Wang Jinfu, general manager of Chery Heavy Industry, an Anhui-based machinery supplier, said China now stands at a turning point of transforming its traditional agriculture to a modern one equipped with precision farming machinery.

"Although China has seen eight consecutive years of grain harvest increase, problems still exist, such as overuse of fertilizers and pesticides and the inefficient use of arable land, seeds, water and other resources," said Wang, a deputy to the National People's Congress.

China uses more fertilizer and pesticide than any other country, and their overuse has greatly degraded soil quality and polluted groundwater, and could cause other food safety problems, Wang said.

Only 30 to 35 percent of fertilizers and pesticides are efficiently utilized in the country, experts say.

Wang said precision agricultural machinery would help greatly increase the efficiency of fertilizer and pesticide use. He noted that in many agriculturally highly developed countries, pesticides can be sprayed on every leaf of a plant using precision tools without excess chemicals dripping to the soil.

"Precision farming machinery is urgently needed, especially now, when the country's need for grains is growing but its arable land and farming population are shrinking," he said.

Precision machinery helps collect information on weather and soil and then determines how much water and fertilizer are needed at each growth phase for every type of crop, he said, adding that could aid output growth.

"We should make more efforts in innovation and core technology development. Technology imports and mergers and acquisitions of advanced overseas machinery manufacturers are also a must to help speed our equipment upgrade," he said.

Wang said the government should guide farmers on the tools they need according to the environment, soil and weather of each place and species of crops they grow, and subsidize them in buying machinery. Training in using the tools should also be provided, he said.