Science and technology has played an increasingly important role in agricultural development in China over the past few years, according to a report released by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences on Thursday.

Last year, scientific and technological progress contributed to 57.5 percent of China's agricultural growth, compared with 53.5 percent in 2012, as it continued to be the driving force for development of the sector, according to the Report on Science and Technology Development in China's Agriculture and Rural Areas.

Chinese agricultural researchers have made a number of breakthrough scientific and technological achievements since 2012, including cultivation and promotion of high-yield rice species and new genetically modified cotton species that resist insects, as well as the successful development of highly efficient vaccines for the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus, the report said.

Major agricultural products in China are now dominated by superior species with characteristic high yields. Domestically bred species account for 95 percent of the total, the report said.

Progress made in cutting-edge technologies such as genetic modification has brought tangible benefits to agricultural output. After 20 years of promotion, genetically modified, insect-resistant cotton was grown on 2.8 million hectares in China last year, with domestically cultivated species accounting for more than 95 percent of the output, the report said.

Tang Huajun, president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that over the past several years agricultural science and technology in China has made remarkable progress, shrinking the gap with developed countries.

Scientific and technological progress have contributed to the development of agriculture in various aspects, including increased output of agricultural products, a better environment in rural areas through reduced input of pesticides, safer food and richer farmers, he said.

More efforts are needed to intensify agricultural research in both fundamental sciences and cutting-edge technologies, and improving industrial application of technological achievement in China, Tang suggested.