This aerial photo shows workers of Shandong Lvfeng Agriculture Group Co., Ltd. harvesting grass in Wudi County, east China's Shandong Province, in May, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

China's agricultural science and technology innovation entered the world's forefront in 2022, with agricultural technology' contribution in total farm output reaching 62.4 percent, another solid step toward self-reliance, a senior official said on Wednesday.

"Last year, we launched projects to achieve breakthroughs in core agricultural technologies and key projects of seed and plant breeding, with breakthroughs in nurturing of core seeds as well as agricultural mechanization in hilly areas," Zeng Yande, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told a press conference.

He said that some of China's innovations led the world. China bred a new beef cattle variant called Huaxi for which the nation possesses the intellectual property, while a self-developed new broiler chicken variant has taken 15 percent of the country's market share, according to Zeng.

China is accumulating "strategic technological power" by nurturing more agricultural talent and improving key innovation platforms and systems. The country has established 60 national-level farm technological innovation alliances, Zeng said.

In order to stabilize agricultural production and ensure grain supply, nearly 1 million agricultural field professionals have provided consultancy to increase the yields of important agricultural products, according to Zeng. 

A total of 1,557 experts were dispatched to 160 counties that needed help to achieve rural revitalization.

The ministry will accelerate breakthroughs in core agricultural technologies, strengthen the integration of technological achievements, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of innovation systems to provide a strong support for rural revitalization as well as agricultural sector modernization, Zeng said.