Hillside Agricultural Machinery and Agricultural Intelligence Driven by New Technologies in China

This excerpt is taken from Qiao H, Lyu Y F, Zheng E H. Hillside agricultural machinery and agricultural intelligence driven by new technologies. Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2025, 40(2): 328-337, doi: 10.16418/j.issn.1000-3045.20250119005. (in Chinese)

http://www.bulletin.cas.cn/BCAS_CH/doi/10.16418/j.issn.1000-3045.20250119005

Hilly and mountainous areas play a crucial role in China’s agricultural production. However, the low level of comprehensive mechanization for crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting in these regions severely hampers the modernization of agriculture. The complex terrain and diverse cropping patterns in hilly areas necessitate the development of specialized agricultural machinery and robots tailored to these unique landscapes. To advance this process, the Chinese government has introduced a series of policies in recent years to support the research and development of agricultural machinery for hilly regions, providing strong backing for the advancement of agricultural technology in these areas. Against this backdrop, this paper presents the current status and progress of agricultural machinery for hilly regions. It focuses on exploring the application of intelligent technologies in hillside agriculture and proposes strategies for smart farming in these areas. Through preliminary explorations of embodied intelligence technologies, the potential of intelligent new technologies in reducing labor input and enhancing agricultural productivity is demonstrated. Finally, the insights into future development trends are offered to provide guidance for the modernization of agriculture in hilly and mountainous regions.

1. Introduction

Hilly and mountainous areas in China play a pivotal role in agricultural production. China has approximately 46.7 million hectares of farmland in hilly and mountainous regions, accounting for approximately one-third of the country's total cultivated land area. These regions are important production bases for grain, oil, sugar, and specialty agricultural products, involving nearly 300 million agricultural populations. However, the level of agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous regions lags significantly behind that of plains. The comprehensive mechanization rate for crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting in hilly and mountainous provinces is only 53.5%, approximately 20 percentage points lower than the national average.

The complex terrain and scattered, small, and steep plots in hilly and mountainous regions pose enormous challenges to agricultural mechanization. The region’s diverse agricultural landscapes—including terraced fields, orchards, tea gardens, and steep slopes (Figure 1)—demand machinery tailored not only to small-scale operations but also to complex cropping patterns and intricate agronomic processes.

Figure 1 Typical operational scenarios on hills

(a) Terraces; (b) Steep slopes; (c) Orchards; (d) Tea garden

China has placed significant emphasis on the development of agricultural machinery tailored for hilly and mountainous regions. In 2023, relevant policies were introduced to support the research and development (R&D) of compact machinery and horticultural equipment suited to such terrains. In 2024, the government reinforced its commitment to enhancing equipment support for grain production by advancing the R&D and application of agricultural machinery for hilly and mountainous areas. This initiative involves integrating experts from multiple fields—including cultivation, variety breeding, plant protection, and agricultural machinery—into the National Modern Agricultural Industrial Technology System and the Expert Advisory Group for Full-Process Mechanization of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. By promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in R&D and technology dissemination, these efforts aim to accelerate the deployment of advanced, adaptable equipment and techniques.

Additionally, the government launched a dedicated initiative to address critical gaps in agricultural machinery development, prioritizing the R&D and application of compact machinery, core components, and enabling technologies for hilly and mountainous regions. These measures collectively bolster the advancement of mountainous agricultural machinery, facilitating the seamless integration of new information technologies across the agricultural value chain. This integration accelerates the sector’s digital transformation, thereby reinforcing national food security.

2. Challenges Facing Agricultural Mechanization in Hilly and Mountainous Regions

Agricultural production in hilly and mountainous regions exhibits unique geographical characteristics that pose numerous difficulties for the passage and operation of agricultural machinery. The main challenges currently faced by agricultural mechanization in these regions include:

1. Complex Terrain: The undulating and steep terrain in hilly and mountainous regions, with plots characterized by narrowness, smallness, dispersion, and steepness, is unsuitable for high-cost mechanical transformation, limiting the use of large-scale agricultural machinery. This necessitates the development of small-scale terrain-adaptive agricultural machinery suitable for small plots.

