The 3rd Symposium on Exchange and Cooperation to Enhance Interaction for Agricultural Science and Technology in South and Southeast Asia was held at Zhaotong from August 19-23, 2019. The symposium was jointly sponsored by Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhaotong Municipal Party Committee and Zhaotong Municipal people\'s government. In total, 270 delegates of 13 National Agricultural Research Institutions from Myanmar, Thailand and Pakistan, as well as experts and scholars from the Ministry of Agriculture China, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China Agricultural University and 18 provincial agricultural academies participated in the symposium. Mr. Liu Xinlong, the deputy director of Sugarcane Research Institute of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences along with 3 scientists from Asian and Africa also attended the meeting.
During the program, participants visited Zhaotong apple industrial base, potato seed and potato seed propagation base and potato seed technology and breeding center. The visitors learned how the apple and potato industries in Zhaotong area help fight against poverty and promote rural revitalization and development. The scientists impart technological guidance to the farmers for agricultural industrial development and setting up large scale cooperative farming enterprises by providing them with support and information on high-quality seed sources, purchasing, processing and marketing of agricultural products. This model allows technological advances to be turned into production advantages at the grassroots level. It has improved the farmers\' socio-economic status by enhancing the yield of high-quality agricultural products and high economic returns, along with the development of technology-driven industry. It is a powerful model of "government-led enterprise participation with science and technology support" for agricultural science and technology to help poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.
In the opening session of symposium, the leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Villages, Zhaotong Municipal Committee and Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences made important speeches, describing the achievements made for the development of mountain agriculture in Yunnan. They emphasized that all scientists and entrepreneurs involved in the development of Yunnan\'s green agriculture industry can fully rely on Yunnan\'s geographical advantages and agricultural science and technology advances for extended cooperation in agricultural science and technology with other countries, to provide strong technical support for agricultural development. The participants from Sugarcane Institute presented reports on "current agricultural development in the region around the Himalayas", "research progress on vegetables in the plateau region" and "research status of tuber crops in Egypt". The development of plateau agriculture in each country was introduced. Through this symposium, we had a more comprehensive understanding of the current situation of agricultural development in South and Southeast Asia, along with increased interaction with the scientists from other countries in a friendly environment. Further, some good experiences and agricultural models can provide important references for the development of Yunnan sugarcane industry. (Reviewer: Xinlong Liu )
Figure 1. Participants of Sugarcane Institute at the opening session
Figure 2. Visit to apple orchard
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3. Visit to potato seed propagation base