Technological innovation empowers XPCC's leading agricultural production

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has significantly enhanced agricultural innovation and equipment support, with the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress reaching 68 percent — four percentage points above the national average — officials said on Wednesday.

At a news conference in Urumqi, Xue Bin, vice-chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regional government and commander of the XPCC, noted that the corps has strengthened the integrated use of quality farmland, seeds, machinery, and effective methods to improve agricultural efficiency.

He said high-standard farmland now accounts for over 80 percent of its cultivated land, and the corps supplies one in every seven corn seeds and one in every two cotton seeds nationwide.

The XPCC has also bred China's first nationally approved meat sheep breed with fully independent intellectual property rights. Large-scale, self-propelled tomato harvesters and cotton pickers are now domestically manufactured, and a sea-buckthorn harvester has been developed.

Xue added that the comprehensive mechanization rate for plowing, planting, and harvesting major crops has reached 95.8 percent.

Tian Yonghao, head of the XPCC agriculture and rural affairs bureau, said mechanization is a key pillar of the corps' agricultural strength. The corps has achieved full domestic manufacturing of complete cotton pickers and pioneered nationwide full mechanization of cotton production.

It has also integrated artificial intelligence into precision seed selection, sowing, fertilization, irrigation, field monitoring, and harvesting, while developing smart farmland and agricultural platforms integrating the internet of things, he added.

According to Xue, by 2025, the XPCC's per-unit grain yields had ranked first nationwide for 13 consecutive years, and its per-unit ginned cotton yields led the country for 31 years in a row.

He said during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), the XPCC will continue to enhance modern agricultural production, industry, and business, and pursue full-chain technological breakthroughs in key areas, such as crop breeding and the research and development of agricultural machinery and key components, thereby consolidating and expanding the corps' agricultural advantages.