2. Lack of Specialized Agricultural Machinery:In China, agricultural machinery adapted to hilly terrain is insufficient, and specialized machinery is scarce. Most existing hillside agricultural machinery products are modified versions of those used in plains, which are constrained by environmental conditions and exhibit poor operational efficiency, failing to fully exploit their mechanization advantages.

3. Room for Improvement in Technical Performance: Compared to advanced countries, China's research and development of hillside agricultural machinery started relatively later than in advanced economies. Specifically, the sector lacks lightweight, efficient, and highly stable machinery for hilly and mountainous terrain. Key technologies such as high-power, low-emission engine design and manufacturing, optimized knife wear resistance and energy consumption reduction, and lightweight frame design still need to be further developed.

4. Constraints from Agricultural Production Characteristics: The cropping structure in hilly and mountainous regions is complex, with a rich diversity of crop varieties and intricate agronomic processes. This leads to diversified demands for agricultural mechanization technology and equipment. For example, in southwestern China, where a mixed cropping pattern of food crops and cash crops is common, the comprehensive mechanization rate for potatoes, a major crop in the region, is less than 30%, with machine planting and harvesting rates in the single digits.

5. Discoordination Between Agricultural Machinery and Agronomy: In hilly and mountainous regions, there is a lack of effective coordination between agronomic requirements and traditional agricultural machinery operations, particularly in terms of climbing, obstacle crossing, and intelligentized operation. This affects the promotion and application of agricultural machinery.

3. Innovative Solutions for Agricultural Mechanization in Hilly and Mountainous Regions

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and embodied intelligence technologies have provided innovative solutions for agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous regions. In particular, robot technology has demonstrated significant advantages in complex terrain adaptability, precision operation capability, and diverse task execution, making it a key driver of agricultural modernization in these regions. The introduction of these emerging technologies can promote the intelligence, automation, and efficiency of hillside agricultural machinery in the following five aspects:

1. Enhancing the Operational Capacity of Hillside Agricultural Machinery in Complex Terrain: In steeply sloped areas, AI technology utilizes deep learning and computer vision to analyse terrain, crop information, and obstacles in real-time, automatically planning adaptive operation paths and dynamically adjusting the travel speed and operation depth of agricultural machinery to ensure smooth operation and significantly improve its operational capacity in complex terrain. To further improve the terrain adaptability of agricultural machinery in hilly and mountainous regions, a wheel-leg design can be adopted. This design combines the characteristics of wheeled and legged robots, enabling stable movement on uneven ground and easy obstacle crossing while maintaining high mobility speeds.

2. Improving Operation Efficiency in Small Plots: The plots in hilly and mountainous regions are small and scattered, making it difficult for traditional large-scale agricultural machinery to access them. Meanwhile, existing small-scale agricultural machinery lacks intelligence, resulting in high labor demands. Embodied intelligence technology enhances the flexibility and precise control capabilities of agricultural machinery, enabling precise path planning and operation control in narrow plots. Agricultural machinery can freely move between small plots, utilizing obstacle detection and spatial perception capabilities to avoid collisions and errors, thereby improving operation efficiency and reducing energy and time waste.

3. Promoting the Integration of Agricultural Machinery and Agronomy: AI technology can deeply learn the agronomic requirements of different crops, achieving precise matching between operation modes and agronomic needs. Based on crop growth stages, climate changes, and soil conditions, operation parameters can be dynamically adjusted to ensure that operations align closely with agronomic requirements. This integration not only optimizes the operation process but also enhances the overall efficiency of agriculture in hilly and mountainous regions.

4. Enhancing the Adaptability of Agricultural Machinery to Specific Environmental Changes in Hilly and Mountainous Regions:Embodied intelligence technology integrates various sensors to perceive environmental changes in real-time and make dynamic adjustments. For example, when soil humidity is high, the system can adjust the ploughing depth to avoid excessive soil compaction. This real-time perception and intelligent adaptability significantly improve the stability and adaptability of agricultural machinery in specific environments in hilly and mountainous regions.

