The 6th Global Forum of Leaders for Agricultural Science and Technology 2019 (GLAST-2019), was held in Chengdu on Nov. 12. It was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the People’s Government of Chengdu. The theme of the event was “Promoting Green Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas through Science and Technology.” FAO’s Director-General Qu Dongyu sent a video message. Zhang Taolin, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tang Huajun, President of CAAS, Yao Sidan, Vice Governor of Sichuan Province, and Luo Qiang, Mayor of Chengdu, attended the opening ceremony and delivered their speeches.  

Zhang Taolin pointed out that China has made a series of breakthrough achievements by attaching great importance to green development and vigorously promoting related scientific and technological innovations. These achievements have provided strong scientific support for the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. In order to realize the goals of eliminating hunger and poverty as well as achieving sustainable development, as outlined in the United Nations 2030 Report on Sustainable Development,  China will implement the rural vitalization and innovation-driven development strategy at the lead, carry on the policy of green development by relying on scientific and technological innovation for agriculture, strengthen cooperation with countries around the world, promote the high-tech achievement transformation and enhance green development capacity building as well as improve the green development of agriculture and rural areas. It will be our hope that leaders, managers, and scholars in the world who have been engaged in the areas of agricultural technology will further expand the scope and content of their cooperation and accelerate the construction of a global network for scientific and technological innovation in agriculture in order to contribute wisdom and strength to the sustainable development goals set forth in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

Tang Huajun stressed that the key to the green development of agriculture and rural areas relied on scientific and technological progress and innovation, which would be guided by international cooperation on some original research and breakthrough results. Therefore, CAAS will launch the “International Agricultural Science Program” with the aim of establishing a mechanism for a sustained international cooperation on collaborative research, facilitate the integration of scientists from all countries into a global innovation network so as to enhance scientific innovation, promote cooperation and conduct joint research on key generic technology. 

Over 400 delegates from government departments and agricultural research institutes of 39 countries and officials from 15 international organizations as well as from  China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology, and agricultural research institutions attended the meeting.