In 2026, the No. 1 central document clearly proposed to improve the efficiency of agricultural scientific and technological innovation, and further required to accelerate the research and application of high-end intelligent, hilly and mountainous agricultural machinery and equipment, and strengthen the research and development and promotion of forestry and grass machinery and equipment. The No. 1 central document of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) makes overall arrangements for machinery and equipment in agriculture, forestry and grassland, which will strongly promote the overall improvement of China's agricultural science and technology equipment support system, and then systematically strengthen the overall efficiency of agricultural science and technology innovation.

Accelerating the research and application of high-end intelligent agricultural machinery and equipment suitable for hilly and mountainous areas, focusing on the two key shortcomings in the agricultural field, reflects further focus on the achievements of the 14th Five Year Plan. At present, the comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvesting in China has exceeded 75%, but the two directions of "high-end intelligence" and "hilly and mountainous areas" are still prominent shortcomings. From 2021 to 2023, the No. 1 central document has deployed the research and development of "one large and one small" agricultural machinery and equipment for three consecutive years to promote the historic leap forward of continuously variable speed (CVT) tractors, the performance of super large feed harvesters has reached the international advanced level, and the specialized and small-sized machinery in hilly and mountainous areas has also realized the transformation from "inorganic availability" to "good mechanical use" in some fields. In 2026, the No. 1 central document again focuses on high-end intelligent, hilly and mountainous agricultural machinery and equipment, which is not a simple repetition, but a strategic promotion based on a new stage of development. The policy focus is shifting from solving "whether there is" to promoting "good use". Correspondingly, the focus of practice will shift from R&D during the 14th Five Year Plan period to large-scale application and industrial upgrading, transforming scientific and technological achievements into real productivity more quickly. This is the core path to enhance the efficiency of agricultural scientific and technological innovation.

Strengthening the research and promotion of mechanical equipment in the forestry and grassland fields has further expanded the scope of technological equipment support from traditional planting to agriculture, forestry, and grassland. In fact, the No. 1 central document has already laid out the layout of forestry and grass equipment. For example, the No. 1 central document of the Central Government in 2016 clearly proposed to "promote the modernization of forestry equipment", and in 2017, it also required to "increase the subsidies for machines and tools needed for the mechanization of forage production". However, compared to the development level of agricultural machinery and equipment for major crops, the research and promotion of forestry and grass machinery still lags behind. Therefore, unlike the "equal emphasis on R&D and application" in the agricultural field, the No. 1 central document in 2026 describes forestry and grass machinery as "R&D and promotion", which objectively reflects the weak foundation of forestry and grass machinery industry. The current policy focus is to accelerate the research and development of key technologies and product creation, and cultivate the market through demonstration applications to promote the development of industries from small to large. Specifically, this deployment serves two strategic intentions: one is to support the implementation of the 'Big Food Concept'. By developing and promoting specialized machinery for forestry, fruit, and forage, we aim to extend the support targets of technological equipment from traditional grain and oil to the entire food supply system, enhance the production capacity of forest grain depots and grassland meat depots, and ensure the safety of diversified food supply in the country; The second is the industrialization of service ecology. By providing equipment support for forest and grass restoration, economic forest management, grassland protection, etc., a win-win situation of ecological and economic benefits can be achieved.

In general, the deployment of machinery and equipment in the No. 1 central document of the Central Committee in 2026 reflects the clear direction of overall development from traditional "agriculture" to "agriculture, forestry and grass". Behind this, it reflects the layout idea of filling the gaps and strengthening the system: on the one hand, it promotes the accelerated transformation of technological achievements in high-end intelligence and hilly and mountainous areas of agricultural machinery into widespread applications; On the other hand, we will focus on consolidating the research and promotion foundation of forestry and grassland machinery. The synergy between the two forms the equipment support to enhance the efficiency of agricultural technological innovation.

To build a comprehensive equipment support system covering agriculture, forestry, and grassland, we need to focus on the following aspects in the future: firstly, we must adhere to the integration of research and development and application, strengthen the guiding role of application demand in research and development, carry out in-depth pilot projects for the integration of research and development, manufacturing, promotion, and application, establish a rapid feedback mechanism from the market to research and development, and ensure that innovative achievements are effectively connected to end applications. The second is to adhere to the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, with enterprises as the main body, focusing on breaking through the breakpoints and blockages between the innovation chain and the industrial chain, and achieving widespread application in the two major areas of high-end intelligence and suitable agricultural machinery in hilly and mountainous areas, accelerating the shaping of international competitiveness, and achieving solid breakthroughs from use to use in the forestry and grassland fields. The third is to adhere to the coordinated interaction between technological breakthroughs and talent cultivation, and through major tasks and platform construction, cultivate a high-quality talent team covering scientific research, production, and application, to ensure the continuous emergence and efficient transformation of technological innovation with stable talent supply.

(Yang Mengying,Assistance from the Rural Economic Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairsreasonresearcher）