The Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has recently introduced the "Granary of Heaven: Hundred Counties and Thousand Farmland Tracts" Construction Action Plan (2024-2026) (hereinafter referred to as the Plan), proposing to develop 1,000 high-yield grain and oil farmland tracts characterized by high standards, advanced levels and superior quality, each spanning a thousand mu (each mu equivalent to approximately 66.7 hectares), across more than 100 counties (including county-level cities and districts, the same below) in the province.

The Plan outlines clear construction objectives: from 2024 to 2026, the average yield per mu of each high-yield farmland tract aims to surpass the average level of their respective counties by more than 10 percent each year. Notably, wheat and potato yields are targeted to be more than 15 percent above the county average. Thus, this initiative is projected to boost the province's average grain yield per mu by over 3 kilograms annually, with the total output increasing by more than 500 million jin (250 million kilograms) each year. The average yield per mu of rape is targeted to exceed the county average level by over 5 percent, thereby driving the province's rape production to maintain steady growth.

Regarding the construction layout, the Plan categorizes the province into four key areas: the Chengdu Plain Area, the Basin Hill Area, the Mountainous Area Surrounding the Basin, and the Panxi and the Northwest Sichuan Area. It also specifies the total quantities of the thousand-mu high-yield grain and oil farmland tracts to be developed in each area, as well as the designated quantities for crop-specific farmland tracts in each area. For instance, in the Chengdu Plain Area, 21 counties are planned to develop 131 tracts of thousand-mu high-yield grain and oil farmland. Of these, 70 farmland tracts are designated for rice cultivation, 3 for corn, 33 for wheat, 1 for potatoes, and 24 for rape.

The Plan identifies three key tasks. First, it emphasizes making comprehensive efforts to advance the construction of thousand-mu high-yield farmland tracts, giving priority to regions with a solid production foundation, significant stakeholder initiative, and concentrated, contiguous farmland, and driving the full participation of the whole township (town) and the whole village in this construction endeavor. The province will host an annual competition for thousand-mu high-yield grain and oil farmland. This event will involve a comprehensive assessment of localities' efforts to organize and promote the initiative, adhere to standardized management practices, display results, and integrate resources effectively.

The second task is to conduct technical research breakthroughs in hundred-mu super-high-yield agriculture. Efforts will be directed towards supporting agricultural technology promotion units in cities and counties, provincial and municipal scientific research institutions, universities, and relevant enterprises to form crop-specific teams dedicated to advancing research breakthroughs in super-high-yield agriculture. The province will host an annual competition focusing on hundred-mu super-high-yield agriculture and conduct a comprehensive evaluation based on indicators such as the sophistication and adaptability of integrated technology, as well as yield levels.

The third task involves promoting the growth of large-scale production and operation in agriculture. The focus is on motivating production and operation entities to actively engage in commercial agricultural services, such as outsourcing farming, management and harvesting, and full-process farming trusteeship, to enhance light simplification, standardization, intensification, and industrialization in large-scale agricultural production. The province plans to identify typical models specializing in high-yield agriculture among various production and operation entities, such as big farming households, family farms, and farmers' cooperatives. It will also host annual high-yield competitions for entities operating on a scale of at least 100 mu of farmland and conduct comprehensive evaluations of factors, including production scale, management proficiency, and yield efficiency.