On 2 June 2026, China’s State Council released Acceleration of Agricultural and Rural Modernization under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030). The document is China’s national roadmap for the agricultural sector. It translates the strategic priorities of the national Five-Year Plan, adopted in March 2026, into concrete measures – with the aim of “basically completing” agricultural modernization by 2035.
Four core objectives
The plan is built around four overarching goals: food security, agricultural technology and productivity, rural revitalization coupled with income growth, and green, sustainable development.
The common thread is a shift away from pure volume growth toward a more advanced system – based on better land, improved seeds, smart machinery, biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), and stronger value chains. The priority is no longer simply “producing more,” but “producing more with better land, better seeds, better machines, better disease control, and stronger logistics.”
The key indicators to 2030
Table 1 of the plan sets out concrete targets for the period from 2025 to 2030:
- Total grain production: from 695 to 725 million tons
- Total meat production: stable at above 95 million tons
- Contribution of science and technology to agriculture: from 64% to 67%
- Self-sufficiency rate for core germplasm resources: from 81% to 85%
- Mechanization rate for major crops: from 76.7% to above 80%
- Gross value added of the agricultural sector: from RMB 20.6 to 25.8 trillion
- Labor productivity per worker: from RMB 60,000 to 80,000
- Green agricultural development index: from 79.5 to 83
- Ratio of processing value to primary output: from 2.65 to 3.0
- Treatment rate for rural wastewater: from 55% to 70%
- Urban–rural disposable income ratio: from 2.31, continuing to narrow
Production capacity and food security
Food security remains the political anchor. A new program aims to raise grain production capacity by 50 million tons. The focus is on around 720 key grain-producing counties, the expansion of high-standard farmland, modernized irrigation, and stronger disaster prevention.
With its “Big Food” concept, China is also betting on diversified food sources – from fisheries and aquaculture to forest economy and edible fungi.
Technology as the engine
Chapter by chapter, the plan stresses technological self-reliance. Priorities include revitalizing the seed industry, developing high-end agricultural machinery, and building an AI- and data-driven “smart agriculture.”
Planned measures include gene editing, bio-manufacturing (microbial proteins, biopesticides, RNA-based agents), high-power tractors of 400 horsepower and above, slope-adapted machinery, and a drone fleet of more than 350,000 units.
Green transformation and rural areas
The ecological transition is increasingly becoming a business requirement: reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, green pest control, manure utilization, agricultural carbon footprint management, and carbon trading in agriculture.
In parallel, rural infrastructure, healthcare, elderly care, and digital networks are to be expanded in order to narrow the urban–rural gap.
What it means for business
For agribusiness, opportunities arise in high-standard farmland, irrigation, seed innovation, biological inputs, animal health, dairy processing, cold chains, smart machinery, and agricultural AI. At the same time, localization pressure is growing: import substitution, the building of national champions, data localization, and price competition from Chinese suppliers.
For foreign companies – including German ones – the best prospects lie where they bring hard-to-replace technology: technology licensing, joint R&D, local manufacturing, high-end components, precision systems, biologicals, and digital compliance tools. German providers of smart agri-machinery, vegetable seeds, green crop protection, seed treatment, and digital decision tools could benefit in particular. Those relying solely on simple exports or legacy products, by contrast, will come under pressure.
Regulatory hurdles include stricter data localization requirements and the obligation for agricultural machinery, vehicles, and drones to use China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system rather than GPS. In crop protection and biological inputs, price pressure from rapidly catching-up Chinese competitors is also intensifying.
Conclusion
China is pursuing a model of “high-capacity, technology-driven, green, and industrialized agriculture.” Its success will depend on how well food security, rural revitalization, environmental protection, and international cooperation can be reconciled. The coming five years are likely to bring accelerated modernization of farming systems – and the global agricultural industry will be watching closely.
