The launch of the International Journal of Agricultural & Biological Engineering (IJABE) is a historical event for agricultural and biological engineers in China and the world. I sincerely wish IJABE to bring domestic Chinese and overseas Chinese research community together to promote the advancement of research in agricultural and biological engineering.

In early years, the traditional concept of “agricultural engineering” may mainly mean the use of machinery and equipment in agricultural production. Nowadays, such a concept has been greatly expanded to include many areas, such as agricultural system engineering, agricultural energy management and utilization, agricultural product and food process engineering, bio-environmental engineering, agricultural land and water management, and so on. In the last few decades, we have seen the applications of almost all new technologies in agricultural production, such as electrical and electronics technologies, artificial intelligence, aviation and remote control, computer aided systems to name just a few. The applications of such new technologies have greatly increased agricultural output and significantly improved the quality of agricultural products.