Jiangsu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a circular on effective mechanized production as the busy farming season approaches. The document emphasizes on making good use of machinery and equipment to ensure a bumper grain harvest is fully collected and safely stored while improving the efficiency of summer rice transplanting.

The circular orders a comprehensive survey of the number of wheat harvesters and their possibility for cross-regional operation. It encourages the use of high-efficiency machinery to reduce grain losses in mechanical harvesting and requires the formulation of emergency plans in case of rainy days to ensure that all ripened fields will be harvested in a timely manner.

For grain drying, local authorities are required to provide a list of available resources to farmers and make on-site grain drying plans on a county basis. For regions with severe shortages, more land will be allocated for drying facilities with the supplement of mobile equipment to ensure every newly harvested grain is dried on time.

In terms of summer rice transplanting, local authorities are instructed to leverage agricultural service centers for intensive seedling cultivation, promote the use of lightweight transplanters equipped with ditchers, and encourage farmers to adopt mechanized rice transplanting for stable and high yield, particularly in places with favorable conditions like areas around the Taihu Lake, along the Jiangbei Canal and the Tongyu River. This year, as part of the move to implement the “141” AI-empowered agriculture action plan, AI will be playing a vital facilitating role in summer farming as demonstrated by the application of seedling inspection robots, intelligent seedling lines, and Beidou-navigated rice transplanters, as well as intelligent monitoring devices for harvesting and drying.

In addition, an inspection and rectification campaign will be carried out across the province to ensure workplace safety of operating agricultural machinery. The transport, public security, and other relevant authorities will work together to ensure the implementation of free passage policy for cross-region farming machines; service stations for cross-region mechanized harvesting will be set up; and preferential policies for agricultural machinery fuels will be put into effect. Meteorological departments will also contribute to the collective endeavor to ensure a safe and orderly summer farming.