A conference was held in Beijing on May 11 to mark the inauguration of a technical cooperation program (TCP) titled "Support to Sustainable Use and Management of Sugar Crop Residues for Sustainable Production and Natural Resources Conservation". The program is supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Fu Rong, an official with the FAO Representation Office in China, and Liu Shuang, director-general of the Department of Sciences and Technical Application at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning in the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), presided over the meeting, which was held both online and offline.

According to organizers, the TCP project is co-hosted by the CAAS Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, the Department of Agricultural and Livestock of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the Sugar Industry Development Office of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA). It is designed to promote the sustainable development of agriculture, facilitate the transformation of agricultural production models, popularize scientific plantation knowledge, and boost the production capacity of agricultural plantations.

Xu Yubo, director-general of the Department of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, gives a speech at the conference.

Xu Yubo, director-general of the Department of International Cooperation in the MARA, talked about the cooperation between China and the international community in the agricultural sector, spoke highly of unique strengths held by the implementation departments of the TCP project, and urged relevant departments to have a clear understanding of its targets, strengthen exchanges and cooperation and engage in full-scale international cooperation during the implementation period.

Carlos Watson, the FAO Representative to China, delivers an address at the conference.

Carlos Watson, the FAO Representative to China, said in his speech that the global food system is at a crossroads and it is thus of great significance to put food production in a trajectory of sustainable development, which stresses the production of more food with less resources, bringing in greater social and economic benefits and further mitigating negative impacts on the environment.

Watson introduced that the TCP project is a pilot cooperative initiative taken by the FAO and China to spearhead green and recyclable development of agricultural production. A number of technologies related to the disposal of sugar crop residues, nutrition and fertilization, as well as healthy soil management, will be adopted to achieve safe, high-quality, ecological and sustainable sugar production and further improve the livelihoods of the farmers concerned.

Watson also urged all relevant sides of the TCP project to provide policymakers with innovative  information, promote the capacity-building and development of farmers, and expand their successful practices as well as experience to other regions of China and other countries.

Li Wencai, deputy Party chief of the CAAS Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, speaks at the meeting.

Li Wencai, deputy Party chief of the CAAS Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, said that the security of sugar supply is of great importance to the healthy development of China's economy and the safety of Chinese people's access to sugar consumption. He said it is very important and urgent for the country to accelerate its supply-side structural reform and increase its production capacity of sugar and the entire industry.

Li noted that the implementation of the TCP project in Chifeng city of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Hechi city of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region will play a positive role in further improving the plantation and management skills of local farmers in the cultivation of sugar crops, optimizing the ecological and safe plantation of sugar crops and recyclable utilization of nutrition as well as resources, delivering more benefits to target farmers and increasing the competitiveness of local sugar industries.

Liu Hongfu, an associate researcher with the CAAS Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, also briefed attendees about the TCP project's implementation background and plans during the meeting.

In addition, attending officials and experts held in-depth discussions over technical focuses, program planning, procurement arrangements, the rotation of sugar crops on plantations, and the development of relevant industries.