China has continued to improve the sustainability of its agriculture sector while maintaining record grain production, according to a recent report.

The China Agricultural Green Development Report 2025, jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the China Agricultural Green Development Research Society on Saturday, found that the country's overall level of green agricultural development continued to improve, driven by advances in resource conservation, environmental protection, technological innovation and rural development.

According to the report, China strengthened the conservation and efficient use of farmland, water and biological resources while continuing to improve agricultural production environments through the scientific use of fertilizers and pesticides.

The report also showed steady gains in agricultural productivity, highlighting another record grain harvest, an expanded supply of high-quality green agricultural products, and faster innovation in seed breeding and agricultural machinery.

Meanwhile, rural industries continued to grow, farmers' incomes rose steadily and rural living environments improved, it said.

Chen Bangxun, director of the Department of Development Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization identifies the comprehensive green transformation of agriculture as a key priority.

The plan lists the level of green agricultural development as one of 15 major indicators for measuring progress during the 2026-30 period.

Chen said authorities will continue improving monitoring and evaluation systems to help local governments strengthen green development practices and improve the quality and efficiency of agricultural modernization.

Commenting on the report, Zhang Fusuo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said its greatest contribution is demonstrating through comprehensive data that high agricultural output does not necessarily require greater resource inputs and that environmentally sustainable farming does not have to come at the expense of productivity.

"The report challenges the traditional perception that high yields require high inputs or that green development inevitably reduces production," Zhang said.

"It shows China has developed a distinctive pathway that simultaneously safeguards grain production and improves the ecological environment."

According to Zhang, China's grain output reached another record in 2025, while fertilizer use for the country's three major grain crops declined for a 10th consecutive year.

Pesticide use also continued to fall, while the comprehensive utilization rate of crop straw remained above 88 percent, contributing to improvements in the agricultural environment.

First published in 2019, the report has been released annually for eight consecutive years and has become one of the country's flagship assessments tracking national progress toward greener agricultural development. According to the CAAS, it also serves as a reference for international research on sustainable agriculture and rural development.