China to further SSC in agriculture with UN: Chinese official

The past 40 years have witnessed China’s great achievements in agriculture, and China will further its cooperation with three Rome-based UN Agencies (RBAs) in promoting joint agricultural projects, said a Chinese official to UN in Buenos Aires, Argentinaon Wednesday.

Shi Jiaoqun, deputy permanent representative of China to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture, introduces China’s experience in agriculture at RBAs-China Side Event at BAPA+40 Conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 20. [Photo by Jiao Meng / Chinagate.cn]

Shi Jiaoqun, deputy permanent representative of China to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture,said at the RBAs-China Side Event at the Second High-Level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40 Conference),“Over the past four decades since the reform and opening up in 1978, China has impressed the world with its agricultural achievements.”

“China has been lifting more than 700 million rural population out of poverty and producing over 650 million Metric Tons of grains annually for 4 consecutive years,” he stressed.

As for promoting South-South cooperation,Shi noted that by now China has partnered with more than 100 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America on 100 poverty reduction projects and 100 farming cooperation projects. China and many international organizations have jointly established Trust Funds for South-South Cooperation in Agriculture.

According to Shi, China has built more than 20 agricultural technology demonstration centers, sent over 30,000 Chinese experts and technicians, and trained more than 50,000 people in developing countries on agricultural production.

In his remarks, Shi emphasized three features standing out in China’s participation in South-South Cooperation: first, China insists mutual respect and cooperation on equal footing; second, China takes a right approach to justice and interests by putting justice before interests; third, China believes multilateral cooperation for an all-win result.

Shi also mentioned that China has undertaken a large number of fruitful South-South and Triangular Cooperation projects together with other developing countries and international organizations, particularly under the FAO’s Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS).

“China has donated a total of US$80 million to China-FAO Trust Fund PhaseI and PhaseII, thus making it to the biggest developing donor to the FAO,” Shi added.

Shi mentioned that the projects supported by China and IFAD SSTC Facility are proceeding steadily, while focusing on giving full play to the comparative advantages of IFAD investment promotion role, exploring the innovation of PPP mechanism, and highlighting the effectiveness and sustainability of the projects.

Shi proposed three suggestions for further promote SSC in agriculture: first,increasing support to jointly forge flagship projects; second, seeking greater complementarity between development strategies to build a community of shared interests; third, expanding cooperation to make projects more sustainable.

“I hope that the RBAs and other partners will make good use of economic and market tools to increase their investment in and support for SSC, promote the sustainable development of relevant industries, and provide new driving forces for the overall development of agriculture in the world,” Shi said.

The RBAs-China Side Event aimed at offering an opportunity to review the history of agricultural cooperation between China and the RBAs, discuss new paths and modalities to deepen the SSC in the new era, and contribute wisdom to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.