Precision farming and digitalization offer solution to agriculture modernization

Taking advantage of cutting-edge technologies can help break through technology bottlenecks in agriculture modernization, according to Qin Hengde, president of agriculture company Syngenta Group.

"When we grow corn, we need to choose the right type of seed that best suits the natural environment of the farmland. Then as we grow the crop, we give precise fertilizer and nutrients recommendations after soil test. For crop-spraying, we'd use drones," said Qin. With these measures, the use of fertilizers can be lowered by 5 percent, pesticides by 10 percent and water by 15 percent.

This is called precision agriculture. It offers a solution to China's high productivity farming, as the country needs to feed 20 percent of the world's population with 7 percent of the world's arable land.