Between 27-28 November, led by Professor Han Jiqin, Dean of College of International Education (COIE), and Ms. Wang Yingshuang, Head of Admission, COIE, four NJAU international student representatives (among them one student participated the conference online) attended the Third Annual Conference of Belt and Road/South-South Cooperation Agricultural Education, Science and Technology Innovation League (BRSSCAL). This conference is jointly hosted by Hainan University and BRSSCAL, and co-organized by the Office of Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City and the Sanya Research Institute of China Agricultural University. It aimed to promote in-depth international cooperation in agriculture, provide intellectual support for agricultural development under the COVID-19 pandemic context, and promote exchanges and sharing.
On the morning of 27thNovember, the international students introduced their posters to the delegates and exchanged their research achievements. Afterwards, they all attended the opening ceremony of the conference and listened to the keynote speeches.
On that afternoon, Mohammad Shah Jahan, the Bangladesh PhD student in Vegetable Science, was invited to give a speech entitled “the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Agricultural Production in Bangladesh”. He introduced the impact of the epidemic on his motherland Bangladesh and his research progress in vegetable science.
On 28thNovember, the students visited Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City and the Sanya Research Institute of China Agricultural University, and had in-depth communications with the local experts.
After the conference, the students all felt they have benefited a lot from the event. Here are their comments:
Osewe Maurice Omondi, the Kenyan PhD student in Agricultural Economic Management, believed: " The key message was, the epidemic has affected every country though not equally, and some states have responded differently. The impacts are paramount on the smallholder farmers who depend on agricultural production for their subsistence. On the conference, the experts offered their sincere view of the need to have food reserves and build a robust short supply chain of the necessary goods to help curb the effects of Covid-19. In conclusion, the conference was informative and a vent for networking, which is essential in student life. "
Samuel Mbugua Nyambura, the PhD student in Agricultural Mechanization Engineering,reckoned:” Covid-19 is a pandemic that will test the entire global food landscape, that is evident. And yet as it stands, the global south has the technology and wisdom to overcome this challenge. Through all the chaos that we have faced in the recent past, through all the hardships, and the discord, through all the pain and the suffering, through all of our times, there is one thing that will nourish our souls and elevate our countries above this pandemic, and that is our collaboration. Indeed, one tree doesn’t make a forest.”
Mohammad Shah Jahan, the Bangladeshi PhD student in Vegetable Science, said: “It’s my honor and privilege that I actively joined this knowledge sharing conference. I am very lucky for that I represented the Nanjing Agricultural University in the other place and in front of people. I learned many things from this conference. The experts have shared their valuable findings on the agricultural production and food security and global epidemic context. Here, they mainly focused on COVID-19 effects on agricultural production, supply chain management, nutritional security, food shortage, and how to mitigate the pandemic through international collaboration.”
Cherinet Mekonen Tekliye, the Ethiopian PhD student in Food Science and Engineering, considered:" I am very glad to attend this conference online. The conference gave me a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the pandemic on global agricultural production and food security. In response to the outbreak, ensuring the availability of raw materials and labor, we need to subsidize the companies to maintain their workers, give them tax exemption, enhance better storage and distribution capacity, and encourage product and market diversification. Meanwhile, it is also very important to put in place quality control and monitoring measures.”
In 2018, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and other relevant ministries and commissions, led by China Agricultural University and participated by more than 70 agriculture-related universities at home and abroad, the Belt and Road/South-South Cooperation Agricultural Education, Science and Technology Innovation League (BRSSCAL) was established in Beijing. In response to the national Belt and Road Initiative, BRSSCAL aims to build a development platform for agricultural and forestry universities and agriculture-related enterprises for consultation, co-construction and sharing.
It is reported that this conference has received strong support from concerned ministries and commissions, international organizations and BRSSCAL member colleges and universities at home and abroad. Delegates from the Ministry of Education, Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations, Office of South-South Cooperation of the United Nations, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), Department of Education and Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hainan Province, 24 agro-related universities, 12 overseas BRSSCAL member institutions, and postgraduate representatives from 16 countries attended the conference.