Asian Development Bank (ADB) Technical Assistance Project Yellow River Ecological Corridor (YREC) Seminar Series: Building Sustainable and Climate Resilient Agriculture in Yellow River Basin, which was organized by the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences on July 3 with over 60 participants attending.

Wang Bin, deputy director-general of the Policy and Reform Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA); Li Zhiping, deputy director of the International Cooperation Center, MARA; Thomas Panella, director of environment natural resources，and agricultural division, ADB; and Zhang Jizong, deputy director of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP), attended the event.

Fan Shenggen, chair professor of the China Agricultural University; Huang Jikun, Professor of Peking University; and Li Rong, deputy director of Farmland Quality Inspection and Protection Center, MARA, delivered excellent presentations on topics such as "Practical experience of sustainable agricultural development in the Yellow River Basin," "Sustainable agriculture and rural transformation based on digital technology," and "Infrastructure construction for sustainable farmland in the Yellow River Basin."

Wang Bin, deputy director of the Policy and Reform Department, MARA; Kevin Chen, Qiu Shi chair professor of the Zhejiang University, and Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials Shingo Kimura, Takeshi Ueda, and Lan Le, together with Chief Scientist Yin Changbin and Associate Researcher Zhang Yang from the IARRP, engaged in in-depth discussions on  sustainable and climate resilient agriculture in the Yellow River Basin and the comprehensive shaping of high-quality agricultural development.

Experts and scholars agreed that sustainable  agriculture in the Yellow River Basin should adhere to systematic thinking and the concept of green development. It should also prioritize national food security, strengthen farmland protection, improve the efficiency of water and soil resource, enhance the capacity of agricultural disaster prevention as well as the ecological service functions of farmlands.

Furthermore, it is necessary to build a modern agricultural industry system that includes aspects such as variety improvement, quality enhancement, and brand building. It is also important to enhance digital economic capabilities and accelerate the development of digital infrastructure such as 5G and remote sensing. This will ensure the full utilization of digital technologies such as the internet and big data, and increase the supply of digital information, technology, and skills in the process of  promoting high-quality agricultural development .

The conference was a productive event that had fruitful intellectual exchanges, academic debates, candid discussions, and achieved the expected results. It also provided strategic ideas for the development of sustainable and climate resilient agriculture in the Yellow River Basin.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Technical Assistance Project Yellow River Ecological Corridor (YREC) Seminar Series: Building Sustainable and Climate Resilient Agriculture in Yellow River Basin, which is organized by the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences on July 3. [Photo/ IARRP]