BEIJING — China has seen an outstanding shift in way of farming with the mechanization rate in the agriculture sector exceeding 66 percent in 2017, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Dec 19.

China currently has more than 2,500 agricultural machinery enterprises, and the country’s agricultural production is now mainly completed with farming machines, replacing previous manual labor, Zhang Taolin, vice-minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told a press conference.

Implementation of rural vitalization strategy and agricultural modernization mean higher demand for agricultural mechanization, Zhang said, adding the ministry will work to push forward the development of high quality agricultural machinery industry and agricultural mechanization with high quality and efficiency.

Zhang called for innovative efforts and a push for the coordinated development of a full industrial chain. He said efforts should also be made to develop smart agriculture.

He also underlined the importance of agricultural training.