BEIJING, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Green agriculture chain, as one of the five main exhibitions during the recently concluded China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), had gained much attention on its latest innovative and smart development.
Gathering 65 companies that focus on core links, and key technologies and products of the agricultural industry chain, the exhibition showcases the whole agricultural industry chain of products and services, from farm to table.
Covering various aspects such as crop breeding, planting, fertilization, agricultural product packaging, and cold chain logistics, the development of China's green agriculture also extends its chain to the global market through cooperation.
-- Full-chain innovation
The green code of high-quality agricultural products lies in seeds.
People visit the booth of Syngenta Group at the exhibition area on green agriculture chain during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Li He)
A visually appealing wall composed of diverse crop seeds caught the eyes of many at the exhibition booth of Yuan Longping Hi-Tech Agriculture Co., Ltd. (Longping High-Tech), together with the prints of "Seeds of Excellence, Cultivated by China".
According to a senior executive of Longping Hi-Tech, the company has established a commercial breeding system with independent innovation and has achieved a large number of breakthroughs in breeding. The area of improved varieties promoted globally each year is nearly 180 million mu (12 million hectares), which includes 45 million mu (3 million hectares) of hybrid rice and 125 million mu (around 8.33 million hectares) of hybrid corn.
Moving along the chain, scientific breeding drives product innovation. Syngenta Group, a subsidiary of Sinochem, displayed its achievements in producing high-quality melons, pumpkins, and other agricultural products during the event. Notably, it leverages China's germplasm resource advantages and cultivates a rice variety featuring high yield, water-saving, and early maturity. This rice variety has been promoted to Southeast Asia and Africa. "We focus on the product innovation chain and rely on global innovation resources, solidifying our role in safeguarding world food security," said Liu Hongsheng, president of Syngenta Group China.
Another important link of green agriculture is fertilizer. At this exhibition, Liu Hexing, chairman of Yuntianhua Group, asserted the group's commitment to ensuring the provision of fertilizers at stable prices while continuously driving the green transformation of fertilizers. Liu emphasized that the group has been promoting the use of scientific and accurate fertilization technologies and improving the utilization rate of fertilizer, thus safeguarding soil health.
-- Smart development
Green agriculture has gone smart as well. At the exhibition booth of Heli Intelligent Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., a "mobile factory" is spotted. The complete set of extraction equipment presented by Heli Intelligent can function under low-temperature conditions and with high efficiency. This high-tech mobile intelligent factory is specifically designed for the deep processing of agricultural products in the production area. The equipment can quickly move to the production farms to conduct efficient processing operations, retaining the nutrients of fresh agricultural products.
A visitor takes photo of a drone for plant protection at the exhibition area on green agriculture chain during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Xiangxin)
For example, the mobile factory can go directly to the fields and extract the nutrients from the goji berries when they are fully ripe, ensuring maximum freshness and preserving their valuable properties, according to the exhibition booth manager. Local processing can also address challenges in terms of transporting and storage of fresh agricultural products.
Zhao Chunjiang, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the director of the National Engineering Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture, emphasized the importance of incorporating cutting-edge technologies, such as agricultural sensors, big data technology, and intelligent agricultural equipment in the field of agriculture and rural sectors. He believes that such technologies have the potential to organically integrate the production links into a whole chain, enabling fully automatic or low-labor operations and ultimately achieving green and sustainable development.
-- Global cooperation
The development of China's green agriculture chain also extends its reach to the global market, bringing global agricultural products into China, while also making Chinese agricultural products well recognized on the international stage.
At the CISCE, various products from around the world, such as wine from South Africa, coffee from Kenya, tropical fruits from Malaysia, and rose essential oil from Bulgaria, among others, are seen in the exhibition booth of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives. These products have attracted many visitors who eagerly line up for a taste.
At the Starbucks booth, the staff introduced that the quality of coffee beans sourced from southwest China's Yunnan Province has been consistently improving, and the Starbucks Reserve series products have used high-quality Yunnan coffee beans.
In 2012, Starbucks established its Farmer Support Center in Yunnan. The center has offered professional training and technical support to more than 30,000 local coffee farmers. The Chinese coffee market has unlimited potential, and Starbucks is optimistic about it and committed to investing in China's coffee market for the long term, noted Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan. (Edited by Niu Huizhe with Xinhua Silk Road, niuhuizhe@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
