Doctor Wang Ren, assistant director general of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), highlighted the importance of innovation to address the challenges of urbanization, sustainable management of natural resources and climate change.

Doctor Wang Ren, FAO assistant director general, delivers a speech on the seminar on May 26. [Photo/CAAS]

Also present at the seminar were Doctor Patrick Caron, HLPE Chair; Doctor Nie Fengying, deputy director of the Agricultural Information Institute of CAAS; Doctor Chen Mengshan, director of the National Food Security and Nutrition Consultant Council and Chairman of CAAS; Doctor Wu Kongming, vice president of CAAS; and Courtney Paisley, YPARD Global Coordinator.

The seminar was held during celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and was chaired by Mei Fangquan, member of the Committee on World Food Security and of the Center for International Agricultural Research (CIAR).

CIAR, established by CAAS in 2016, is an open platform to internationally promote CAAS's technology through trans-sectional cooperation and interdisciplinary research on major scientific innovations.

Mei Fangquan, member of the Committee on World Food Security and of CIAR, introduces attendees of the seminar on May 26. [Photo/CAAS]