Smart farming transforms Jiangsu farmland from weather‑reliant to data‑driven production

According to Xinhua News, golden rice waves sweep across vast farmlands of Jiangsu Reclamation Area as September arrives. At the Suken Smart Agricultural Science and Technology Park within Linhai Farm, well‑organised high‑standard farmland stretches out across the terrain. Field sensors continuously gather on‑site data, multi‑spectral drones fly over fields to monitor crop conditions, automated irrigation systems adjust water supply remotely in response to soil moisture levels, and plant‑protection drones carry out targeted top‑dressing work. Technical staff activate irrigation equipment simply by tapping mobile‑phone applications. The deep integration of internet‑of‑things systems, big‑data analytics and artificial‑intelligence tools is driving Jiangsu Provincial Land Reclamation Group away from traditional weather‑dependent farming operations.

Its extensive block‑connected farmland covers more than one million mu. Total grain and edible‑oil output has stayed above 12.5 billion kilograms for seven successive years, generating sufficient produce to satisfy one month of provincial grain consumption. Steady harvests are underpinned by continuous advances in agricultural science and technology. Large‑scale land consolidation has been carried out across the reclamation zone throughout the 14th Five‑Year Plan period. Around 166 000 mu of farmland has been reorganised into larger regular plots, limiting ground elevation differences to less than three centimetres. Upgraded field drainage networks, rural tracks and shelter‑belts of trees have been completed simultaneously. Straw incorporation and organic fertiliser programmes gradually lift overall soil quality. Planned rotational ploughing operations break compacted plough layers, improving soil permeability. Measured soil organic‑matter levels have climbed steadily from 14.3 g/kg to 26.4 g/kg over the past 45 years, laying sound foundations for sustained cropping yields.

Seed innovation forms another vital pillar for local food security. The Jiangsu Provincial Seed Group, initiated by Jiangsu Reclamation, was formally inaugurated on 21 May with registered capital reaching 2 billion yuan, making it the province‑level seed enterprise with the largest registered capital nationwide. On the same day, a provincial seed‑industry science and innovation alliance was launched, uniting universities, research institutes, financial bodies and leading agricultural firms. Experts and academicians have been recruited to build up collaborative innovation frameworks across government, research institutions, universities and commercial operators. Adopting a three‑pronged model of independent research, joint technical tackling and open public tendering for key research tasks, the group has developed 54 new crop varieties independently during the 14th Five‑Year Plan term alongside 11 jointly‑bred cultivars and 37 introduced strains, obtaining 28 new‑plant variety rights. Popular grain varieties are already widely deployed across regional farmland. Looking ahead towards the 15th Five‑Year Plan period, the seed‑group aims to develop between six and eight ground‑breaking new cultivars, expanding seed promotion coverage up to 80 million mu and lifting its overall industrial standing among the country’s top three seed‑industry players.

High‑quality seeds and fertile farmland require matching machinery and refined agronomic practices. The comprehensive mechanisation rate within the reclamation zone has exceeded 98 per cent, covering every phase from soil preparation and sowing through to harvesting, grain drying and warehouse storage. Nearly 700 large‑scale harvesters together with over 1 700 smaller harvesting machines helped complete summer grain collection within little more than ten days this year. Sowing machinery fitted with BeiDou satellite navigation delivers an operational efficiency gain of between 20 and 30 per cent compared with older equipment. Precision wheat sowing techniques control seeding depth tightly between two and three centimetres, cutting seed consumption per mu while raising seedling emergence rates. Site‑specific cultivation guidelines are drawn up for crops planted over areas exceeding ten thousand mu, with supporting drying and grain‑storage infrastructure built accordingly.

Digital and intelligent upgrades reshape working patterns across the whole agricultural value chain. The group has put in place a specialised scientific innovation system, allocating an annual special fund of 100 million yuan for technological research. Joint research funds and modern‑biotechnology investment capital have also been established. Centimetre‑level high‑precision mapping has been finished for its million‑mu farmland estate, enabling integrated deployment of field‑condition monitoring, unmanned field inspection, remote irrigation and variable‑rate fertilisation. The Suken Smart Cloud platform has been selected as a national typical information‑technology innovation case within farming, forestry, animal‑husbandry and fisheries. A national‑level key laboratory focused on agricultural low‑altitude applications has also been set up. New operational frameworks will be rolled out over coming years under two dedicated action plans. One initiative links artificial‑intelligence technology with farming to establish an integrated command‑and‑dispatch system together with relevant application scenarios and supporting frameworks. The second action plan harnesses low‑altitude technologies for agricultural purposes. These programmes facilitate the shift of smart‑agriculture solutions from isolated demonstration trials towards large‑scale systematic implementation.

Scientific progress generated within the reclamation zone is also shared with surrounding rural communities. The group operates a province‑wide socialised agricultural‑service network, running 16 county‑level integrated farm‑service centres. Its annual fertiliser supply accounts for one‑sixth of provincial total volumes, and socialised farm‑management services now cover close to 17 million mu of farmland each year. By running practical demonstration plots and guiding local households, the enterprise extends technological benefits to family farms and individual grain‑growing operators across Jiangsu. Drone flights above ripening rice fields, working smart‑irrigation installations and wild egrets resting along field ridges combine to compose vivid rural landscapes, as high‑quality farming steadily moves forward across regional countryside.