The APEC Workshop 2021 on Sustainable Rural Development and Human Development Enhanced by Informatization under the COVID-19 Pandemic was held on December 2nd-3rd in Beijing. The Workshop was hosted online by the Agricultural Information Institute (AII) of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the Center for International Agricultural Research (CIAR) of CAAS.

The Workshop discussed the mechanism and impact of informatization in maintaining a sustainable food system under the pandemic. Good practices were shared on women empowerment and youth capacity building with information technology innovation to achieve inclusive participation for food value chain development and human development among APEC economies.

Ms. Nie Fengying, Deputy Director of AII/CIAR of CAAS, presided the opening ceremony and reviewed previous APEC workshops. Mr. Wang Xiaobing, Director of Center for Agricultural Information of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of China, and Mr. Kanjana Kwanmuang, Director of National Agricultural Big Data Center of Thailand, made keynote speeches on good practices of their own economies respectively in digital agriculture innovation and development. Mr. Fan Shenggen, Director of Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy of China Agricultural University, delivered a keynote speech on the impact of COVID-19 and China’s coping strategies.

Mr. Xu Yubo from Department of International Cooperation of MARA, Ms. Zhao Jia from Department of General Affairs of National Rural Revitalization Administration (NRRA), Ms. Wang Kan from Center for Cultural Communication of China International Communications Group (CICG), and Mr. Hao Weiping from Department of International Cooperation of CAAS attended the opening ceremony and made remarks.

Nearly 20 domestic and foreign experts and representatives from UN Women, FAO, IFAD, YPARD, AgResearch of New Zealand, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries of Malaysia, Department of Agriculture of the Philippines, Rural Revitalization Bureau of Chongqing Municipal Government, Women’s Federation of Wuding County of Yunnan Province, etc. shared practical experience of utilizing information technology innovation to promote women’s empowerment and youth capacity building. Over 100 participants from 9 APEC economies, 11 non-APEC economies and international organizations attended the workshop online.

By Gu Rui (gurui@caas.cn)