crops to cash crops, from crop farming to livestock breeding, and from in-production to pre-production and post-production stages, effectively facilitating the organic integration of small rural households with modern agriculture. [6]

(III) Innovation and Breakthroughs in Production Models with Emergence of New Business Formats

With the improvement of agricultural modernization, new agricultural production models, represented by protected agriculture, developed rapidly. In 2025, the area of protected agriculture in China reached 39.96 million mu, making China the world’s largest in this field, and driving quality and efficiency improvements in the production of meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, fruits, tea, and aquatic products. With the continuous improvement of rural information infrastructure, digital technologies, the Internet of Things, and other technologies converged with the real economy of agriculture and rural areas. Rural e-commerce developed rapidly, and new retail models such as live-streaming sales, direct “cloud warehouse” delivery from production areas, and community group purchasing for direct sourcing emerged. Relying on lucid waters, lush mountains, and local culture, cross-sector new business forms such as leisure agriculture, immersive rural tourism, and high-end boutique homestay economies flourished, driving the transformation of agriculture into a composite modern industry integrating production, living, and ecology, and injecting new momentum into rural economic and social development.

(IV) Accelerated Innovation in Agricultural Science and Technology, with Effective Translation of Achievements into Practice

Scientific and technological innovation is the core driving force leading agricultural modernization. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, significant breakthroughs were made in multiple “bottleneck” areas of agricultural science and technology, with China’s overall agricultural scientific and technological innovation advancing to the world’s leading ranks. By the end of 2025, the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress in China exceeded 64%. Urgently needed crop varieties such as high-quality rice with high production efficiency and water-saving and disease-resistant wheat were bred, with domestically bred varieties accounting for over 95% of the crop area and the improved variety coverage rate exceeding 96%, ensuring that “China’s grain is mainly grown with Chinese seeds.” Domestically bred varieties such as white-feathered broilers, Huaxi cattle, and South American white shrimp broke foreign monopolies, with market shares of domestic breeding sources for livestock and poultry, aquatic products, and vegetables accounting for more than 80%, 86%, and 91%, respectively. A total of 57,400 agricultural technology extension institutions at various levels were established nationwide, employing about 460,000 agricultural technicians, who served as the main force linking mature and applicable technologies to the fields, and bridging the “last kilometer” of transforming scientific and technological achievements into practical applications. [7]

V. Accelerated Development of Rural Industries, Leading to Prosperous and Well-off Lives for Farmers

(I) Flourishing Industries Enriching the People, with Collective Economy Growing and Strengthening

With the quality improvement of specialty industries and the deep integration of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries as the main thread, China improved the rural industrial system, laying a solid industrial foundation for comprehensive rural revitalization. Leveraging local resource endowments, localities strengthened their “local specialties,” tapped into the diverse value of rural areas, and steadily increased the scale and benefits of the leisure agriculture sector. In 2024, the number of households engaged in leisure agriculture and rural tourism reached 587,000 nationwide, with operating income approaching RMB 900 billion, making it one of the most active sectors in rural industry in terms of business model integration and consumption growth. [8] Through property rights system reform, resource integration, and factor activation, China’s rural collective economies continued to develop, accumulating increasingly abundant collective assets and significantly enhancing their capacity to serve rural development. By the end of 2024, 97.8% of China’s villages had collective income. In 2024, the average operating income of rural collectives nationwide was RMB 274,000.

(II) Steady Increase in Farmers’ Income, with Achievements in Poverty Alleviation Continuously Consolidated

The Chinese path to modernization is one of common prosperity for all, and enabling the broad masses of the people to share the fruits of reform and development is an essential requirement of socialism. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in China maintained rapid growth, with continuous improvements in farmers’ living conditions in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and the urban-rural gap continued to narrow. In 2025, the per capita disposable income of rural residents reached RMB 24,456, up 6.0% in real terms (after deducting price factors) from the previous year, with the income growth rate of farmers exceeding the national average; the urban-rural income ratio (with rural residents’ income set at 1) narrowed from 2.56 in 2020 to 2.31. China adhered to consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation and effectively linking them with rural revitalization, maintaining the overall stability of assistance policies, and providing continued support to areas and people lifted out of poverty to give them a leg up, thereby firmly holding the bottom line against large-scale relapse into poverty. During the transition period, the per capita disposable income growth rate of farmers in counties that have been lifted out of poverty continued to exceed the national average, and the number of employed people among those lifted out of poverty remained stable at over 30 million for five consecutive years, laying a more solid foundation for common prosperity.

