UN officials and Changchun representatives discuss the construction of Agriculture and Food Safety Industrial Park, on May 22 [Photo/ chida.gov.cn]

The city of Changchun, capital of Jilin province is working with the United Nations on an Asia-Pacific Agriculture and Food Safety Industrial Park pilot project, after a group of UN officials arrived in the city, on May 22, for discussions.

Bruce McCarron, head of the Asia, Europe and Middle East regional office of the United Nations Office for Project Services, and members of his team had exchanges with project representatives in Changchun, led by Sun Yaming, the vice-mayor and administration manager of the Changji Industrial Innovation Development Zone.

They discussed the layout of the international park, and covered the following areas, food safety, traditional agriculture improvements, and regional sustainable development, where Sun described recent progress with the project and the government's plans for policy support in science and technology, personnel training, and top industries. He also expressed his thanks to Jilin government and the UN for their strong backing.

The UN Office for Project Services, Changchun high-tech zone administrators, and the Changchun Wanbang Capital Management Co signed a contract on the project in October 2014, mainly to establish a food safety grading scale, create an international brand of modern agriculture and food safety, and set an example for other developing countries in food safety issues and modern agriculture.

The industrial park is in the Changji Industrial Innovation Development Zone on a 37-square–kilometer space, with the focus on food safety standards, a traceability system, farming, food processing, food facilities manufacturing, agricultural machinery, food packaging, e-commerce, storage and logistics, and exhibitions. It is the only international industrial park for food safety that has UN support and plans to feature smart agriculture with advanced technology.

The zone is estimated to have 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) in investment, and the project could ultimately provide as many as 20,000 jobs and improve the lives of millions of local farmers. It also plans to start some large agricultural companies and build six national research centers and 20 provincial ones, covering a wide range of food, such as grains, meat, dairy products, beverages, alcoholic drinks, fruit and vegetables, and packaged food.