On May 16th, during a critical phase for the in-depth advancement of Gansu Province's agricultural machinery R&D, manufacturing, promotion, and application integration pilot project, a delegation including Chinese Academy of Engineering academicians Luo Xiwen, Chen Xuegeng, and Li Hongwen conducted thorough inspections and provided precise guidance. Their visits encompassed Gansu Agricultural University, the Xuanye Agricultural Machinery Farmers' Professional Cooperative in Anding District, Dingxi City, and the Dingxi Sanniu Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd., offering a comprehensive "diagnosis" of the pilot initiative.
At the Gansu Xuanye Agricultural Machinery Service Farmers' Professional Cooperative in Anding District, Dingxi, the academicians conducted detailed investigations into the full-process mechanization of key crops such as potatoes, medicinal herbs, and corn. They focused on addressing practical challenges faced by the cooperative, including intelligent potato cutting, on-film seeding, and combined harvesting, providing on-site "prescriptions." The experts emphasized that the usability of agricultural machinery must be judged by farmers, and the pilot project must adhere to "demand-driven" principles to effectively solve operational difficulties arising from small, steep plots in hilly and mountainous areas.
Academician Chen Xuegeng particularly commended the cooperative's model of providing contiguous, full-process plowing, planting, and harvesting services, which effectively integrates smallholder farmers into modern agriculture. He encouraged the cooperative to further expand its social service scope and become a benchmark for testing new machinery and models. Addressing pain points in hilly and mountainous operations, the academicians proposed a series of constructive suggestions focusing on technical pathways such as equipment lightweighting, intelligent control, and efficient separation. They also gained detailed insights into the cooperative's mechanized corn kernel harvesting and fresh corn full-process mechanization operations. Regarding issues like the susceptibility of fresh corn to damage during harvesting, high timeliness requirements, and insufficient equipment for large-scale operations, they offered professional guidance on equipment selection, operational model optimization, and the expansion of social services.
During their research tour, the three academicians visited Dingxi Sanniu Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd., focusing on the entire process of R&D, production, testing, and promotion of specialized agricultural machinery adapted to dryland rain-fed agriculture and hilly/mountainous terrain. In the company's production workshop, they observed the production, assembly, and inspection processes of various agricultural machinery equipment, inquiring in detail about process improvements, product iteration, and trial demonstrations. They encouraged the enterprise to remain committed to innovation, continuously tackle technical challenges in weak links of dominant industries like potatoes and corn, and persistently optimize the performance of mountain agricultural machinery to reduce operational costs and enhance durability. The academicians also urged local relevant departments, research institutes, and enterprises to stay true to their original aspirations, continuously conduct research on weak links in key industries like potatoes and corn, and constantly optimize product performance while lowering operational costs.
Through a "full-chain" investigation spanning university R&D, field application, and enterprise production, the three academicians highly commended the work approach, promotion measures, and phased achievements of Gansu's agricultural machinery integration pilot project. The experts unanimously agreed that the deep integration mechanism of "government, industry, academia, research, and application" established by Gansu Province has effectively addressed the persistent issue of disconnection between agricultural machinery R&D and application. It has tangibly solved the practical problems of "no suitable machinery available" and "available machinery being difficult to use" in dryland agriculture, providing solid equipment support for regional food security and the development of specialty industries.
While conducting on-site inspections of key equipment R&D progress at Gansu Agricultural University, including medicinal herb transplanters, potato harvesters, and hilly/mountainous tractors, the three academicians pointed out that universities serve as "incubators" and "think tanks" for agricultural machinery innovation. They emphasized the need to fully leverage theoretical research advantages to solve fundamental and common technical challenges in agricultural machinery R&D. Academician Luo Xiwen stated that Gansu Agricultural University should continue to utilize the "Agricultural Machinery and Agronomy Comprehensive Expert Group" platform effectively, "writing its papers on the land of Gansu," ensuring from the source that developed machinery is not only "manufacturable" but also "practically usable," achieving seamless integration from basic research to industrial application.
A relevant official from the Agricultural Machinery Management Department of the Gansu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs indicated that the research and guidance provided by the three academicians have charted a clear direction for the high-quality development of agricultural mechanization in Gansu. The next steps will involve closely focusing on the tasks of the "integration pilot," continuously deepening the collaborative mechanism of "demand-driven, R&D-production-promotion-application," and striving to significantly enhance equipment supply capacity in key areas of hilly and mountainous regions by the end of 2027, contributing Gansu's strength to safeguarding national food security and accelerating agricultural and rural modernization.