Release Date: October 11, 2025 Source: Department of Science and Technology
From October 10th to 11th, the Academic Seminar on the China-EU Agricultural Flagship Project “New Sustainable Business and Production Models for Farmers and Rural Areas” was successfully held in Xiamen. This meeting not only established a platform for in-depth exchange among experts and scholars in agriculture from China and Europe but also marked the official launch of the key special project under the National Key R&D Program for Intergovernmental International S&T Innovation Cooperation—”New Sustainable Business and Production Models for Farmers and Rural Areas.” This initiative injects new momentum into promoting urban-rural integration and facilitating the green transformation of agriculture.
Opening Ceremony and Keynote Reports
The conference invited five renowned Chinese and foreign experts to deliver keynote speeches, setting the stage for the seminar.
- Academician Chen Jianping from Ningbo University spoke on the topic “University Village: How to Transform ‘Heaven’s Economy’ and ‘Ancestors’ Economy’ into ‘People’s Economy,” exploring distinctive development paths that empower the local economy through natural endowments and cultural heritage.
- Professor Philipp Grundmann from the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (Germany) presented an “Overview of the NEXRUR Project,” introducing the project to aid agricultural development.
- Professor Yu Jianxing, Secretary of the Party Committee of Zhejiang Gongshang University and Professor at Zhejiang University, focused on “Towards a Fairer, Inclusive, and Sustainable China Agriculture and Rural Areas,” elaborating on the value pursuit and practical direction of agricultural and rural development.
- Professor Maria Sonia Marcos Naveira from the University of Burgos (Spain) and Dr. Jan Eelco Jansma from Wageningen University (Netherlands) jointly delivered a report titled “Co-learning and co-innovating business strategies with rural communities,” sharing the concept of collaboratively learning and innovating business strategies with rural communities.
These five experts shared cutting-edge perspectives from their respective research fields, providing significant inspiration for the project’s research direction.
Expert Consultation and Project Launch
To ensure the scientific and efficient advancement of the project, the lead unit, the Institute of Urban Environment, meticulously formed a multidisciplinary consulting expert group consisting of 13 authoritative experts after fully soliciting opinions from all participating units. These experts, renowned scholars in agriculture, environment, economics, and policy, will provide professional guidance and technical support for the project’s implementation throughout the entire cycle.
At the expert consultation meeting, the project leaders and heads of various topics reported the implementation plan in detail, covering the background, significance, objectives, assessment indicators, research content, task settings, cooperation plans, technical routes, annual plans, and safeguard measures. Academician Zhu Yongguan, the group leader, emphasized in his review and guidance that the project should strengthen the interdisciplinary research paradigm, further refine scientific issues from practical needs and problems, and promote urban-rural prosperity through collaborative innovation with industries. He urged the team to use this major project as a link to strengthen teamwork, serve the exchange and cooperation between China and the EU, and drive more projects. The on-site consultation meeting was chaired by Professor Qian Wenrong, the deputy group leader.
Youth Seminar and Thematic Discussions
The seminar featured a special Youth Seminar, where young scholars from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Gongshang University, and other institutions gathered to exchange ideas on the theme of sustainable agricultural development. Focusing on the two core directions of “Agriculture and Environmental Basic Sciences” and “Rural Governance and Green Development,” young scholars not only shared the latest research results on “Paddy Soil Organic Carbon Cycle” and “New Rural Collective Economy” but also conducted in-depth discussions on cutting-edge topics such as agricultural insurance policies, urban-rural soil ecological evolution, farmland ecosystem security, rural environmental governance, and the environmental effects of green agricultural technologies. This session fully demonstrated the characteristics of interdisciplinary integration and showcased the innovation vitality and potential of young research teams in the field of sustainable agricultural development, reserving young talent for the project’s long-term advancement.
On the afternoon of October 11th, the Seminar on Business and Production Models was convened. Experts and scholars from cooperating institutions on both sides, including the European Green Innovation Organization, the European Association for Leadership in Rural Development, the Center for Sustainable Consumption and Production Cooperation (Germany), the West Macedonia Bioeconomy and Environmental Industry Incubation Park, Ningbo University, East China University of Political Science and Law, Yangzhou University, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, engaged in heated discussions on key issues. These included soil biodiversity, agricultural climate resilience, agricultural sustainable transition, business model innovation, agricultural greenhouse gas emission reduction, rural governance and collective economic development, stakeholder win-win cooperation, and agricultural industrial park construction. These discussions clarified the key directions for subsequent project cooperation.
Project Significance and Outlook
The successful convening of the China-EU Agricultural Flagship Project Academic Seminar not only laid a solid foundation for the launch of the “New Sustainable Business and Production Models for Farmers and Rural Areas” project but also established a long-term platform for S&T exchange and cooperation between China and Europe in agriculture. In the future, the project team will take this seminar as an opportunity to deepen cross-disciplinary and transnational cooperation, promote the innovation and practice of sustainable agricultural business and production models, and contribute more wisdom and strength to助力 rural revitalization and promote the green and sustainable development of global agriculture.
The China-EU Agricultural Flagship Project “New Sustainable Business and Production Models for Farmers and Rural Areas” is jointly led by the Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (Germany). It brings together the strength of over thirty top scientific research institutions and universities from China and the EU. The core goal of the project is to build a collaborative innovation network covering business and production models for the sustainable development of farmers and rural areas. Through cross-national and interdisciplinary cooperation, the project aims to solve key problems in agricultural sustainable development and provide a “China-EU Solution” for the green transformation of global agriculture.
Source URL:中国-欧盟农业旗舰项目“农民和农村新的可持续商业和生产模式”学术研讨会在厦门顺利召开–城市环境研究所