To the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Bureaus of all cities, counties (city‑level cities, districts):

　　To thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech during his inspection of Anhui, to carry out the relevant decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, the Provincial Party Committee, and the Provincial Government, and to fully leverage the supporting role of agricultural machinery and technology, we hereby issue the following notice on organizing this year’s “Three Autumns” mechanized agricultural production in a high-quality and efficient manner, ensuring timely harvesting of autumn grain and timely sowing of autumn crops:

　　I. Strengthen organizational leadership and strive to achieve a bumper harvest of grain.

　　This year marks the final year in the decisive battle to achieve a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Amid the shocks of the COVID‑19 pandemic and severe flooding, securing a bumper grain harvest for the entire year is of paramount importance. The autumn harvest and autumn sowing represent a critical phase in ensuring this year’s abundant grain production, safeguarding next year’s output, and gaining the upper hand in agricultural and grain‑production efforts. All levels of agricultural and rural affairs departments must earnestly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instruction to “resolutely shoulder the responsibility for food security,” treating the organization of mechanized production during the “three autumns” as a key task. They should strengthen organizational leadership, refine goals and tasks, reinforce accountability, focus on critical links, and make every effort to ensure the smooth progress of mechanized operations throughout the “three autumns.” This year, the province plans to deploy more than 3.3 million sets of various agricultural machines and equipment for the “three autumns,” striving to achieve mechanized harvesting rates of 86% for corn and 98% for mid- to late‑season rice, as well as mechanized sowing rates of 91% for wheat and 38% for rapeseed. Additionally, the province aims to complete deep loosening and deep tillage on 6.5 million mu of land, thereby making a positive contribution to securing a bountiful grain harvest.

　　II. Focus on Key Tasks and Comprehensively Enhance the Level of Mechanized Operations

　　(1) Plan ahead to ensure an adequate supply of machinery. Localities should tailor their plans to local conditions, promptly develop work plans and contingency measures for mechanized “three‑autumn” production, and align these with actual needs. First, conduct a thorough and comprehensive survey of the local market at an early stage, leveraging information groups on platforms such as WeChat and QQ maintained by agricultural machinery service organizations to timely disseminate updates on equipment supply and demand, harvesting and sowing progress, operation rates, and weather conditions. Second, guarantee sufficient machinery; in areas experiencing shortages, expedite implementation of subsidies for purchasing new machinery and for scrapping and upgrading outdated equipment, encouraging farmers to acquire necessary machinery. At the same time, coordinate promptly with neighboring regions to rationally allocate the number of machines dispatched to or brought into the area during the “three‑autumn” period, thereby promoting a balance between supply and demand. Third, closely monitor weather changes, promptly implement emergency response measures, and strengthen disaster prevention, mitigation, and self‑rescue efforts to minimize losses. Fourth, rely on agricultural machinery service organizations to establish a certain number of emergency operation teams, which will be centrally coordinated by the agriculture and rural affairs authorities when needed. Information on each city’s emergency operation teams—including team name, number of harvesters, number of tractors, team leader, and mobile phone number—must be submitted to the Agricultural Machinery Management Division of our department by September 21.

　　(II) Provide categorized guidance and focus on key links. Centered on advancing full-process mechanization in the production of major crops, we will intensify the promotion and application of new, intelligent agricultural machinery and ensure effective implementation of autumn grain harvesting, land preparation, and autumn sowing. First, advance mechanized harvesting. Localities should organize the harvesting of standing crops such as corn, rice, and soybeans, ensure an adequate supply of machinery, and step up demonstration and dissemination of advanced, suitable technologies—such as corn silage and direct grain harvesting—to expand the area under mechanized harvesting. Second, improve the quality of land preparation. Adhering to the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomic practices, we will accelerate the adoption of advanced, appropriate techniques—including deep loosening and deep plowing, rotary tillage combined with fertilization and seeding, and compaction—to enhance land‑preparation standards. In areas implementing deep‑loosening projects, local conditions should be taken into account to select suitable operations—either deep‑loosening or deep‑plowing—so as to meet actual agricultural needs. Third, raise the level of sowing. Wheat‑producing regions must follow the principles of “appropriate timing, appropriate quantity, appropriate soil moisture, and appropriate method,” insisting on sowing when soil moisture is optimal; in drought conditions, they should promptly create favorable moisture conditions for timely sowing, striving to achieve uniform emergence and improving the quality of autumn sowing. Special attention should be given to organizing contiguous, large‑scale operations for dedicated wheat varieties, promoting a service model featuring “uniform technical requirements, unified seed supply, unified land preparation, and unified mechanical sowing.” In rapeseed‑producing areas, vigorous demonstrations and widespread adoption of mechanized transplanting, row sowing, and hole‑sowing techniques are needed to elevate the level of mechanization in rapeseed cultivation. Fourth, work to reduce post‑harvest grain losses. During the harvest phase, operators should be guided to strictly adhere to established standards, ensuring that mechanized harvesting losses remain within prescribed limits and achieving both quality improvement and loss reduction. In the drying stage, fully leverage the capacity of grain‑drying equipment to promptly dry grains with excessive moisture at an early stage, bringing them up to storage and marketing standards and thereby minimizing post‑harvest losses. In storage and distribution, encourage the upgrading of facilities for warehousing, logistics, loading, unloading, and handling to reduce losses caused by inadequate infrastructure. Fifth, promptly restore agricultural production in disaster‑affected areas. In flood‑storage zones, closely monitor water‑level receding, promptly carry out drainage of farmland and clearing of ditches to create favorable conditions for resuming agricultural activities. Seizing critical farming windows, mobilize machinery for land preparation and autumn sowing to ensure sufficient planting and high‑quality results.