VI. Steady Progress in Rural Development, Building a Beautiful and Harmonious Countryside for People to Live and Work In

(I) More Complete Infrastructure, Ensuring High-Quality and Convenient Rural Life

China’s rural infrastructure network became more complete, with significantly enhanced support capacity in water, electricity, roads, and communications. The national rural road transport network was further improved, with accelerated construction of well-built rural roads subject to good administration, maintenance and operation, and significantly improved transportation accessibility. By the end of 2024, the total length of rural roads reached 4.64 million kilometers, accounting for 84.5% of the national road network, with asphalt and concrete roads connecting over 30,000 townships and more than 500,000 administrative villages across the country; the proportion of classified rural roads reached 97.3%, and the proportion of premier, good, and medium roads reached 94.8%, basically forming a rural transport network that connects villages and towns to the outside world. The construction of optical fiber networks and 5G networks in rural areas continued to advance, with continuous improvement in network coverage and application depth, and digital technology-driven rural development achieved significant progress. By the end of 2024, fixed broadband internet coverage had been basically achieved in rural areas, with 92% of villages covered by 5G networks, and the number of households with fixed broadband internet access reached 150 million, accounting for 58.5% of permanent households, accelerating the narrowing of the urban-rural digital divide. In 2025, the national rural online retail sales exceeded RMB 3 trillion for the first time, with online retail sales of agricultural products reaching RMB 783.3 billion, and online sales channels for agricultural products becoming increasingly smooth.

(II) Public Services Optimized and Improved to Better Ensure People’s Well-being

China actively promoted the extension of public services and coverage of social undertakings to rural areas, accelerating the improvement of basic public services in rural areas. Educational and medical resources were channeled toward the grassroots, with high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education. By the end of 2024, the proportion of full-time teachers in rural compulsory education schools with a bachelor’s degree or above reached 79.3%. The construction of compact county-level medical communities was accelerated, significantly improving the accessibility of rural residents to quality medical services near their homes. By the end of 2024, 90.2% of villages had health clinics, and 66.0% had licensed (assistant) physicians. The rural public cultural system became increasingly robust, with quality cultural resources reaching the grassroots directly. By the end of 2024, 85.3% of villages had reading rooms (libraries), and 95.1% had sports and fitness facilities. Convenience services became more accessible, with “Internet Plus Government Services” extending to rural areas, and agricultural and rural-related services becoming available online and via mobile apps. By the end of 2024, 97.9% of villages nationwide had village (community) service stations, and about 70% had smart integrated management service platforms, with transparency in village affairs, consultation and deliberation efficiency, and democratic oversight capacity continuously improving.

(III) Significant Improvement in Living Environment and Refreshed Village Appearance

China deeply implemented the rural living environment improvement campaign, focusing on the rural toilet revolution, domestic sewage and waste treatment, and village appearance improvement, giving rural areas a fresh look. Tailored to local conditions, the toilet revolution was solidly advanced, with the penetration rate of sanitary toilets in rural areas steadily increasing and the quality of toilet renovation effectively improved. The “Three Clean-ups and One Improvement” campaign yielded notable results, with the rural living environment transforming from “beauty in one place” to “beauty across the board.” By the end of 2024, 93.8% of villages were covered by systems for the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of domestic waste, and 66.6% had centralized or partially centralized sewage treatment services, making ecologically livable and beautiful villages more vibrant and prominent.

(IV) Effective Enhancement of Social Etiquette and Civility in Rural Areas and Improvement in Rural Governance

Under a governance framework guided by Party building, based on self-governance, underpinned by the rule of law, and supported by intelligent governance, the rural governance system and mechanisms were continuously improved. The Party’s organizational system extended deeply into the grassroots, with systems such as the “four plus two” working method for deliberation and disclosure being fully implemented and producing tangible results. By the end of 2024, 52.4% of village Party branch secretaries held a junior college degree or above, with the building of village Party organization leadership teams continuously strengthened. A rural public legal service system was basically established, making legal service resources more accessible. By the end of 2024, 84.1% of villages had public legal service workstations; the number of demonstration villages for promoting democracy and rule of law at the county level and above exceeded 110,000, accounting for 21.8% of all villages. Legal education and publicity covered rural areas extensively, significantly improving farmers’ legal awareness and understanding of the rule of law.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s agricultural and rural economy showed steady progress and improvement, with all goals and tasks successfully accomplished, providing strong support for the overall stability of economic and social development. The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical stage for our endeavor to reinforce the foundations and push ahead on all fronts toward basically realizing socialist modernization. The problems related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers are both weak links that need to be addressed to consolidate the foundation and key priorities that require focused efforts. We must unite more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, accelerate agricultural and rural modernization, and solidly promote comprehensive rural revitalization. Our efforts should be directed toward building agriculture into a modern pillar sector, basically ensuring modern living conditions in rural areas, making farmers’ lives more prosperous and beautiful, and securing steady progress in building up China’s strength in agriculture.

Note:

[1] Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

[2]Major grain-producing areas include: Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Sichuan.

[3] Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

[4] Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

[5] Except for the data on the application amount of agricultural chemical fertilizers, the data in this paragraph are sourced from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

[6] Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

[7] Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

[8] Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

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