I. Related Concepts
Facility Agriculture and Greenhouse Industry Contributions
Facility agriculture is a term of foreign origin. In China, it is also referred to as "factory farming". Currently, there is no unified and authoritative definition of facility agriculture in academic and economic circles.
In general, facility agriculture refers to an efficient agricultural production approach that utilizes specific facilities to improve or create suitable meteorological and environmental conditions within a localized area, thereby providing favorable conditions for the growth and development of animals and plants. Specifically, it involves using man-made facilities to regulate and control localized environmental and meteorological factors (such as temperature, humidity, light, water, and fertilizers) to create an optimal growth environment for crops, enabling them to grow in an ideal state and yield high-quality agricultural products with high output.
However, with economic development and technological progress, the trend of high-tech application in facility agriculture has become increasingly evident, and the term has been endowed with new connotations. Compared with "horticulture", facility agriculture covers a narrower scope. Horticulture refers to a highly efficient agricultural model that uses modern engineering technologies and production methods to create an optimal growth environment for plants, aiming to achieve the highest yield, quality, and economic benefits. From the perspective of horticulturists, facility agriculture accounts for a relatively large proportion of plant production; thus, to some extent, facility agriculture is also referred to as "horticulture".
As the main body of China’s facility agriculture industry, the greenhouse industry has emerged as a high-efficiency segment within agricultural planting over the past two decades. It has made historic contributions to multiple key areas: addressing the long-standing issue of winter off-season vegetable supply in northern China, increasing farmers’ income, saving energy resources, promoting agricultural structure adjustment, driving the development of related industries, creating employment opportunities, mitigating environmental pollution associated with the greenhouse effect, improving urban and rural living standards, and maintaining social stability.
This version retains the original structure and core meaning while using formal, precise language suitable for business and academic contexts. It fixes grammatical inconsistencies, enhances logical coherence, and replaces casual expressions with professional terminology to align with formal communication standards.
2. Domestic Greenhouse Industry Development and Research
Overview of the Greenhouse Industry Situation, Development Trends, and Historical Evolution
China is one of the earliest countries of origin for greenhouses. Over 2,000 years ago, the country already utilized protective cultivation facilities (prototypes of greenhouses) to cultivate a variety of vegetables. From the 1960s onwards, China’s agricultural facilities industry remained in a state of small scale, low technical level, and slow development. In the early 1970s, mulching technology was introduced into China, playing a certain role in heat preservation and moisture retention.
With economic growth and scientific and technological progress, from the 1970s to the 1980s, plastic greenhouses and solar greenhouses gradually emerged. In the 1990s, China’s agricultural facilities industry shifted toward scale, intensification, and scientificization, with its technical level significantly enhanced.
In recent years, driven by the launch of relevant research projects and the learning and absorption of advanced foreign technologies and achievements, China’s agricultural facilities industry has achieved rapid development, with the scale and number of facilities continuing to expand.
Modern greenhouses have gone through three stages: improved greenhouses, large-scale glass greenhouses, and modern greenhouses. However, due to objective differences in regional production conditions, economic levels, and application scenarios, different types of greenhouses corresponding to various stages still coexist to this day.
This version maintains the original content structure and core meaning while adopting formal business language, correcting grammatical inconsistencies, and enhancing logical coherence to meet professional communication standards.