　　(3) Careful organization and robust service support. The “Three Autumns” period is a critical time for maximizing the role of agricultural mechanization; all localities should make preparations in advance and ensure comprehensive service and support. First, by combining online and offline approaches and conducting training alongside maintenance, technical personnel should be dispatched to guide operators in repairing, maintaining, and calibrating their equipment, ensuring that machinery is put into operation in optimal technical condition. Second, actively coordinate with relevant agricultural machinery enterprises and dealers to stock sufficient spare parts and other supplies, and to provide on‑site services in rural areas. Third, establish hotlines and set up reception stations for inter‑regional operations to field inquiries and assist in resolving difficulties and issues. Fourth, build service platforms to encourage new types of agricultural service providers—such as full‑process mechanized agricultural service centers and agricultural machinery cooperatives—to innovate their business models, vigorously expand socialized agricultural machinery services, and implement diverse service formats including joint cultivation and sowing, entrusted management, order‑based services, and one‑stop solutions, thereby enhancing equipment utilization and economic returns. Fifth, strengthen inter‑departmental coordination and collaboration to ensure unimpeded passage along the “green channel” for inter‑regional harvesting, adequate supply of fuel for agricultural machinery, well‑functioning market‑supply services, and orderly operational conditions.

　　III. Strengthen oversight of agricultural machinery to effectively ensure operational safety during the “Three Autumns” period.

　　“Sanqiu” marks the peak season for agricultural machinery operations and also a period when accidents involving such machinery are particularly frequent. Local authorities should, in light of the specific characteristics of autumn mechanized farming, strengthen their sense of responsibility and vigorously advance the “entering enterprises, rural areas, communities, schools, and households” campaign to promote agricultural machinery safety. They must ensure that agricultural machinery cooperatives and other organizations, as well as individual operators, assume full responsibility for safe production, and establish and improve systems for managing safety risks and identifying and addressing potential hazards. Efforts should be stepped up to provide safety training for machine operators, and through enhanced supervision and inspections, strengthened root‑cause management, and thorough hazard identification and rectification, preventive measures must be implemented to safeguard operational safety. Agricultural machinery inspection personnel should be dispatched to the front lines of production to intensify safety awareness campaigns and oversight, with particular focus on cracking down on illegal practices such as unlicensed operation and unauthorized passenger transport, thereby preventing and reducing the occurrence of agricultural machinery accidents.

　　All localities are required to carefully organize and plan publicity and reporting on mechanized agricultural production during the “Three Autumns” period. Focusing on full-process mechanization, operational progress, grain drying, the integration of machinery and agronomy, as well as intelligent and information‑based technologies, they should widely highlight new highlights, exemplary cases, and tangible results in mechanized agricultural production, thereby fostering a positive public opinion environment. Timely updates on mechanized production must be obtained, with dedicated personnel assigned to collect, compile, and disseminate relevant information. By 4:00 p.m. every Tuesday, progress reports shall be submitted through the “Agricultural Machinery Direct Line” system.

　　Contact: Wang Biyue; Phone: 0551-62617244; Email: njjzy119@163.com 。

　　Anhui Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

　　September 3, 2020

　　————Article reprinted from the official website of the Anhui Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs