The world needs to invest more in agricultural know-how to increase food production, reduce rural poverty and combat climate change, a global panel of agricultural technology leaders agreed on Thursday.
Technological innovation is the key driver for transforming the world’s agri-food systems, according to the Sanya Declaration of the 7th Global Forum of Leaders in Agricultural Science and Technology.
Advances in this field play a key role in increasing the world’s agricultural production capacity, revolutionizing agricultural sectors and promoting rural development, the declaration said.
Experts at the Forum called on governments – especially those in developing countries that may face serious food supply problems – and agricultural companies worldwide to increase funding for agricultural research and technology dissemination, including by training more talent.
They pledged to work more closely in the field of agricultural science and technology to help reform agri-food systems and address global challenges ranging from food insecurity and poverty to climate disasters, and to help achieve the goals of the China-proposed Initiative for Global Development.
“Efforts should be made to make global agri-food systems more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable by promoting green agricultural technological innovation, climate change adaptation, carbon sequestration and emission reduction in agriculture, and reducing food loss and waste throughout the production chain,” the declaration said, adding that such expertise is the fundamental pillar for achieving “energy-efficient, emission-reducing, green and low-carbon sustainable agricultural development”.
Participants praised the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the forum’s organiser, for launching the International Mega Science Project from Genotype to Phenotype Initiative, which supports the sharing of crop genetic resources and provides public products and platforms for molecular breeding.
They also welcomed the idea of the China-Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Alliance, initiated by CAAS and its African counterpart, the African Academy of Sciences.
The alliance aims to provide an open and shared platform for coordinating agricultural technology institutions and the industry sector, promoting hunger and poverty alleviation in Africa, advancing agricultural modernisation and helping to achieve the goals of Africa’s Agenda 2063.
According to CAAS, some 580 representatives from 49 countries and 16 international organisations worldwide attended the Forum and its side events.
They reached the consensus after extensive discussions on the theme “Science and Technology Leading the Transformation of Global Agri-Food Systems”.
The forum, known as GLAST, opened on Thursday in the coastal city of Sanya in Hainan province, better known for its palm trees and beaches. In recent years, Sanya, home to a sprawling national seed breeding base, has become an emerging hub for the international exchange of agricultural know-how.
The four-day event was organised by CAAS in partnership with the Hainan provincial government, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the event, CAAS President Wu Kongming said that China’s agricultural science community has worked with the government and farmers to successfully feed 1.4 billion people and improve their living standards and nutrition.
He noted that one-fifth of the world’s population consumes 700,000 tonnes of grain, 98,000 tonnes of edible oil, 1.92 million tonnes of vegetables and 230,000 tonnes of meat every day. “It is an immense task to meet these needs.”
With this in mind, Wu said the country is accelerating agricultural innovation and modernising its agricultural sector in an “efficient, safe and continuous” way, with technology and better equipment – such as water-saving irrigation systems and ploughs designed for mountainous areas – contributing more to progress in food production.
According to the FAO and the World Bank, some 9.2 percent of the world’s population still lives in persistent hunger, and 660 million people worldwide struggle with extreme poverty. The world’s food supply will need to increase by 70 per cent by 2050 to meet growing demand.
Wu said the initiative can help pool resources to achieve breakthroughs in food production and end hunger on the African continent.
