Academy promises to plant seed of innovation

BEIJING－China will promote science and technology innovation in agriculture to support all-round rural revitalization in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said recently.

The academy will make great efforts to be more internationally influential in agricultural science, technological innovation and international cooperation, and become a high-level talent training base and national high-end think tank, according to a report from the academy released on Jan 19.

The report said that the academy will give top priority to ensuring food security and the supply of agricultural products over the next five years.

The academy is committed to providing scientific and technological support to ensure a stable annual grain output of over 650 billion kilograms, avoid a large-scale return to poverty, and promote rural revitalization, according to the report.

The seed industry and arable lands will be the focus of innovation, says Tang Huajun, president of the academy.

The academy will cultivate new varieties of crops, livestock and poultry, promote the construction of the research center for protecting and utilizing crop germplasm resources, and advance basic agricultural research, he adds.

The academy will also strengthen cooperation and exchanges with foreign agricultural research institutions, international organizations, and regions along the Belt and Road, says the report.

In 2020, the academy launched 101 new international cooperation projects with contract funds of 166 million yuan ($25.7 million), up 52.3 percent year-on-year.

More than 120 bilateral and multilateral joint laboratories or joint research centers were set up at home and abroad during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), according to the report.

Xinhua