China Expands Crop Unit Yield Campaign to Secure Autumn Grain Harvest

China has expanded its nationwide initiative to increase crop yields per unit area as autumn grain enters its critical yield-formation phase, according to state media reports. Marking the Start of Autumn on August 7, authorities designated 20 prefecture-level cities for integrated yield-boosting drives for the first time, while increasing the number of participating counties from 702 to 1,000. Agricultural hubs in Jilin, Shandong, and Anhui are deploying precision irrigation, dense planting, and drone monitoring to counter high temperatures and adverse weather roughly two months ahead of the autumn harvest.

Autumn grain accounts for roughly three-quarters of China's total annual grain production. With arable land strictly constrained, accelerating the adoption of high-yield agronomic techniques and equipment across entire administrative regions is central to Beijing's baseline food security strategy.

China has stepped up its nationwide drive to improve crop yields per unit area as the country's autumn grain enters a decisive period of yield formation, state broadcaster CCTV reported on August 7, coinciding with the traditional solar term Start of Autumn (Liqiu). To promote balanced yield gains across broader regions, China launched integrated yield improvement operations across 20 whole cities for the first time this year, while expanding the coverage of integrated promotion counties from 702 to 1,000, according to the report. Major agricultural provinces are rolling out specialized farming methods and digital technologies to boost resilience against extreme weather. In Changchun, Jilin Province—one of the designated integrated promotion cities—local authorities have promoted wide-and-narrow row dense planting. The technique has increased maize planting density from 60,000 to 90,000 plants per hectare, paired with precision drip irrigation that has helped crops withstand recent high temperatures and humidity. In eastern China, Shandong Province has established 504 benchmark demonstration plots to spearhead yield increases, expanding the application of integrated water and fertilizer technology to 9.3 million mu (approximately 620,000 hectares). In Gaotang County, smart drip irrigation systems have operated during consecutive hot days, utilizing frequent, low-volume watering and nutrient supplementation to sustain maize growth. Meanwhile, Anhui Province has deployed multispectral agricultural drones across 38 integrated promotion counties. The drones collect crop growth data and generate spectral analysis maps, enabling localized and targeted field management to counter the impacts of plum rains, waterlogging, typhoons, and periodic heatwaves. With the nationwide autumn grain harvest approximately two months away, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has issued targeted technical guidelines for maize, rice, and soybeans. These measures focus on mitigating high-temperature heat damage in maize and rice, as well as combating high temperatures and drought in soybean fields, guiding local authorities to reinforce crop management and solidify output expectations.