North and South synchronize efforts to seize farming opportunities: over 10% of early rice has been sown, strengthening the foundation of food security.

As temperatures steadily rebound, our country is entering a critical season for spring agricultural production. According to a recent agricultural situation briefing by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, across the country, spring-sown grain crops have completed 5.5% of the intended area, with progress basically in line with the same period last year. Of this, early rice seedling raising accounts for 75%, and sowing and transplanting account for more than 10%.

According to a report from CCTV News, North China’s Huanghuaihai region winter wheat has entered a critical jointing growth stage, while in the south, rice seedling raising and transplanting are unfolding across the board. Overall, supplies of spring farming inputs such as seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides are well guaranteed, and spring cultivation and field management are progressing smoothly.

To do a good job in spring cultivation and spring field management, from the central government to local authorities, departments and regions are coordinating and exerting concerted efforts, rolling out a series of targeted policy measures, covering policy subsidies, technology empowerment, front-line services, disaster prevention and mitigation, and more. These efforts lay a solid foundation for achieving the goal of producing around 1.4 trillion jin of grain over the course of the year.

Spring cultivation and spring field management proceed in an orderly manner

The Huanghuaihai region is China’s largest wheat-growing area by land and the one with the highest output. Winter wheat production is about 90% of the national total. Affected by the continuous stretches of rain during last autumn’s harvest in some areas, the Huanghuaihai region saw widespread late sowing of winter wheat, and the proportion of wintering-stage weak seedlings is higher than in typical years. With the weather warming up, winter wheat in the Huanghuaihai region has now entered the critical jointing growth stage.

A March 20 briefing from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on agricultural conditions shows that nationwide, the share of winter wheat classified as categories one and two seedlings exceeds 80%, up by more than 30 percentage points compared with before winter. Taking Hebei as an example, for more than 14k mu of winter wheat, seedling conditions across the province have continued to improve, with the proportion of category one and two strong seedlings reaching 87.3%, up by 37% compared with before winter.

Wang Wenfeng, a wheat analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence (Zhuochuang Information), told a reporter from 21st Century Economic Herald that the sowing time for wheat in 2025’s autumn planting was somewhat delayed, but thanks to timely watering and fertilization during the green-up period, in most regions winter wheat seedlings have been transforming relatively quickly, and overall growth is good.

Lu Fengyang, a wheat analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence’s agricultural products business division, further noted to a reporter from 21st Century Economic Herald that although late autumn rains last year caused widespread late sowing of wheat, under the combined effects of measures to promote weak seedlings to become strong and the mild winter weather, the share of categories one and two seedlings in major producing areas such as the Huanghuaihai region has risen significantly, and soil moisture conditions are generally good.

At the same time, Lu Fengyang said that overall seedling conditions for winter wheat in the Huanghuaihai region are stable and trending upward, but differences remain. Due to last year’s late sowing, seedling conditions were weaker in the early period; after spring efforts to promote strength, the share of categories one and two seedlings is generally above 80%, and the population size has basically met targets. However, there are cases where seedlings of category three (late sowing, weak roots, insufficient plant population) and fast-growing “vigorous” seedlings coexist. In some fields, stems and stalks are somewhat thin and root systems are somewhat weak, and resilience to adverse conditions needs to be improved.

In response, Lu Fengyang proposed that next steps still need to focus on classified, precision-based fertilizer and water management; strictly preventing late-spring cold snaps; unified prevention and control of diseases and pests; controlling excessive vigor and wrapping up chemical weed control; and tasks such as cleaning drainage ditches and regulating soil moisture.

Meanwhile, early rice seedling raising in the south is being carried out in full scale. Recently, a briefing from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on agricultural conditions showed that early rice seedling raising has reached 75%, and sowing and transplanting has exceeded 10%. In particular, in Hainan, sowing and transplanting has exceeded 80%; in Guangdong, seedling raising is basically finished and transplanting has reached 30%; in Guangxi, seedling raising is close to 90% and transplanting has reached 20%; in Hunan, seedling raising has exceeded 80%, and in Fujian it has exceeded 70%; in Jiangxi it is close to 60%; in Hubei it is close to 50%; and in Anhui it is above 30%. In many places, early rice seedling raising progress is faster than during the same period last year.

Ding Xinyu, a rice analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence’s agricultural products business division, told a reporter from 21st Century Economic Herald that early rice seedling raising progress is faster than last year, mainly due to favorable weather, expansion of centralized seedling raising, equipment upgrades to improve efficiency, early deployment and early action, and other factors.

Specifically, Ding Xinyu pointed out that regarding weather, this year’s spring onset featured higher temperatures and more sunny, favorable days, with no continuous low-temperature rainy weather like last year. As a result, the sowing window came earlier, emergence is faster, and seedling formation rates are higher. In terms of centralized seedling raising, the number of centralized seedling-raising centers and intelligent seedling-raising factories in Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and other places has increased sharply; with unified germination, unified sowing, and unified management, the process is faster and more uniform than individual farmers raising seedlings separately. On the equipment side, this year sees extensive use of automated sowing lines, intelligent germination rooms, and integrated seed soaking-and-germination machines, reducing germination time, speeding emergence, and improving performance. In addition, this year’s policies, subsidies, and technical guidance were put in place ahead of schedule. Farmers, cooperatives, and seedling-raising centers took advantage of sunny breaks to sow and raise seedlings early, and the overall timetable is tighter than last year.

