The 2nd Belt and Road Food Security Forum and 2024 International Academic Exchange Conference on Tropical Agricultural Science and Technology Cooperation were inaugurated in Sanya, Hainan. Over 200 experts, officials and industry representatives from China, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, etc. gathered to discuss global food safety status quo and share breeding research achievements, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Tuesday. Hainan, as the southernmost province in South China Sea, has unique climate and landforms with tropical characteristics.  Since 1950s, China’s agricultural scientists have started to come to Hainan from September to May annually to conduct breeding-related activities to shorten the breeding cycle by half or more, which is called “Nanfan” i.e. seed breeding in South China. Revealed by the forum, giving scope to “Nanfan” science and technology and preferential policies of Hainan Free Trade Port, an international cooperation center on commercialization of agricultural scientific and technological innovation was built.  In the future a variety of joint tropical agricultural research will be carried out in the center among the Belt and Road countries to safeguard global food security. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China