Dr. Xia Jingyuan, alumnus of HZAU and Director of the Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP) of the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) was invited to deliver a lecture on the afternoon of November 25. At the “Shizishan forum”, Xia gave his online lecture titled “Global Agriculture towards 2030” to faculty and students from the College of Plant Sciences & Technology.
With nearly four decades of agricultural research, Mr. Xia first introduced the history, organizational framework and mission of the FAO briefly. Then he elaborated on five specific aspects: the contribution of global agriculture, the challenges it faces and countermeasures, UNFAO action and the prospect of sustainable agriculture. He noted that global agriculture facilitated trade security and economic growth. Especially, food crops, oilseed crops, cash crops and horticultural crops have raised farmers’ income, which is of great significance to global food security, nutrition, agricultural income and rural poverty alleviation. But the challenges ahead are also unprecedented. Food security has been suffering from irreversible effects of increasing plant pests and diseases, the continued growth of pesticide use, overuse of fertilizers and inappropriate use of chemical pesticides. Meanwhile, accelerating urbanization, global waste of field and water resources, climate change and frequent natural disasters are also exerting a great impact on crop yields.
Dr. Xia then suggested transforming agriculture for sustainable development. That means that it is necessary to follow the principles of minimization and optimization and cut emissions to lessen their impact on agricultural production. He stressed that the ultimate goal of sustainable agriculture is to achieve a more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable development pattern. To this end, the focus needs to be on green, mechanized and digital agriculture so that we will deliver more economic, social and environmental benefits to the world.
In respect to the prospect of sustainable agriculture development, Xia proposed that it is essential for government, academic communities, non-governmental sectors and the public to recognize and support the much-needed sustainable agriculture programs. He proposed that to promote sustainable agriculture, we need to share knowledge and resources among different institutions and organizations home and abroad, strengthen international cooperation and the integration of resources and forces across sectors. Finally, he encouraged young scholars to actively engage in agricultural research and global food and agriculture governance so as to contribute China’s wisdom to the world.
Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2022/1128/65245.shtml
Translated by Yu Xianqin
Proofread by Guo Haiyan
