Central China’s Hunan Province has achieved an unprecedented agricultural milestone, reporting a record-breaking grain harvest of 31 million tons for the 2025 growing season. The announcement came from Provincial Governor Mao Weiming during the delivery of the annual government work report at the provincial legislative session in Changsha on Tuesday.
Throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Hunan maintained exceptional agricultural stability with over 4.73 million hectares of cultivated grain land. The province solidified its national leadership position in both rice and oil-tea camellia production during this period.
Looking toward the forthcoming five-year plan commencing in 2026, Hunan has established ambitious agricultural targets. The province plans to maintain approximately 4.77 million hectares under grain cultivation while simultaneously strengthening food security measures and advancing agricultural technological capabilities.
The provincial strategy emphasizes achieving breakthroughs in critical agricultural technologies and enhancing rural industrial development momentum. This comprehensive approach aims to create a more resilient and technologically advanced agricultural sector.
Duan Zhao, head of a professional rice planting cooperative in Yiyang and provincial congress deputy, provided concrete evidence of this technological transformation. His cooperative has significantly improved profitability through mechanization and technological implementation.
By adopting innovative cultivation techniques including simplified rice farming methodologies and integrated pest management systems, the cooperative has successfully reduced production costs while increasing local farmer incomes. The operation now utilizes a fleet exceeding 70 specialized machines, enabling fully automated processes from seedling transplantation to precision fertilization and pesticide application, culminating in an automated drying system.
“The synergistic combination of advanced machinery and cutting-edge agricultural technology has reduced rice planting costs by 100 to 150 yuan per mu (0.067 hectares),” Duan confirmed, demonstrating the tangible economic benefits of Hunan’s agricultural modernization efforts.