Overall, Lu Fengyang said that against the backdrop of strong policy support, continuous advancement of high-standard farmland construction, and ongoing improvement of disaster prevention and mitigation systems, in most regions winter wheat growth is currently good, and the spring-sown area is stable—laying the foundation for steady grain output increase throughout the year.

Precision measures to safeguard spring cultivation and production

Spring cultivation and production are currently in a critical period, and on March 20, a national conference on spring agricultural production was held. The meeting made clear that agricultural technology personnel should be organized to move down to the front lines to guide categorized management of winter wheat fields, promote the upgrading of seedling conditions, and strive to secure a bumper summer grain harvest. Implement all policies and measures benefiting farmers, stabilize the grain-sowing area, ensure spring farming input supply and stable prices, and overall coordinate the production and supply of “vegetable basket” products. Continue to advance integrated efficiency gains through good land, good seeds, good machinery, and good agronomic practices; promote higher yields and better quality of grain and oil crops; optimize the structure of agricultural production and regional layout according to local conditions; advance high-quality construction of high-standard farmland; and make up for shortcomings in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief as quickly as possible.

For winter wheat, the Ministry of Finance, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, has coordinated and arranged 1.25 billion yuan in central government fiscal funds to support 11 major winter wheat grain-producing provinces to carry out related work such as promoting weak-to-strong seedlings. Priority support will be provided with appropriate subsidies for disaster prevention and stable production measures such as additional topdressing and application of seedling-promoting fertilizers to strengthen seedlings.

At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs continues to carry out technical guidance for wheat strong-spring management to promote stronger seedlings, formulates and issues a technical handbook on wheat strong-spring management to promote stronger seedlings, and organizes wheat expert teams and science-and-technology field teams to go deep into the front lines for technical guidance.

For early rice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has released the “2026 Technical Opinions on Early Rice Production in Southern China,” guiding localities to advance sowing-and-seedling-raising and field management according to local conditions, based on principles such as selecting good seeds and raising strong seedlings, to lay the foundation for a bumper early rice harvest.

Agricultural inputs are an important part of spring agricultural production. In February this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs convened a national video conference on spring field management and spring farming preparations, emphasizing the need to strengthen protection of agricultural inputs and agricultural machinery, improve coordination of supply and demand, promptly adjust imbalances, and ensure that various agricultural inputs are delivered to villages and stores as early as possible, without slackening efforts to crack down on fake and shoddy inputs.

Ding Xinyu said that this year’s agricultural inputs supply is better than in previous years, showing characteristics such as earlier coordination, sufficient reserves, and smooth distribution overall. Compared with the two prior years, some agricultural input prices were higher, but under policy regulation the rate of increase is controllable and fluctuations are small, showing a mild upward trend—without shortages or sharp price hikes.

Local authorities continue to work hard and implement precision measures to push spring cultivation and spring field management forward. On March 21, Anhui held a provincial conference on spring agricultural production, requiring that all efforts be focused on spring management and spring sowing; precision spring-farming services be delivered; the “Four-Excellent Two-Preferable” project be implemented in depth; efforts be made to raise yields over large areas; and “vegetable basket” stable production and supply be continuously secured. A decisive victory must be won in the first battle for a bumper grain and oil crop harvest for the entire year.

In the winter wheat regions, Hebei organized actions to promote strong-spring management, strengthen seedlings, and prevent disasters to secure a summer grain harvest. Efforts focus on promoting strong-spring management to strengthen seedlings, refining field-by-field yield-increase techniques, and making disaster reduction measures more practical. For example, in preventing and responding to meteorological disasters, priority is given to preventing disasters such as spring drought, “late-spring cold snaps,” “dry-hot winds,” and “rotted-field rains.” Guidance is provided to implement disaster prevention and mitigation measures such as irrigation to fight drought, using water to regulate temperature, hoeing and pressing, chemical regulation, and foliar fertilizer spraying.

In the southern rice regions, Hunan issued the “Notice on Doing a Good Job in Centralized Early Rice Seedling Raising and Area Implementation for 2026,” arranging centralized early rice seedling raising for 13.8 million mu across 74 key double-season rice counties. Not only that, Hunan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also organized 37 guidance teams to go deep into key counties, providing guidance for one and a half months, on a village-by-village and township-by-township basis, to ensure the province’s early rice area targets are fully implemented. It is understood that this year Hunan will also strongly promote the “six increases and two controls” technology. Subsidies will support 10.5 million mu of machine-transplanted and machine-sown operations, driving the reasonable dense planting coverage rate to above 60%. Loss rates from diseases and pests and from mechanical rice harvesting are strictly controlled.