Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration Drives High-Quality Development of Sugarcane Industry

With the vibrancy of spring, the sugarcane fields hummed with the sound of machinery. On the morning of April 1st, the Chinese Society of Agricultural Machinery's Forum on High-Quality Development of Tropical Crop Machinery was successfully held in Liucheng County, Guangxi. This grand event brought together over 200 industry elites, including Chinese Academy of Engineering Academician Luo Xiwen and his research team, invited scholars from ASEAN countries, representatives from sugarcane industry enterprises, and agricultural machinery professional cooperatives. Participants collectively envisioned a new blueprint for the mechanized development of the sugarcane industry, committed to advancing the 'sweet endeavor' to a new stage of high-quality development. As a national key sugarcane production base county, Liucheng has continuously promoted the full mechanization of sugarcane production in recent years, guided by the goal of building a 'modern sugarcane area.' Zhou Yanni, Director of the Liucheng County Agricultural Machinery Center, shared experiences at the forum, stating that through years of continuous investment and systematic advancement, Liucheng County has successfully explored a viable path for full mechanization in hilly sugarcane regions. This has provided a replicable and scalable 'Liucheng Experience' for improving quality and efficiency in the sugarcane industry. It is reported that the county has invested a cumulative 1.1 billion yuan, completing infrastructure upgrades for 442,700 mu of 'high-quality, high-yield, high-sugar' sugarcane bases and high-standard sugarcane fields, and establishing 4,040.31 mu of efficient mechanized harvesting bases. Currently, land preparation is 100% mechanized, and the comprehensive mechanization level for sugarcane cultivation, planting, and harvesting has reached 74.04%. Furthermore, by vigorously promoting mechanized-friendly varieties such as Guiliu 05136 and Guitang No. 44, their planting area accounts for 97.47%. The 'Beidou Navigation + Wide Row Spacing' planting technology has been fully applied, increasing the wide row spacing planting area to 137,600 mu. Liucheng County advocates for the coordinated development of combined harvesting and phased harvesting. Since the start of the 2025/2026 crushing season, the scheduled harvesting rate has reached 9.71%, establishing a mechanized operation system covering all aspects of cultivation, planting, management, and harvesting. Sugar manufacturing enterprises play a pivotal role in advancing sugarcane mechanization. Guangxi Fengtang Biochemical Co., Ltd., as a major force in the industry, continues to deepen industry-academia-research cooperation. They collaborate closely with research institutions like Guangxi University and Guangxi University of Science and Technology, as well as agricultural machinery enterprises such as Liugong and Word, to jointly tackle technical challenges and explore agricultural machinery equipment and production models suitable for local conditions. In the past three years, Fengtang has cumulatively invested 17.6 million yuan in machinery purchase subsidies and operational subsidies. Through its own policies, it incentivizes the adoption of new machinery and strongly supports local large-scale sugarcane growers and skilled agricultural machinery operators to participate in mechanized operations, effectively expanding mechanized service organizations. A company representative stated that sugar enterprises will continue to play a leading role, promoting sugarcane production mechanization from demonstration points to widespread adoption through policy guidance and service innovation, contributing corporate strength to the high-quality development of the sugar industry. The on-site forum showcased the latest scientific research achievements and advanced applicable machinery in sugarcane mechanization, covering the entire chain from tillage, planting, management, to harvesting. Attendees personally observed demonstrations of cutting-edge equipment for full sugarcane mechanization. University research teams engaged in in-depth discussions with agricultural machinery enterprises and sugar company representatives on key topics such as technical routes for full sugarcane mechanization, mechanized solutions for hilly and mountainous areas, and models for integrating agricultural machinery with agronomic practices. This conference successfully established an efficient communication platform between research institutions and enterprises, effectively promoting the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements from laboratories to the fields. Academician Luo Xiwen of the Chinese Academy of Engineering led his team to the conference and personally inspected the actual operation of advanced equipment such as tillage machinery, combined planters, plant protection drones, and sugarcane harvesters in the fields. He gained a detailed understanding of the latest achievements in the deep integration of all aspects of sugarcane cultivation, planting, management, and harvesting. Academician Luo Xiwen emphasized that the current Chinese sugarcane industry faces the dual challenges of labor shortages and rising production costs. Promoting full mechanization and intelligence is key to overcoming development bottlenecks. He pointed out the need to adhere to a problem-oriented and systematic approach, promoting combined harvesting and phased harvesting based on local conditions. He also stressed deepening collaborative research between industry, academia, and research institutions to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies such as lightweight and compact chassis, and wide-cut intelligent measurement and control, thereby promoting synergistic innovation between agricultural machinery equipment and agronomic techniques. Concurrently, it is crucial to ensure the timely implementation of policies such as machinery purchase subsidies, operational subsidies, and sugar enterprise incentives to stabilize market expectations and make greater contributions to national sugar security and increased income for sugarcane farmers. The successful holding of this on-site forum not only showcased the latest achievements in sugarcane production mechanization but also established a platform for deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application. It further deepened exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the sugarcane industry. Liucheng County will leverage this opportunity to continue strengthening cooperation with universities and research institutes, promote the transformation of collaborative innovation achievements from industry, academia, and research into practical applications, intensify the introduction and promotion of advanced applicable technologies, reinforce the deep integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy, and accelerate the cultivation of sugarcane mechanization service entities. These efforts aim to contribute significantly to ensuring national sugar supply security and promoting comprehensive rural revitalization.