Cultural Ecology Museum proposed by Tsinghua students

On July 5th, the “Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – Tsinghua University Ag-LabCx Innovation Incubation Event” was held at the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA). At the event, products and service systems designed for Hani Terraces in Honghe County of Yunnan Province by the Tsinghua students were released, and the “Honghe Innovation Plan” was officially launched.

This event was jointly organized by FAO China Office and School of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University, and supported by CFPA and Shanpin Gongshe. More than 80 representatives from UN agencies, government, nonprofit organizations, academia and private sector participated in the event.

In his opening remark, the UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Nicholas Rosellini said, “agricultural growth is one of the most powerful pathways for raising the income of the most vulnerable, tackling poverty and promoting economic sustainability. Today, innovation in the food and Agriculture sectors is critical for improving agricultural productivity and output, farmers’ income, as well as food and nutrition security.”

Combining the expertise of the FAO in agriculture with the expertise of Tsinghua in design, the Ag-LabCx creates a special Service Design Course to jointly explore agricultural innovation. In this spring, with support from the CFPA, students of the Ag-LabCx conducted a field research in Hani Terraces of Honghe County, and designed localized products and service systems with innovative ideas and methods.

“To realize a world free of hunger and malnutrition is the goal of FAO. We believe that agricultural innovation is the central driving force for achieving this goal. Therefore, FAO China Office has set up an Innovation Lab with currently focuses on two fields: connecting family farmers to the market with ICT, and reducing food loss and waste,” said Mr. Vincent Martin, FAO Representative in China and DPR Korea. He also said that, through service design courses, design thinking and activities such as Hackathon, the Innovation Lab aims at building a platform for different parties to jointly promote agricultural innovation.

Through field research in Hani Terraces and in-depth discussions with experts and professors, near 20 Tsinghua students proposed five innovative solutions based on local conditions: Hani Terraces Adoption Programme, Cultural Ecology Museum, Cultural Eco-tourism, Red Rice Development, and Cultural Protection and Promotion. At the event, students presented these solutions and received certificates from FAO.

Professor Fu Zhiyong from School of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University said, “With the coordination and support from FAO and CFPA, our students have had the opportunity to meet and communicate with local farmers and other stakeholders, which gives us a multi-angle perspective.  This is very precious for our design.”

The Hani Rice Terraces was designated as “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIHAS)” by FAO in 2010. Honghe County, where Hani Rice Terraces is located, is a national-level poverty-stricken county. The Ag-LabCx selected this place as the pilot site to foster sustainable approaches for the development of this GIHAS site and help alleviate local farmers from poverty.

 “This project involved different parties and applied the most cutting-edge technologies and concepts to the poverty alleviation work in Honghe County, a deeply impoverished area. This is one of the most innovative cases in which social forces participate in poverty alleviation,” Liu Wenkui, Vice Chairman and Vice Secretary-General of CFPA, pointed out.         

Luo Chongkai, Deputy Head of Honghe County Government, introduced that Honghe County is an agricultural county located in mountain area near frontier. Most residents there are ethnic minorities, and the original ecological resources of terraces there are well preserved. Yet how to increase the land productivity and farmers’ income is of concern for the local government. He said, "the solutions proposed by the Ag-LabCx closely match the local resources and the characteristics of Hani Terraces. It is based on the functions of the Internet, e-commerce and new media, setting a benchmark for connecting our local farmers with the market."

At the end of the meeting, representatives and students jointly announced that the “Honghe Innovation Plan” was officially launched. Solutions proposed by the students will be locally adapted under the guidance and support of the CFPA and other partners, to help the local farmers on poverty alleviation and sustainable development.