Chongqing - From smarter farms to better village life, Chongqing aims to lead western China in agricultural and rural modernization by 2030, strengthening food security, raising incomes and expanding agricultural technology.

The edible mushroom industry in Qianjiang District, Chongqing. (Photo/Qianjiang District)

The targets form part of Chongqing's agricultural and rural modernization plan for 2026 to 2030, released at a news conference on July 28. The period corresponds to China's 15th Five-Year Plan, the national framework that guides economic and social development from 2026 through 2030.

Li Chunkui, director of the Chongqing Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Commission, said the plan contains 22 quantitative targets, four spatial development layouts and nine groups of major tasks.

Over the past five years, the added value of Chongqing's primary industry grew by an annual average of 4.5%, while rural residents' income increased by an average of 7.4% a year. About 65% of villages have met the city's standards for "harmonious and beautiful countryside" development.

The new plan places food security and the prevention of large-scale returns to poverty at the center of rural policy.

Chongqing aims to keep annual grain output above 22.1 billion jin (about 11.05 million tonnes). More than 90% of its land consists of mountains and hills, while per capita farmland is only 64% of the national average.

To improve productivity, the city plans to upgrade 10 million mu (about 667,000 hectares) of high-standard farmland and assign a digital code to each plot for management and monitoring. It will also promote combined rice-farming systems, including fields that produce both rice and fish or shrimp.

Such "rice-plus" farming can generate around four times the income of rice cultivation alone in districts including Dazu, Liangping and Tongnan, according to officials.

Chongqing will also expand monitoring beyond formerly registered poor households to cover any rural resident at risk of falling into poverty because of illness, accidents, natural disasters or income losses. Support will combine employment and industrial development programs with basic social assistance.

Farmers harvest citrus fruit in Qianjiang District, Chongqing. (Photo/Qianjiang District)

"Agricultural modernization depends on the modernization of agricultural science and technology," Li said. "For Chongqing's high-quality agricultural development, innovation is not an optional question, but a required one."

The city aims to raise the contribution of agricultural science and technology progress to more than 68% by 2030. Planned research priorities include high-yield rapeseed suitable for mechanical harvesting, local pig breeds, citrus varieties, smart farm machinery, biological materials and new food technologies.

Chongqing will also expand rural cooperative associations, known as nonghelian. These nonprofit organizations bring together cooperatives, family farms, agricultural companies and financial institutions to provide farmers with supplies, machinery, technical support, financing and access to markets.

By 2030, the system is expected to directly or indirectly serve more than 90% of Chongqing's small farmers.

The plan also sets targets for rural public services. By 2030, all eligible villages are expected to meet the city's "harmonious and beautiful countryside" standards, while tap-water coverage should reach 98%. Waste sorting should cover 95% of administrative villages, and rural medical consortium services should reach full coverage.