International Symposium on Agroecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in China, 29-31 August 2016

© FAO: H. Zhang

Please note that registration for participation in this symposium has been closed

29-31 August 2016, Kunming, Yunnan, China

In September 2014 FAO convened a global symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition. This has been followed in 2015 by three regional meetings in BrazilSenegal and Thailand. These meetings have brought together stakeholders from academia, policy and civil society to better understand the role and potential of agroecology. It confirmed that effective work on Agroecology should be based on regional and local realities as well as economic, social and environmental conditions.

In order to continue to develop this regional approach a further Symposium on Agroecology was successfully jointly organized by The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), FAO, and The People's Government of Yunnan Province of China, with the support of The Government of France.

Agroecology in the context of China                                                                

In May 2015, The State Council of China released the “National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Agriculture Development (2015-2030)”. This was followed by the State Council’s “Guidelines for Accelerating Transformation of China’s Agriculture Development Mechanisms” issued in Aug 2015. This was developed in order to protect China’s ecosystems with great care and to promote agroecology in several provinces. A series of effective science and technology models have been developed as well to reduce the usage of chemical fertilizer and pesticide, as well as to efficient utilize and recycle animal waste, crop straws and mulching film. 

Programme

The meeting consisted of two parts, please see the agenda for more details:

  • A one-day field visit: three thematic on-site parallel field visits (29 August);
  • The two-day Symposium consisting of 4 parallel sessions, with 8 topics, covering Technological and innovation aspects and Socio-economic and policy aspects (30-31 August).

Objectives and scope

The symposium aimed at encouraging dialogue around the scientific basis and the experiences of implementing Agroecology in Asia and China, and had the following specific objectives:

  • facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences among participating countries on the contribution of agroecology to sustainable agriculture and food systems; 
  • identify and define potential entry points and areas of contribution of agroecology to China’s national strategic plan and implementation of the State Council’s Guidelines for ‘Transforming Agricultural to the Development Mechanisms’;
  • catalyse international collaboration to develop ways forward for strengthening agroecological practices and programmes in the region;
  • develop a set of recommendations for policy makers for implementing agroecology programmes and practices at a provincial, national and regional level.