New Agricultural Practices in Xinjiang: More Smart Technologies, a Happier Life

BEIJING, Sept. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China.org.cn on the technological application in Xinjiang's agriculture:

To cultivate a cotton field of 3,000 mu, equivalent to about 280 standard football pitches, how many farmers are needed?

In Yuli County, Xinjiang, the answer is just two.

But these two people don't appear to be farming in the traditional sense. They spend more time glued to their phones and tablets, making a few taps here and there. Yet, the real work gets done. Their screens are linked to a whole set of IoT devices which monitor fields around the clock, transmitting real-time footage, and collecting specific meteorological and soil data. Based on this information, a smart agriculture management system, powered by an agricultural database, recommends the ideal time to sow. With the help of the smart fertigation system, both watering and fertilizing are just a simple click away. Remote-sensing drones patrol the fields for pests and diseases, while agricultural drones carry out fully automated pesticide spraying upon command.

With manpower minimized but technology applied in full, the results have been pleasing. The 3,000-mu "super cotton field" managed by just two people has reached new highs in both total yield and unit yield for consecutive years. Last year, its output per mu exceeded 500 kg, reaching the benchmark of a high-yield field in Xinjiang.

These two tech-savvy next-generation farmers have accompanied the super cotton field to maturity, a model that is now benefiting more farmers. So far, 1,200 farms across Xinjiang have adopted this model, cultivating more than 700,000 mu (about 115,500 acres) of cotton fields with efficient and smart technologies. Now that farmers have much more time, many have chosen to take up jobs elsewhere or start their own businesses, unlocking new possibilities in life.

About 7 million people in Xinjiang — nearly half of all farmers — rely on the snowy-white cotton for livelihood. That in mind, efforts to ease farm work through technology began decades ago. By 2024, the mechanization rate for cotton plowing, planting, and harvesting in Xinjiang has exceeded 97%.

Many transformations are underway, enabling smart agriculture to better empower farmers.

Even with the already impressive "two people managing 3,000 mu" super cotton field, scientists are still pushing for further upgrades. In experimental fields equipped with a "digital brain", the vision of farmland "managing itself" is becoming a reality: the field's "brain" automatically inspects and analyzes various factors, generates solutions, and carries out orders like watering on its own. Moreover, statistics show that after such iterations, the cotton fields are more precise with the water and fertilizer dosage, cutting costs by about 350 to 400 RMB per mu while boosting efficiency.

In Moyu County in Xinjiang, rows of greenhouses equipped with intelligent systems allow villagers to control temperature or read soil pH and humidity levels at any time on their phones from home. Thanks to this technology, they are able to grow tropical fruits like dragon fruit, creating new sources of income.

Each of these digitalized farming models showcases the vigorous growth of smart agriculture in China, and reflects how livelihoods in Xinjiang are improving with each passing day.

China Mosaic

http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

New Agricultural Practices in Xinjiang: More Smart Technologies, a Happier Life

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2025-09/29/content_118103655.shtml