An aerial view of a large photovoltaic plant in China's desert, where vast arrays of solar panels stretch endlessly across the arid landscape Photos on this page: Courtesy of Marco Leporati

The achievements of smart agriculture in China, characterized by the use of drones, robots and minimal human intervention, seemed highly unlikely to become an artistic event until Cao Fei, an internationally renowned Chinese artist from Guangzhou, set up a multimedia pavilion at the Prada Foundation in Milan. This pavilion, which closed at the end of September, generated significant curiosity and attention.

The exhibition "Dash," in addition to celebrating the combination of rural life and technology, confirms that China has its eyes set on the future in the agricultural sector. "It is not a pastoral idyll of technology, but an archaeological look at agriculture understood as 'geological engineering,'" noted Cao.

While the artist interprets, the numbers confirm that the leap to agriculture 2.0 in China is already a reality. Under the National Smart Agriculture Action Plan (2024-2028), China is stepping up efforts to promote the use of AI, 5G and big data.

The effects are tangible: the overall level of agricultural mechanization, from land preparation to sowing and harvesting, has reached 76.7 percent, while more than 300,000 agricultural drones are operational in the country. In East China's Zhejiang Province alone, the use of agricultural robots has increased significantly in recent years.

Thanks to these technological advances, agricultural yields have increased and reached levels comparable to those of the best-performing Western farmland. Grain production, despite repeated floods and typhoons, is expected to reach 716 million metric tons in 2026, up 0.2 percent year-on-year, while output of oil crops is expected to rise 2.6 percent to 42.04 million tons, according to the China Agricultural Outlook (2026-2035).

Rice production is also growing: In 2025, it reached 209.04 million tons, up 0.7 percent year-on-year, while early rice output was 28.51 million tons, up 1.2 percent, and autumn grain output was 536.62 million tons, up 1.5 percent. To complete the picture of major cereal crops, corn production in 2025 also grew considerably.

The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), approved last March, emphasizes agriculture and its ecosystem, aiming to strengthen the "three-in-one" system of protection: the quantity of arable land, the quality of the land itself and related environmental protection. These principles are contained in a law recently approved by the legislature.

The direct consequence of this approach is the need to focus on resilience to risks and environmental disasters associated with urbanization, with interventions that can improve irrigation and drainage systems, protect soil from acidification and contain soil alkalinity - in short, a focus on prevention systems.

Finally, within this framework, the rural revitalization mechanism established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission and the People's Bank of China aims to coordinate substantial fiscal and financial support through 2030.

The issue is even more pressing in the short term because of the potential effects of Super El Niño on crops in coastal and other areas, compounded by anticipated shortages of fertilizers and oil due to the worsening international situation, especially in the Middle East.

In many parts of China, agricultural activities now center on digital farmland and smart management, including AI applications, the use of low-altitude drones and satellite technologies, alongside improvements in telecommunications infrastructure.

Examples are multiplying throughout China. In East China's Jiangsu Province, a project is underway to create small industrial parks and digital farms supported by cloud infrastructure for farmers and a dedicated credit line on preferential terms.

In Nanchang, capital of East China's Jiangxi Province, designated growing areas incorporate crop protection measures, improving product quality, lowering production costs and strengthening resilience to ensure food security.

A case in point is Fuxi Farm in East China's Anhui Province, developed in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where the entire process, from sowing to harvesting, is entrusted to autonomous tractors, mobile robots and drones. 

Robots act as "scanners" to analyze soil health, while sensors monitor weather conditions and the presence of pests, reducing reliance on experience-based manual farming.

Furthermore, there is a focus on the genetic adaptation of crops to make them "robot-friendly," designed to be easily pollinated and harvested by mechanical arms. Meanwhile, in the Taklamakan Desert, agriculture is made possible by a combination of heavy machinery to stabilize dunes, AI-controlled drip irrigation systems and mulch films that reduce water evaporation by 90 percent.

For Italian technology companies seeking to expand into China, including those outside the agrifood sector, one of the most interesting opportunities lies in the anticipated convergence of the Five-Year Plan's objectives for primary agriculture and rural agro-industry, linking farming with product processing and preservation.

This includes the construction of logistics warehouses, the development of cold chains and sophisticated treatment plants for both products and processing waste, as well as the recycling of raw materials. Agricultural processing, product exports and the balancing of imports can become natural links for developing business with the Chinese market.

So far, the bulk of Chinese imports in the agrifood sector has consisted of cereals, along with beef and pork, seafood and frozen fish, oils and beverages, as well as dairy products, where the Italian share is growing, and certain types of fruit, including kiwifruit, where Italy is a leader.

In this flow, food safety regulations play an important role. In China, regulations have been updated to help ensure a stable and effective supply of grain and safeguard national food security.