Chengdu, China – The Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) organized a symposium on poverty reduction and rural revitalization. The co-organizers of this event were the University of Nottingham, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS), and Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU). The event was synchronously held with the 6th Global Forum of Leaders for Agricultural Science and Technology (GLAST-2019) in Chengdu, China on the 12th of November, 2019.

More than 70 participants took part in the symposium, representing most continents of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America; and sharing experiences from the public sector, private sector and social sector. Notable speakers and representatives include Mr. Sun Tan, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Prof. Nick Miles, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Nottingham; Richard Masterman, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor of University of Nottingham; Dr. Tereza Campello, Visiting Research Fellow, University of Nottingham and Former Minister of Brazil; Dr. Herbert Robinson, Director of Knowledge, Research and Learning, African Capacity Building Foundation; Mr. Tang Min, State Council Councilor and Executive Vice Chairman You Change China Social Entrepreneur Foundation; and Prof. Nie Fengying, Deputy Director-General of AII and CIAR, CAAS, who also chaired the symposium.

The aim of the symposium was to a) share best practices in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization; b) discuss supportive policies and operational measures to enhance capacity building and cooperatives development; c) develop research collaboration and partnership with other institutions in China and beyond and d) discuss as well as seek collaborators on a project proposal for the CAASTIP fund. Two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s) were signed; one between CAAS and University of Nottingham; and the other between CAAS and SAU. This symposium had achieved its aims and was concluded with success, which established a pathway for future partnership and collaboration on various projects.

By Apurv Maru (apurvmaru@caas.cn)/ Bi Jieying (bijieying@caas.cn)