The article discusses the promotion of sustainable smallholder farming through the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) platform in China. The STB has traditionally focused on empowering smallholder farmers by transferring knowledge, but wide-scale adoption of more sustainable practices and technologies remains challenging. To address this, the authors expanded and upgraded the STB platform to STB 2.0, which emphasizes equal dialogue with farmers, multistakeholder collaboration, and long-term investment. Over 288 site-years of field trials in three regions of the North China Plain, the improved practices increased wheat and maize yields by 7.2% and 11.4%, and nitrogen partial factor productivity by 28.1% and 27.0%, respectively. The authors also created a "one-stop" multistakeholder program involving local government agencies, enterprises, universities, and farmers, which was shown to be more effective than traditional extension methods. The study provides valuable insights for promoting sustainable smallholder agriculture globally.The article discusses the promotion of sustainable smallholder farming through the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) platform in China. The STB has traditionally focused on empowering smallholder farmers by transferring knowledge, but wide-scale adoption of more sustainable practices and technologies remains challenging. To address this, the authors expanded and upgraded the STB platform to STB 2.0, which emphasizes equal dialogue with farmers, multistakeholder collaboration, and long-term investment. Over 288 site-years of field trials in three regions of the North China Plain, the improved practices increased wheat and maize yields by 7.2% and 11.4%, and nitrogen partial factor productivity by 28.1% and 27.0%, respectively. The authors also created a "one-stop" multistakeholder program involving local government agencies, enterprises, universities, and farmers, which was shown to be more effective than traditional extension methods. The study provides valuable insights for promoting sustainable smallholder agriculture globally.