On April 10th, the opening ceremony of the Training Workshop on Wheat Head Scab Resistance Breeding and Pest Control in Africa was held at the Institute of Crop Sciences of CAAS (ICS-CAAS). The workshop is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and organized by the Academy for International Business Officials, MOFCOM (AIBO), co-organized by the Agricultural Information Institute of CAAS (AII-CAAS) and Center for International Agricultural Research of CAAS, with support from the ICS-CAAS, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), and other organizations.

Aiming to introduce Chinese policies, measures, successful cases, and practical experiences in wheat pest and disease control, this workshop invites experts from international organizations like CIMMYT, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CAAS, JAAS, Zhejiang University, and Huazhong Agricultural University to collaborate with 24 agricultural officials, researchers, and enterprise representatives from Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Zambia so as to explore methods relevant to breeding wheat resistant to fusarium head blight and pest control tailored to the national conditions and natural environment of African countries.

This workshop represents the first cooperation between CAAS and international organizations in organizing a training program sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce for China Aid. It emphasizes technical training and experience sharing specifically tailored to address wheat pests and diseases prevalent in African countries, with the goal of enhancing food security in Africa and actively contributing to advancing agricultural technology cooperation with African countries.

Prof. Sun Tan, Vice President of CAAS, Mr. Lei Hao, Vice President of AIBO, Prof. Pawan Singh, Principal Scientist of CIMMYT’s Wheat Pathology Group, and officials from relevant departments of the Ministry of Commerce, ICS-CAAS, and AII-CAAS attended the opening ceremony.