Shandong is firmly shouldering its responsibility as a major agricultural province by steadily increasing the production capacity of grains and important agricultural products and devising new ways to increase incomes for farmers and improve the rural living environment.

Ensuring a stable and secure supply of grains and important agricultural products has long been a top priority for Shandong.

In 2023, Shandong's total grain output reached a historic high of 113.11 billion catties, 2.23 billion more than last year. The province increased the yield per unit area of major grain and oil crops, strengthened the integration of high-quality varieties and agricultural techniques, and selected and promoted 97 key technologies and 33 varieties, with over 98 percent of major crops using high-quality seeds.

This year, Shandong will focus on increasing yields while ensuring stable arable land area, aiming to maintain grain production capacity at over 110 billion catties. Meanwhile, efforts will also be made to diversify food supply systems by promoting facility agriculture, animal husbandry, marine resources, and utilization of saline-alkali land.

Characteristic industries

Leveraging its rich natural resources, diverse climates and various geographical features including mountains, hills, plains, basins, lakes and oceans, Shandong is accelerating integrated development in various regions.

For example, in Guanxian county, Lingzhi (Reishi mushroom) products have expanded from spore powder and oil to include wine and tea. Currently, the county has over 10,000 Lingzhi greenhouses producing over 12,000 tons of Lingzhi fruiting bodies and spore powder annually.

Shandong is home to 10,343 agricultural processing enterprises above designated size, and significant efforts have been made to develop digital agriculture, leisure agriculture and creative agriculture.

Demonstration areas

Shandong has established 138 provincial-level rural vitalization demonstration areas and 1,300 areas at the city and county levels, encompassing 15,000 villages.

For example, Linshu county's rural vitalization demonstration zone features Red cultural tourism, dream-building courtyards, a willow weaving industrial park driving employment, and public facilities and venues providing high-quality services.

"This year, we plan to establish about 70 provincial-level demonstration areas," said Zhang Hongqi, director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.