Agricultural New-Quality Productivity and Composite Material Application in the 2024 Central Document No. 1

I. Deep Integration of Policy Orientation and Technology Empowerment

The 2024 Central Document No. 1 elevates "agricultural new-quality productivity" to a strategic height, with the core pathway focusing on collaborative innovation in "material innovation, intelligent data, and green technology." In this context, composite materials, with their lightweight and functional characteristics, have become a pivotal link connecting the technology chain and industrial chain. The latest data shows that the global agricultural composite materials market size surpassed $6 billion in 2024, with an annual growth rate stable at over 12% (Allied Market Research, 2024). China's contribution rate exceeds 35%, highlighting its global competitiveness.

II. Techno-Economic Efficiency: Value Leap from Laboratory to Field

1. Lightweight Agricultural Machinery: Cost Reduction Driving Large-Scale Application

• Agricultural Machinery: In addition to harvesters, composite materials can be used to improve the performance of components in the manufacture or retrofitting of tractors, seeders, rice transplanters, and other agricultural machinery. Composite materials can be used to manufacture seeding components for seeders and seedling transport components for rice transplanters, enhancing their wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and lightweight properties, thereby improving the overall performance and operational efficiency of agricultural machinery.

• Policy Level: In 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs introduced a "subsidy for green upgrading of agricultural machinery," providing a 15% purchase subsidy for composite material agricultural machinery. This has pushed the market penetration rate from 12% in 2023 to 18%. The subsidy for green upgrading of agricultural machinery aims to promote the development of agricultural machinery in a high-efficiency, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly direction. Composite materials have the advantages of being lightweight, high-strength, and corrosion-resistant. Using composite materials to manufacture agricultural machinery components or complete machines helps reduce the weight of the machinery, lower energy consumption, and improve fuel efficiency, aligning with the policy orientation for green upgrading.

2. Bio-Based Materials: Win-Win Ecological and Economic Benefits

• In 2024, significant breakthroughs were made in straw-based degradable mulching film technology. In Xinjiang cotton field trials, the tensile strength increased to 32 MPa, and the degradation period precisely matched the cotton growth period (5-7 months), reducing microplastic pollution by 13.5 kg per mu and increasing soil organic matter content by 0.6% (Chinese Agricultural Sciences, 2024).

• The national straw-based material production capacity is expected to reach 700,000 tons in 2024, driving farmers' straw sales revenue to increase to 400 yuan per ton. This benefits over 2 million farmers in Shandong and Henan provinces alone.

III. International Benchmarking and Chinese Innovation: Differentiated Breakthrough Path

1. Lessons from Developed Countries

• The penetration rate of carbon fiber greenhouses in the Netherlands reached 48% in 2024, with the power generation efficiency of their new photovoltaic agricultural films increasing to 22%, and the greenhouse energy self-sufficiency rate exceeding 85% (Netherlands Institute of Agricultural Economics, 2024).

• Oji Holdings' cellulose nanofiber (CNF) transport boxes expanded to the Hokkaido potato supply chain in 2024.

2. The Chinese Model: A Closed Loop of Policy-Technology-Market

• Policy End: In 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs set a new target for composite material facilities to account for 30% by 2025 and established a "Saline-Alkali Land Facility Special Fund" to support the promotion of basalt fiber greenhouses (with salt fog resistance exceeding 10,000 hours) in the Bohai Rim region.

• Market End: Shouguang, Shandong, upgraded its "greenhouse leasing system" to a "shared agricultural service platform," allowing farmers to rent smart composite material greenhouses on demand through an app, with annual rent reduced to 250 yuan per mu, and technology adoption rate exceeding 45%.

IV. Resolving Conflicts: From Single-Point Breakthroughs to System Reconstruction

1. Balancing Cost and Performance

• The initial cost of carbon fiber agricultural machinery is still twice that of traditional models. However, Jiangsu has piloted an "agricultural machinery carbon credit" model, where each ton of CO₂ emission reduction can be redeemed for a 150 yuan subsidy (following the EU Agricultural Green Subsidy 3.0 standard). Coupled with financial leasing installment payments, farmers' actual burden is reduced by 40%.

2. Collaborative Efforts in the Industry Chain

• To address the issue of import dependence on high-performance resins, Sinopec launched the "Domestic Production Project for Agricultural Resins" in 2024, aiming to reduce the import proportion from 60% to 40%. Meanwhile, Zoomlion Heavy Industry is collaborating with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop an "Integrated Design Platform for Composite Materials and Agricultural Machinery," increasing material utilization to 65%.

3. Breaking the Cycle System Impasse

• Starting from July 2024, the "Administrative Measures for the Recycling of Agricultural Composite Materials" will be officially implemented, requiring manufacturers to contribute 8% of their production volume to a recycling fund. Pilot projects using "chemical-physical combined recycling technology" have reduced recycling costs to 5,000 yuan per ton, with a target recycling rate of 20% by 2025.

V. Policy Recommendations: Targeted Measures to Activate Industrial Dynamics

• Technological Breakthroughs: Establish a 3 billion yuan "Agricultural Composite Materials Special Fund" to support the research and development of smart responsive materials (such as light-sensitive temperature-control films) and low-cost bio-based resins.

• Scenario Demonstration: Establish a "Tropical Agricultural Composite Materials Demonstration Zone" in Hainan to explore solutions for material durability in high-temperature and high-humidity environments.

• Financial Innovation: Issue "Rural Revitalization Green Bonds," providing ultra-low-interest loans at 2.5% to agricultural entities adopting composite materials, and include them in the scope of the People's Bank of China's "Carbon Emission Reduction Support Tool."

VI. Future Vision: From Catching Up to Leading the Industrial Revolution

Composite materials are driving agriculture's transition from "machine replacing manpower" to "intelligent reconstruction of the industry." By 2025, if the cost of composite materials drops to less than 1.8 times that of steel structures, China is expected to establish global standards in vertical farming, unmanned agricultural machinery, and other fields. As emphasized in the Central Document No. 1, this transformation is not just a technological iteration but a systematic reshaping of agricultural production relations—achieving the dual mission of food security and low-carbon development through "lighter materials, smarter equipment, and a more sustainable ecology."

References:

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. (2024). "Implementation Plan for the Central Document No. 1."

Li, D., et al. (2023). "New Quality Productivity in Agriculture: A Framework from China's Practice." Journal of Rural Studies.

Grand View Research. (2024). Agricultural Composites Market Analysis.

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. (2023). "Field Trial Report on Straw-Based Biodegradable Mulching Film."

European Commission. (2023). Green Deal Farm Equipment Subsidy Guidelines.

Data Sources:

Market Size: Allied Market Research;
Domestic Policies: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' "2024 Implementation Plan for the Promotion of Composite Materials";
Technical Indicators: 2024 Annual Test Reports from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences;
International Cases: 2024 White Papers from the Netherlands Institute of Agricultural Economics and the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.