China's smart agriculture development is charting a distinct "dual-track" path: one cutting-edge track unfolding in the laboratories and highly capitalized commercial settings, representing the global frontier of agri-tech; the other, and more profound, track taking root within the vast smallholder system, driving a gradual yet systemic transformation of traditional farming practices.

In R&D and large-scale corporate applications, China's smart agriculture has entered a phase of deep integration. Unmanned farms, smart ranches, and industrialized breeding complexes are emerging nationwide. Advanced sensors, algorithms and systems are injecting unprecedented efficiency and stability.

For example, Muyuan Foods' modern breeding complex in Neixiang county, Henan province, represents a 5-billion-yuan ($713.59 million) investment. Spanning over 187 hectares with 21 multistory pigsties, it integrates 85,000 sets of intelligent equipment. Sensors monitor conditions in real time, automatically adjusting ventilation, feeding and cleaning, producing 2.1 million hogs annually — making once-unimaginable scale and efficiency a reality.

This model systematically restructures traditionally labor-intensive processes. A minimal management team can sustain stable, large-scale output, drastically cutting labor costs and disease risk while boosting controllability and standardization.

However, this capital-intensive form is not the full picture of China's agricultural transformation.

The deepest impact lies in the gradual transformation of hundreds of millions of smallholder units. At the core of this transformation is the fact that it is not turning farmers into corporations, but reshaping their productivity through technological services and platform-based tools.

A prime example is drone-based crop protection. In the coming years, China is expected to see substantial growth in the scale of drone-based crop protection operations, alongside a further reduction in application costs. Crucially, diffusion does not require ownership. Most smallholders access high-level services on demand from providers at low cost. This "technology-as-a-service" model significantly lowers the barrier to entry.

Drone-based crop protection also spurs rural low-altitude economies. In mountainous regions, poor roads historically hampered transport. Now, logistics drones enable direct farm-to-hub shipment, slashing time and cost. In Xianju county, Zhejiang province, drones transport bayberries down mountains in 3-5 minutes instead of over half an hour, cutting loss rates significantly. Combined with technologies such as digital intelligent sorting, the freshness and quality of bayberries has markedly improved. These quality enhancements have led to a noticeable increase in the farm gate price of premium bayberries, contributing to substantial income growth for the growers.

A key feature is the high synchronization of R&D, application and improvement. Taking drone operation as an example, the early stage often involved "one pilot operating one device", with limited daily coverage. With the continuous iteration of technologies such as autonomous flight, multi-drone coordinated dispatch systems, and digital field maps, it is now possible for one person to oversee multiple drones simultaneously, significantly enhancing individual operational efficiency compared to before. Technologies such as precision variable-rate spraying are also maturing. Using multi-sensor data and artificial intelligence, drones apply chemicals only where needed — normal dosage in high-risk areas, reduced in low-risk, and none in disease-free zones. This "on-demand" approach substantially reduces overall pesticide use. The cycle from lab to field has shortened, following a rapid "use-feedback-upgrade" path that accelerates adoption.

Smart agriculture reshapes support systems and value realization, creating new space for smallholders.

Consider rural finance. Traditionally, loans relied on costly offline assessments and collateral. Now, data assets from smart farming — like UAV-sprayed areas, input purchases, and sales — can, when anonymized and compliant, serve as credit assessment tools. This "data-based credit" improves access to inclusive finance.

Smart agriculture also meets personalized needs. In niche sectors such as specialty mushroom cultivation, digital platforms can quickly match farmers with technical solutions, supplies and sales channels, slashing information search costs.

Influencers such as Tian Xiaoyu, a "post-95s" entrepreneur in Fujian province, use Douyin (TikTok) to showcase local mushroom products and create recipe-based goods such as soup packs. Such demonstrations inspire farmers to learn improved techniques and explore product development, shifting from raw material production toward an integrated "production + processing + marketing" model.

For value realization, e-commerce and live-streaming have become "new farm tools". Farmers broadcast directly from fields, showcasing products to broader markets, shortening supply chains, improving bargaining power and diversifying income.

China's smart agriculture is therefore not about a single disruptive technology but a sustained application of technologies that gradually changes practices. In large demonstrations, it pushes efficiency to its limits. On a vast scale, its greater role is making advanced tech and modern services accessible and affordable for ordinary smallholders — through socialized services, digital platforms, and data. This enables them to cut costs, improve efficiency and achieve stable income growth without expanding land or changing their fundamental status as farmers.

The author is a research fellow at Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

LI MIN/CHINA DAILY