Innovate UK and China’s Rural Technology Development Centre have signed an MoU to help grow new UK-China partnerships in the Agri-Tech sector
Read the official blog report from the UK Embassy to China here
Great Britain has been a leader of agricultural innovation for centuries. From Jethro Tull’s horse-drawn soil tills and seed drills of the early 18th century, Lawes’s new chemical fertilisers in the 19th, and the coordinated development of new varieties of crops and new breeds of livestock in the 20th, technological innovations have improved the productivity and sustainability of Britain’s agriculture. Today, the world will need much food in the next 20-30 years to meet the needs of its increasing, and increasingly affluent, population. Finding more efficient, productive and sustainable ways of meeting that need is essential, and innovating and applying new agricultural technologies will be an important way of achieving this goal.
On 5th November in the ancient city of Xi’an in western China, Innovate UK and the China Rural Technology Development Centre (CRTDC) singed an MoU to boost collaboration in the Agri-Tech sector, which will develop new partnerships to solve problems both countries face when trying to deliver more sustainable and integrated food production systems. The signing was the culmination of the UK-China Agri-Tech Innovation Policy Roundtable, which brought together major Agri-Tech support and development agencies from China and the UK, including the Agri-Tech Department of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the State Intellectual Property Office, and UK Agri-Tech specialists from the Department for International Trade, the UK-China Sustainable Innovation Network (SAIN), the Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute and Rothamsted Research. The commitment on both sides was impressive, and the applause after the signing was heartfelt and long-lasting.
There are many ways modern technologies can be applied in agriculture. One very successful example given at the meeting is the now well-established use of electronic monitoring of cattle from birth in Northern Ireland, an initiative that has already seen consumer confidence boom and helped farmers improve livestock management. It was fitting, therefore that the UK’s keynote address was given by Michelle McIlveen MLA, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the Northern Ireland government. Dr Jia Dingjun, Director General of CTRDC, offered a fascinating perspective on China’s Agri-Tech development.
I have just been appointed to manage the Science and Technology Facilities Council-funded, Rothamsted Research-run, “Agri-Tech in China, Newton Network +” programme, and so for me the Policy Roundtable and the Agri-Tech Innovation Forum that followed were my first opportunities to get to know some of the key players in the sector, grasp the challenges that Agri-Tech seeks to address, and envision the possibilities of new bilateral partnerships. Whilst the Roundtable was formal and its outcome already agreed, the Forum was a networking event and also very helpful, with many agencies and companies from China and the UK giving succinct presentations encapsulating their experiences and achievements. This was followed by a matchmaking session, where the practicalities of the possibilities offered could be addressed, and new nascent partnerships developed.
The MoU provides a strong and supportive framework under which the Network + can increase its support to the Agri-Tech sector, and grow new academic and commercial partnerships between the UK and China. The opportunities are numerous, and the Network + looks forward to fostering new Agri-Tech initiatives for the good of Britain, China and the world.
Agri-Tech in China: Newton Network 