BEIJING — The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on June 29 issued a guideline to promote the country's facility-based agricultural planting, outlining goals for infrastructure upgrades and mechanization to boost output and farmers' income.

By 2025, China will maintain over 2 million hectares of facilities, including plastic greenhouses, and achieve above 50 percent mechanization for facility-based planting, a sector of the so-called controlled-environment agriculture (CEA), or protected agriculture.

CEA provides protection and maintains optimal growing conditions throughout the development of crops, and optimizes the use of resources such as water, energy, space, capital and labor. Production takes place within an enclosed structure, such as a greenhouse or building.

Efforts will be made to achieve new breakthroughs in terms of structure, material and energy efficiency of the facilities, according to the guideline.

Promotion of new varieties, new technologies and new models suitable for mechanized production will also be accelerated.

By 2025, a technical equipment system and socialized service system will be established for fully mechanized production of staple varieties of protected vegetables, flowers, fruit trees as well as the crops for traditional Chinese medicine, the guideline added.