MIIT Announces 55 Typical Application Scenarios for Robots in Agriculture

In June this year, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a notice and launched the selection of typical application scenarios for robots in the agricultural field. The solicitation covers three key areas: crop cultivation, livestock and poultry farming, and primary processing of agricultural products, focusing on key links such as seedling raising and breeding, land preparation, sowing and planting, field management, and harvesting; feeding, breeding, collection of livestock and poultry products, resource utilization and harmless treatment of waste; and primary processing, storage and transportation of agricultural products. It aims to solicit and select a batch of typical robot application scenarios that feature advanced technology, high maturity, notable results, broad application prospects, and are replicable and promotable, and to strengthen their promotion and application. On October 14, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "Public Notice on the List of Typical Application Scenarios for Robots in the Agricultural Field," publicizing the proposed selected typical application scenarios for robots in the agricultural field, with a total of 55 application scenarios selected: In recent years, high-end intelligent agricultural machinery and equipment, agricultural drones, and agricultural robots have developed rapidly. At the policy level, since the beginning of this year, several major documents have mentioned agricultural robots: The 2026 Central Document No. 1 clearly proposed to "develop new quality productive forces in agriculture in light of local conditions, promote the integration of artificial intelligence with agricultural development, and expand application scenarios such as drones, the Internet of Things, and robots." This is the first time drones and robots have been written into the Central Document No. 1, and it also clearly states to "accelerate the research, development and application of high-end intelligent agricultural machinery and equipment suitable for hilly and mountainous areas"; The "15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating the Modernization of Agriculture and Rural Areas" issued by the State Council, in its special column "Action for High-Quality Development of Agricultural Machinery and Equipment," clearly proposed: create agricultural robots for field handling, laser weeding, facility inspection, fruit and vegetable picking, and other tasks; it also proposed that the number of agricultural drones in use exceed 350,000 units and the annual operating area exceed 3.5 billion mu-times; The "National 15th Five-Year Plan for Agricultural Mechanization Development" jointly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed to "promote AI-enabled agricultural mechanization," develop operating equipment with functions such as autonomous path planning, autonomous decision-making and control, human-machine interaction, and group control operation, and "expand 'AI+' agricultural machinery application scenarios"; The "Digital Village High-Quality Development Action Plan (2026-2030)" jointly issued by the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology clearly states to "achieve breakthroughs in key core technologies such as agricultural sensors and dedicated chips, core algorithms, robots, and intelligent design breeding tools," and proposes to accelerate the research, development and promotion of intelligent agricultural machinery and equipment and carry out unmanned agricultural machinery operation trials in depth. From the Central Document No. 1 mentioning "robots" for the first time, to the two ministries setting up a dedicated scenario selection, to the 80% premium subsidy for first sets—agricultural robots completed their identity transformation from "demonstration exhibits" to a "national proposition" in 2026. Standing at the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," agricultural robots are no longer "icing on the cake" demonstration exhibits, but a required answer to the question of "who will farm the land and how to farm it well." It can be foreseen that in the next five years the industry will move from standalone intelligence to systematic services, from demonstration parks to ordinary farmers, and truly apply high-tech products in the fields and serve farmers. Statement: This article was compiled and published by the Agricultural Machinery Network (www.nongjx.com). Sources: China Government Network, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Other media, websites, or individuals may not reprint, excerpt, or use the above works in other ways without authorization from this network.