BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — Nearly 800 experts from China and all over the world have convened on the 2025 World AgriFood Innovation Conference (WAFI 2025), advocating agricultural sci-tech innovation to promote sustainable agrifood programs.
Held from Oct. 12 to 14 beneath the theme of “Resilient Food Supply for AgriFood Systems Transformation,” the convention is underscoring the urgent want for transformative innovation within the agricultural sector.
At the convention, China Agricultural University President Sun Qixin emphasised the necessity to speed up the sustainable transformation of the worldwide agrifood system in gentle of mounting uncertainties introduced by local weather change.
He mentioned that WAFI is dedicated to advancing cutting-edge innovation to drive the transition of agricultural programs worldwide, with the intention of maximizing influence by worldwide change, international experience aggregation and sustained industry-academia collaboration.
In his opening ceremony tackle, Kenneth M. Quinn, president emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation, highlighted three important parts — innovation, infrastructure and inspiration — as foundational to constructing a sustainable future for agriculture.
Quinn additionally confused the significance of inspiring the following technology of scientists and leaders, citing the legacy of pioneers such because the late celebrated Chinese scientist Yuan Longping, who is called the “father of hybrid rice,” to ignite ardour amongst youth.
Acknowledging the quite a few challenges going through the transformation of agrifood programs, experts on the convention urged international collaboration to share expertise and outcomes by ongoing dialogue.
Huang Sanwen, president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), referred to as on governments, analysis establishments and main enterprises all over the world to be a part of forces in creating transnational and interdisciplinary platforms.
“The goal is to accelerate breakthroughs in key core technologies that can expand the frontiers of our food supply,” he mentioned.
The convention is slated to function over 40 parallel classes, fostering dialogue on worldwide cooperation throughout a variety of areas, together with agricultural expertise, commerce, funding, coverage and sustainable improvement, in addition to dialogue on rising matters comparable to novel proteins, AI-driven agriculture, local weather change and good breeding practices.
During the opening ceremony, a number of organizations introduced a sequence of related reviews.
The Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) launched its 2025 Innovation Report. Sandra Milach, the institute’s chief scientist, emphasised that innovation can not achieve isolation, and famous the long-standing collaborative historical past between CGIAR and China.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development issued an innovation catalog aimed toward selling the appliance of analysis leads to the fields of vitamin, sustainable agriculture and resilience-building.
China Agricultural University additionally unveiled the Shennong Large Model 3.0, representing a significant step ahead in making AI extra accessible and sensible for agricultural use.
Inaugurated in 2023, WAFI goals to be a world-class platform for the development of worldwide agrifood innovation. It is organized by China Agricultural University, CAAS, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the native authorities of Beijing’s Pinggu District and CGIAR. ■