As China’s spring farming season kicks off, the government is ramping up financial support for agricultural machinery upgrades, aiming to cut costs and boost efficiency for farmers.
According to the draft central and local budgets for 2025, the country will issue 200 billion yuan (about 28 billion U.S. dollars) in ultra-long special treasury bonds for equipment modernization—an increase of 50 billion yuan (about 7 billion U.S. dollars) from the previous year—to stimulate economic growth.
This enhanced fiscal backing is encouraging farmers to replace outdated machinery. In a major agricultural equipment market in Hubei Province, groups of farmers are actively purchasing new machines, with high-performance, intelligent models emerging as the preferred choice.
“This model is said to be excellent. The subsidy is much larger than before—up to 30,000 yuan (about 4,144 U.S. dollars) off. Plus, I can get 9,000 to 10,000 yuan (about 1,243 to 1,381 U.S. dollars) for trading in my old machine, which means a total discount of over 40,000 yuan (5,526 U.S. dollars),” said Wan Dayan, a local farm machinery operator.
This year, the subsidy program has expanded both in size and scope, now covering additional equipment categories such as boat tractors and aerators for the first time in Hubei.
“Hubei has allocated 676 million yuan (about 93 million U.S. dollars) for agricultural machinery purchase and application subsidies, along with 54 million yuan (about 7.5 million U.S. dollars) from ultra-long special treasury bonds to support machinery replacement. Additionally, we have earmarked 300 million yuan (about 41 million U.S. dollars) to enhance agricultural services, helping farmers reduce costs and improve efficiency,” said Ren Yaowu, head of the Agricultural Mechanization Technology Promotion Station in Hubei.
With increased government investment, China’s farmers are poised to benefit from more advanced agricultural technology, driving both productivity and economic growth in the sector.