On March 11, Mr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel, Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and FAO Regional Representative for Africa, and Mr. Peter Anaadumba, South-South Cooperation Officer of the FAO Regional Office for Africa, led a delegation to visit IPPCAAS. The two sides conducted an inspection and a symposium on deepening bilateral cooperation and advancing agricultural science and technology innovation between China and Africa. Present at the event were Ms. Zhai Lin, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), and Mr. Chen Jieyin, Deputy Director-General of IPPCAAS, among other officials. The symposium and inspection were presided over by Ms. Tian Fang, Deputy Director of the Division of Domestic and International Cooperation.

On behalf of IPPCAAS, DDG Chen Jieyin extended a warm welcome to the delegation led by Mr. Abebe. He briefly introduced the basic profile of IPPCAAS in terms of scientific and technological innovation, talent development, international cooperation and platform construction, and highlighted the progress and achievements made by IPPCAAS in advancing China-Africa agricultural science and technology cooperation, particularly in promoting South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation under the framework of FAO collaboration. Mr. Abebe spoke highly of and commended IPPCAAS for its deep involvement in China-Africa agricultural cooperation and its active provision of "Chinese solutions" to help African countries address food security challenges. He expressed willingness to continue leveraging FAO’s strengths in its regional partnership network in Africa to facilitate the localized application of more technologies and products from IPPCAAS in African countries.

During the discussion session, Dr. Zhang Tiantao systematically reported on the implementation outcomes of the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Project on Sustainable Management of Fall Armyworm in African countries including Kenya and Ghana. In addition, experts from relevant research teams of IPPCAAS presented the radar network-based insect monitoring and early warning system, as well as cooperation progress with Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and other countries in pesticide residue detection technology and integrated crop pest management technology. They also showcased green crop protection products such as Bt engineered bacteria and A’tailing, etc.

This visit serves as an on-site review of the cooperation outcomes between China and FAO, and builds a bridge for the two sides to further deepen China-Africa agricultural science and technology cooperation. The event has laid a solid foundation for future collaborative innovation in regional biosafety, food security and sustainable agricultural development. More than ten experts and representatives from relevant functional departments and innovation teams of IPPCAAS attended the symposium and exchange activities.

By Lv Yinzhi, Zheng Huiting