The Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in collaboration with the People’s Republic of China commenced an online training programme on “Agricultural Industry development and Poverty Reduction” on 18 May 2023. The training will be held for two weeks. The aim of the training programme is to give an overview of the agricultural industry, build an understanding of modern technology in the agro-industry and catalyze a stronger, deeper and more collaborative response among CICA countries to alleviate poverty through cooperation in the agriculture sector.
This training is being organized according to the 2023 CICA Plan of Implementation of Confidence Building Measures adopted by the Senior Officials Committee in December 2022. The People’s Republic of China is the coordinator in the priority area of Agriculture in the CICA Economic Dimension. China’s International Exchange Centre of Yangling Demonstration Zone structured this training programme keeping in view the potential requirements of policymakers, entrepreneurs and researchers of CICA Member States.
During the opening ceremony, CICA Deputy Secretary General Ms CHI Fang highlighted the importance of the development of agro-industry in achieving sustainable food security in Asia. She also emphasized cooperative collaboration in sharing best practices and relevant information for the alleviation of poverty in CICA countries. She appreciated China and the Yangling Demonstration Zone for organizing the important training programme in the agriculture priority area and encouraged representatives of CICA Member States for active participation.
The training programme would feature structured lectures and presentations by the Foreign Ministry of China, learned professors from various Universities in China, such as Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Management Cadre College of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Central University for Nationalities School of Economics and Management, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Rural Development, and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Agricultural Products Trade and Policy Research Office. The two-week training series would address several themes, such as an introduction of China’s national conditions, overview of agricultural development in China, key practices and effectiveness of China’s targeted poverty alleviation programme, effective interface between rural revitalization and poverty alleviation in China, role of agro-industrial development in promoting poverty reduction, case study on comprehensive utilization of agricultural resources and development of new industries, farmers’ cooperative operation and management, transformation and upgrading of the agricultural industry, multi-industry integration in agriculture, special agricultural products development and rural development, agro-industrial chain establishment, etc.
Participation in the training programme is open to representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, staff members of the CICA Secretariat, professional experts from Yangling Demonstration Zone and representatives from the agricultural associations, government officials and policymakers of the CICA countries. About 80 participants from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Palestine, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Qatar attended first day’s training session.
The training programme is an opportunity for the CICA countries to learn, discuss concerns, exchange ideas and experiences to face the new and emerging challenges in the agricultural sector. The training will be concluded on 31 May 2023.
