Animal and Plant Disease Control Workers Green occupation

How to become a Crop Protection Officer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 农作物植保员

Also called: Pest and Disease Control Worker, Plant Quarantine Worker

Surveys and tests crops for pests, diseases and other biological threats with instruments and facilities and takes control measures.

Main tasks

Observing and testing the types and spread of pests, diseases and other threats, collecting data and planning control measures
Storing pesticides and mixing and applying them safely and correctly
Releasing natural enemies and disruptive species for biological control
Setting up insect lamps, sticky cards, traps and lures for physical control
Carrying out ecological control by choosing resistant varieties, rotating crops, adjusting sowing times and ploughing
Maintaining spraying equipment and physical control devices

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Plant Protection and Quarantine Technology (410106). Vocational major 410106 Plant Protection and Quarantine Technology (植物保护与检疫技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Drone Operation Applications; Family Farm Grain Production and Business.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Protected Agriculture and Equipment (410112). Vocational major 410112 Protected Agriculture and Equipment (设施农业与装备), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: IoT Smart Agriculture System Integration and Applications; Drone Aerial Spraying.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Plant Protection (610106). Vocational major 610106 Plant Protection (植物保护), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Crop Protection Drone Applications; Family Farm Grain Production and Business; Protected Vegetable Production.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥52,200 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥39,800 to CN¥66,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥30,300 and one in ten more than CN¥94,500.
This is the figure for the mid group Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Support Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥56,160 a year (2025), middle half CN¥44,640 to CN¥74,166.
This is the figure for the mid group Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Support Workers, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Support Workers holds 0.19% of everyone employed in China; 40.5% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
18.7% are under 35, 50.7% are 35 to 54 and 30.6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 45 to 49.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Crop Protection Officer?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Plant Protection and Quarantine Technology (410106); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Protected Agriculture and Equipment (410112).

How much does a Crop Protection Officer earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥52,200 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Support Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥56,160 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Crop Protection Officer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Bureau of Statistics: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China, 2022 edition (public consultation draft) (2022 public consultation draft (1,636 occupations; final edition 1,639)), retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026