participators

The worldwide food prices fast increase in 2007 and 2008 has drawn many concerns. Though food prices went down in the second half of 2008, these concerns have not yet faded away, as in 2009 when major crop productions such as maize declined due to natural disaster in Russia and South Asia countries. China’s agriculture has gained great achievements in the past 30 years. However, China’s agriculture is facing serious challenges in the following decades.

Since 2007, under the support of CATSEI-project (Chinese Agricultural Transition: Trade, Social and Environmental Impacts), which funded by 6th framework of European Commission. Six international institutes have jointly conducted a systematic analysis of the potential impacts of China’s agricultural development in the next 20 years, and the options for China’s sustainable development. The six institutes includes Centre for World Food Studies of the VU University Amsterdam, the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policies of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CCAP), the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London (SOAS), the Agricultural Economics Research Institute of Netherlands (LEI), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Under the support of this project, the policy forum “Prospects of China’s Agricultural Economy in 2030” was held in Beijing International Convention Center on Nov. 19, 2010.

More than 60 officials and experts from 37 governments, research institutes, and universities, such as Ministry of Agriculture of China, Ministry of Commerce of China, State Administration of Grain of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Bank, Delegation of the European Union to China, Standford University, China Agricultural University. Dr. Hongxing Ni, Director General of Agricultural Trade Promotion Center of MOA, and Mrs. Jessica Mitchell, Science and Technology attaché of EU delegation to China delivered an opening speech.

On the conference, prof. HUANG Jikun, director of CCAP, gave a report about the achievements of China’s agricultural development and policy development in the last 30 years, and the challenges that China’s agriculture will face in the following decades. Prof. Michiel Keyzer and Dr. Wim van Veen from Centre for World Food Studies, the Netherlands gave a presentation on China’s food demand, supply and trade in 2030. Dr. Max Merbis, Deputy director and research fellow of Centre for World Food Studies, Dr. Xiaoyong Zhang, research fellow of LEI, Dr. Xiaobo Zhang, research fellow of IFPRI, and Professor Guenther Fisher from IIASA , gave presentations on Chinese agricultural trade, labor migration in rural China and agricultural environmental pollution, respectively. All participants actively took part in the open discussions and shared their own points on different issues on the conference.

From Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences