A worker removes Pachira aquatica leaves in a greenhouse at a Pachira aquatica industry demonstration zone of Hepu county in Beihai city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 19, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's agriculture sector has achieved steady progress in green development, according to the China Agricultural Green Development Report 2024, which was released at a conference in Beijing on Friday.

The report was released by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the China Agricultural Green Development Research Society. It provides crucial support and reference for the further implementation of the country's green development concepts, and facilitates the high-quality development of agriculture and rural areas characterized by ecological priority level, resource efficiency and green, low-carbon practices, according to Huang Sanwen, president of CAAS and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at the conference.

Significant progress was seen across multiple areas in 2024, the report shows. China continuously enhanced the quality and efficiency of its high-standard farmland construction while strengthening the ecological protection and pollution control of existing farmland, resulting in over 80 million mu (about 5.33 million hectares) of high-standard farmland being built or upgraded in 2024.

China advanced its third national soil survey last year, completing the collection of over 2.87 million sampling points and 3.11 million samples, according to the report.

It also improved its biological agricultural resource protection management system. The national agricultural germplasm resources census in 2024 revealed the permanent preservation of 580,000 crop germplasm resources, 1.4 million livestock and poultry genetic materials, and 270,000 strains of microbial agricultural resources.

Sustained reductions of chemical inputs were achieved through strengthened actions. According to the report, China's application of chemical fertilizers totaled 49.88 million tonnes in 2024 -- a 5% decrease from 2020. Pesticide use in crop farming amounted to 242,000 tonnes (100% purity), maintaining a downward trend for an eighth consecutive year.

Mechanization levels continued to rise, with the comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation, planting and harvesting exceeding 75% nationally, the report shows.

It also reveals a robust increase in farming incomes. The per capita disposable income of rural residents was 23,119 yuan (about $3,220) in 2024, which was up 6.3% year on year in real terms -- 1.9 percentage points higher than the growth rate among urban residents.

Progress was also made in digital resource management. China advanced the systematic digital management of its agricultural resources and strengthened its capacity to support long-term, fixed observation experiment stations for its green agricultural development, according to the report.