Boosting Food Security in Africa! China–Africa International Symposium on Perennial Rice Held at the African Union Headquarters

On October 16, 2024, the China–Africa International Symposium on Perennial Rice, jointly organized by the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union and the African Union Commission, and co-hosted by BGI Group and Yunnan University, was held at the African Union Headquarters. Ambassador Hu Changchun of the Chinese Mission to the African Union, Sako, Commissioner for Agriculture of the African Union, Dr. Yin Ye, CEO of BGI Group, and Professor Hu Fengyi, Chief Scientist of the Perennial Rice Program at Yunnan University, attended the symposium and delivered speeches. The symposium aimed to address multiple challenges, including food security and sustainable agricultural development in Africa. More than 200 participants from the African Union and United Nations agencies, agricultural authorities of various countries, diplomatic missions, Chinese enterprises, and research institutions attended both online and offline.

Ambassador Hu Changchun stated that China will actively implement the outcomes proposed by President Xi Jinping at the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, including the “Partnership Action for Agricultural Development and People’s Well-being.” China will work with all parties to promote advanced and appropriate agricultural technologies such as perennial rice, support Africa’s food security and agricultural modernization, and build an all-weather China–Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

Commissioner Sako expressed appreciation for China’s active sharing of advanced agricultural experience and technologies. He noted that perennial rice has been listed as a strategic innovative technology by the African Union Summit, and that joint efforts to promote it across Africa will inject new momentum into the continent’s food security and socio-economic development.

Dr. Yin Ye delivered a keynote speech titled “Forward-Looking Reflections on the Future of Agriculture — Life Begets All,” showcasing BGI’s efforts to advance rice breeding through genomic sequencing and spatiotemporal omics technologies. He also introduced BGI Bioverse as BGI Group’s practical system in the field of smart agriculture, highlighting its important role in combating desertification, cultivating perennial crops, and developing microbial ecosystems.

Professor Hu Fengyi introduced the advantages of perennial rice in agricultural production, explained how it addresses key challenges encountered in rice cultivation, and shared the progress of his 27-year research and breeding efforts on perennial rice.

As an innovative rice cultivation model, perennial rice not only contributes “Chinese wisdom” and “Chinese strength” to the modernization of African agriculture, but also offers new solutions for global food security.

Some of the content is sourced from the official WeChat account of the Chinese Mission to the African Union.