BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China has been strengthening the supporting role of talent and digital tools in rural industrial development as it advances agricultural modernization.
In the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency, guests discussed how the country is working to make returning migrant workers and tech-savvy young people a sustainable source of talent for agricultural modernization, and how to further apply digital technologies to farming.
In Dongjiao Village in central China's Hubei Province, growing numbers of young migrant workers are returning to their hometowns from cities. The village has been training them in technical skills and business management to help them become a new generation of professional farmers, said Hu Aiguo, the village's Party secretary.
The goal is to help more new farmers move from conventional farming to smart farming, Hu said.
In Dongjiao, young people who have returned from cities now use smart machinery and sensor networks, and grain growers have formed cooperatives to grow organic rapeseed for premium buyers.
"Village development depends on young people putting down roots," Hu said.
For Zhao Changbao, director of the Rural Economy Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, digital tools are also playing a bigger role in advancing smart farming.
"In the past, we farmed largely by watching the sky and the land and relying on experience," Zhao said. "What is changing now is that we are starting to rely on data, algorithms and screens."
The change is supported by improvements in rural digital infrastructure. More than 95 percent of China's administrative villages have 5G coverage, and rural internet penetration has reached 69.5 percent.
As rural digital infrastructure improves, the share of agricultural production guided by digital information is rising by about 2 percentage points a year in China, Zhao noted.
According to this year's "No. 1 central document" -- the first policy statement released by China's central authorities each year and often seen as an indicator of policy priorities -- China will further integrate AI into agricultural development.
In September, three government departments jointly unveiled an action plan to promote high-quality development of digital villages. It identifies smart farms, intelligent breeding and AI application scenarios as priorities for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
"Digital villages and AI are no longer optional," Zhao said. "They are essential to agricultural modernization." ■
