The National Science and Technology Innovation Alliance for Acidified land Amelioration was officially launched in Beijing on Aug 27, marking a major step toward strengthening research collaboration and technological breakthroughs to safeguard China's food and ecological security.

Yang Zhenhai, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), and Zhou Yunlong, Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, attended the inaugural meeting.

Speakers stressed that restoring and managing acidified and degraded farmland, particularly in southern China, is a strategic priority for national grain security and ecological sustainability. They called for a broader perspective in addressing farmland challenges, accelerating breakthroughs in key technologies, and developing cost-effective and scalable solutions. The Alliance will serve as a platform for universities, research institutes, enterprises, and extension services to jointly drive agricultural science and technology innovation.

The Alliance is tasked with building a full-chain innovation system—spanning problem diagnosis, joint R&D, and technology transfer—while promoting academic exchange and resource sharing. It will also develop region-specific models for farmland remediation and productivity enhancement, integrate tailored technology packages for different zones, and align farmland management with agricultural modernization and ecological improvement.

In addition, the Alliance aims to standardize and industrialize farmland management technologies, forming a pathway of "R&D – standards – industrial upgrading". It will draft guidelines covering research, product certification, equipment testing, and engineering services, thereby advancing China's strategies of "storing grain in land and technology" and sustainable agricultural development.

The inaugural meeting elected CAAS's Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning and the Nanjing Institute of Soil Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as co-chairing institutions. Academician Xu Minggang was named Chair of the Alliance.

More than 120 representatives, including Xu Hang, Deputy Director-General of the Bureau of Sustainable Development at CAS; Wu Hongwei, Director of the Farmland Quality Monitoring and Protection Center of MARA; and Wang Jincheng, Director of the Agricultural Ecology and Resource Protection Service of MARA, attended the event.