5. Realizing Air-Ground Collaboration and Resource Optimization: The fields in hilly and mountainous regions are scattered, and single agricultural machinery has low operation efficiency and is prone to resource waste. Through collaborative operations between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ground agricultural machinery, efficient management and precision operation of hilly and mountainous farmland can be achieved. UAVs can quickly obtain information on farmland terrain and crop growth status and transmit the data in real-time to ground agricultural machinery, enabling it to conduct precise operations based on terrain and crop needs. This collaborative mode not only improves operation efficiency but also reduces operation risks caused by complex terrain, providing a new solution for agricultural modernization in hilly and mountainous regions.

4. Current Progress in Hillside Agricultural Machinery in China

In recent years, China has made progress in the research and development and product innovation of hillside agricultural machinery. Some enterprises and universities have launched micro-tillers, small tractors, and garden managers suitable for hillside operations. For example:

• Zoomlion's "King of Grain" PL70 Tracked Combine Harvester (Figure 2a) features high horsepower, a high ground clearance of 550 mm, and extended tracks to adapt to complex terrain.

• Chongqing Xinyuan's 1GZL-130A Xinyuan Leopard Self-Propelled Tracked Rotary Tiller (Figure 2b) has a compact body, strong passability, stability, and climbing ability, making it suitable for narrow and uneven fields.

• Chongqing Weima's WMG15 Tracked Rotary Tiller (Figure 2c) uses high-profile triangular tracks with low ground pressure and can achieve in-place turning with unilateral braking, making it suitable for narrow and uneven fields.

• Weichai Lovol's M1002-3C Tractor (Figure 2d) features integrated triangular tracks and a high ground clearance, helping reduce the risk of overturning in complex hilly terrain. Its latest F3000 tractor has a small turning radius and can adapt to slopes of up to 25° with its articulated and twisting structure and adaptive control technology.

• YTO's MH804M Hillside Tractor (Figure 2e) features a low-profile design and powerful engine system, making it suitable for narrow spaces and slope operations.

• Jiangsu World's 4CLY-100 Camellia Oleifera Fruit Harvester (Figure 2f) has a low center of gravity, disc brakes, and high visibility, ensuring stability and safety on steep slopes.

Figure 2　China’s hillside agricultural machinery

(a) Zoomlion “King of Grain” PL70 tracked combine harvester; (b) Chongqing Xinyuan 1GZL-130A Xinyuan Leopard self-propelled tracked rotary tiller; (c) Chongqing Weima WMG15 tracked rotary tiller; (d) Weichai Lovol M1002-3C tractor; (e) YTO MH804M hillside tractor; (f) Jiangsu World 4CLY-100 camellia oleifera fruit harvester

These agricultural machines are small in size, lightweight, and flexible in operation, enabling them to cultivate, sow, and fertilize in small plots in hilly regions. Compared to foreign products, Chinese hillside agricultural machinery has a price advantage, making it more suitable for the economic capacity of farmers in hilly and mountainous regions in China. However, there is still a gap in technical performance and intelligence level compared to international advanced levels.

5 Application Prospects and Development Trends of Intelligent Technologies in Hillside Agriculture

In the process of agricultural modernization and rural revitalization, intelligent technologies play a crucial role. Technologies such as humanoid robots and embodied intelligence provide practical solutions for the modernization of hillside agriculture. They can not only adapt to the complex terrain of hilly regions but also perform diverse agricultural tasks, significantly enhancing the flexibility and efficiency of agricultural production.

The integration of intelligent technologies will enable hilly agricultural machinery to achieve more efficient and precise production, thereby accelerating the processes of agricultural modernization and rural revitalization. In the context of global climate change, these technologies will empower agricultural systems to better adapt to environmental shifts, providing scientific foundations for formulating adaptive strategies and bolstering agriculture’s resilience to climate challenges. Through these advancements, hilly agriculture will achieve higher efficiency and precision in production, delivering robust support for sustainable agricultural development.