JSU Attends the Sixth China-Africa Rice Value Chain Cooperation Seminar
On June 30, the Sixth China-Africa Rice Value Chain Cooperation Seminar was held in Nanjing, co-hosted by the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration. President of Jiangsu University (JSU) Zou Xiaobo and Vice President Chen Feng were invited to attend the seminar,alongside the university’s International Office leadership.
Opening remarks were delivered by WFP Representative in China Zhao Bing, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration Zhang Yan, President of Nanjing Agricultural University Chen Fadi, Director of the National Reconstruction Commission of Ethiopia Tesfaalem Iyodego Gebrekidan, and Deputy Director-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Food and Strategic Reserves Administration Dong Shuguang.
Under the theme Aligning Strategies for Resilient Food Systems, keynote speakers from China and abroad held in-depth discussions on South-South cooperation approaches to strengthen smallholder rice value chains. During the Q&A session, Zou Xiaobo shared JSU’s ongoing plan to establish an international scientific and technological organization focused on smart agricultural technology and equipment. He proposed scaling the university’s Zambian agricultural machinery training model to other major African rice-producing countries, shifting from one-off project training to sustained institutionalized cooperation. He also consulted Senior Project Specialist at the World Bank Allen Johnson on funding application channels and received actionable guidance for the university’s future work. Zou Xiaobo expressed JSU's eagerness to maintain close communication with WFP and the World Bank to jointly advance the resilience the China-Africa rice value chain.
Chen Feng participated as a panel expert in the high-level roundtable, engaging in dialogue with Deputy Director of the China Grain Research and Training Center Jiang Minglun, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Foreign Trade Centre Zhang Yi, Senior Expert at the Africa Rice Center Dr. Sali Ndindeng, and Programme Officer at the WFP Nathaniel Lamin. Drawing on JSU's experience running the "Belt and Road" Joint Laboratory for Smart Agricultural Technology and Equipment, and its plans to build a dedicated international agritech body, Chen Feng proposed launching a "China-Africa Joint Demonstration and Standards Initiative for Smart Rice Technology", to develop replicable and scalable resilient rice value chain models, which received wild recognition from the attendees.
JSU's vision for an international scientific and technological organization in smart agricultural technology and equipment gained broad support from the WFP, the World Bank, and representatives from multiple African countries at the event. Moving forward, JSU will recommend outstanding students for internships at international bodies such as the WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), supplying South-South cooperation with young talents equipped with technical expertise and global vision.
Director of International Office of JSU Cui Yong,, exchanged views with African experts, including Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences Felix Dapare Dakora, on smart agricultural technology transfer, youth talent training, and the "Grandfather's Rice Field" Global Youth Hybrid Rice Dream Initiative. These exchanges laid a solid foundation for deeper cooperation and expand the network for the planned international agritech organization.
JSU's participation in this seminar underscores its commitment to national food security and the Belt and Road Initiative. JSU will leverage these two major international platforms to contribute expertise to building globally resilient food systems and delivering progress towards the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development.
(Source: International Office)
