On the morning of November 3, the 2023 World Agrifood Innovation Conference (WAFI) opened at the Jinhaihu International Convention and Exhibition Center in Pinggu District. Yin Li, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee addressed and announced the opening of the conference. Tang Renjian, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, delivered a speech. Yin Yong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Mayor of Beijing, and Liu Wei, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, also attended the opening ceremony.
Yin Li stated that food security is a fundamental issue for human survival. China has fed nearly one-fifth of the world's population with less than nine percent of its arable land, contributing Chinese solutions and Chinese strength to global food security. In pursuing Chinese modernization, we are moving faster toward an agricultural powerhouse. As the capital of China, Beijing will fully tap into its strengths in technology, education, and talent to become a pacesetter in agritech innovation, so as to empower the modernization of agriculture and diversify the world's food supply through the use of technology. We will keep abreast of the world's leading agricultural technologies and intensify efforts to make breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. We will accelerate the development of High-Tech Farming Z-Park with global influence and strengthen collaborative research with all stakeholders to continuously achieve original and pioneering results. To build Beijing into a seed development hub, we will enhance collaboration among businesses, universities, research institutes, and end-users, so as to better align seed market demand with all stakeholders. In this way, we could drive innovation in agritech, and commercialize more sci-tech results to facilitate the growth of industrial and supply chains. He added that Beijing will leverage its technological service capacity and innovation resources to foster an enabling environment for technological innovation and agricultural innovation. Beijing will also actively involve in the global agritech innovation network, and boost the principal role of enterprises in innovation. We welcome well-known agritech enterprises at home and abroad to expand their businesses in Beijing, while also extending invitation to global agritech innovators to pursue their dreams in our city.
Tang Renjian expressed that the Chinese government places great importance on agritech innovation. With the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy and the goal of building an agricultural powerhouse, the government has been striving for greater self-reliance and strength in agritech. There has been strong technological support for ensuring stable food production and supply. The sustainable agricultural development technologies have been widely adopted. Significant progress has been made in the basic technology research and development. Exchanges and cooperation in the technological field has achieved fruitful results. Today, a new round of agritech revolution, characterized by biotechnology and information technology, is leading to major breakthroughs. We hope that all parties involved will make concerted efforts to ensure food security and promote sustainable agricultural development through the use of more efficient, greener, and smarter agricultural technologies. Joint research should be made to address challenges facing agritech in the areas of basic and frontier technologies as well as generic technologies. The results should be shared for mutual benefit, and more efforts should be made to promote green food production, smart planting and breeding, ecological recycling agriculture, and other applicable technology models. We should also create more opportunities for agritech talents to deepen exchanges across a wide range of areas.
Under the slogan “Innovating Agrifood, Sharing Future” and the theme of "Food Security and Future Agriculture", the 2023 WAFI invites globally influential scientists, educators, and entrepreneurs, as well as outstanding young students, to discuss cutting-edge topics in global agritech innovation, share the latest findings, promote cooperation among enterprises, universities, and research institutes, and the commercialization of the research results, thus fostering new drivers for global agricultural development. Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Kenneth M. Quinn, Honorary President of the World Food Prize Foundation, Weng Tiehui, Vice Minister of Education, and Zhong Denghua, Secretary of the Party Committee of China Agricultural University, delivered video or on-site speeches.
Before the opening ceremony, Yin Li met with foreign dignitaries who were in attendance for the conference.
The opening ceremony was attended by leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China Agricultural University, and the Beijing Municipal Government, including Zhang Xingwang, Wu Kongming, Sun Qixin, Liu Yuhui, Wang Hong, as well as Mu Peng, Secretary General of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality.
