The APEC Agricultural Technology Transfer Forum & 4th China Advanced Agricultural Technology Exhibition, co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Committee, was held in Beijing from November 23rd to 24th, 2011. The theme of the forum was “Strengthening Agricultural Technology Transfer for Food Security in APEC Region”.

Mr. ZHANG Tao-lin, Vice Minister of Agriculture; Mr. LE Yu-cheng, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. XUE Liang, Senior Advisor of CAAS, attended the Forum and made opening remarks. More than 500 agriculture officials, senior experts, entrepreneurs and representatives of farmer associations from 17 APEC member Economies participated in the forum. The forum was chaired by Dr. TANG Hua-jun, Lead Shepherd of the APEC Agricultural Technical Cooperation Working Group (ATCWG) and Vice President of CAAS.

The forum invited 10 renowned experts to make plenary presentations focusing on four topics which cover climate change and food security; technology transfer and mechanisms of cooperation among APEC economies; intellectual property; and the roles of private companies in technology transfer.

Also held in conjunction with the forum were several other events, including an exhibition of the latest agricultural products and technological advances, the opening ceremony of the technology transaction platform of the National City of Modern Agricultural Science and Technology as well as the 2010-2011 Key Agricultural Science and Technology Industrialization Progress Awards ceremony.

A crucial event of the year in the APEC agriculture sector, this China-led forum received widespread support from APEC member Economies. It aimed at implementing the Declaration of the 2010 APEC Summit and Ministerial Meeting on Food Security. As Lead Shepherd of the ATCWG, Dr. TANG has been committed to deepening such cooperation among APEC members by effectively developing the projects of the Working Group. Within two years, the Group successfully applied for 21 APEC funded programs, which resulted in a better and more practical cooperation among APEC members and an expanded influence of the ATCWG in APEC.