From September 16 to 25, more than 30 representatives from 15 countries in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa participated in the 6^th Capacity Building for Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) under the Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) and China’s South-South Cooperation (SSC) Programme. The training workshop was held in Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian Province in China.

GIAHS is a comprehensive programme initiated by the FAO in 2002 which aims to identify and safeguard Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and their associated landscapes, agricultural biodiversity and knowledge systems. Within the framework of SSC,  FAO and the Government of China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the capacity development of member states in the implementation and management of the GIAHS programme.  

In order to train national staff to become focal points of GIAHS and encourage them to initiate , implement and manage GIAHS programme in their respective countries, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) and the FAO co-sponsored and organized the high-level capacity building and training workshops on GIAHS. From 2014 to 2018, five consecutive training workshops had been successfully held and high quality trainings have been provided to nearly 130 government officials and representatives from more than 60 countries.

At the opening ceremony of the sixth training workshop, Ma Hongtao, Deputy Director-General of Department of International Cooperation Service of MARA delivered a welcoming speech. She emphasized that as a large agricultural country and an ancient agricultural civilization, China fully understands and appreciates the concept of GIAHS.

“After more than ten years of continuous exploration and experimentation, China has made significant progress in implementation and management, technology support, international exchange, poverty alleviation and rural revitalization of GIAHS sites, and hopes to share China’s lessons and experiences with more countries around the world,” added Ma.

Tong Yu’e, Director General of Center of the International Cooperation Service of MARA also delivered a speech at the opening. She highlighted that the training workshops have not only enhanced the understanding of GIAHS work among participants, but also provided them opportunities to learn how to develop traditional ecological agriculture to adapt the changing requirements on food security, biodiversity conservation, and responding to natural disasters.

During the 10-day workshop, participants participated in 15 lectures, group discussions and a number of field trips to the Chinese GIAHS and NIAHS ( China’s Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems) sites. Representatives from GIAHS designated countries, Members of GIAHS Scientific Advisory Group and other international experts were also invited to share their experiences with trainees.  

Yoshihide Endo, GIAHS Programme Coordinator in FAO Headquarters introduced concept, approach, actual sites as well as the latest developments of the GIAHS programme. Dr. Benjamin Davis, FAO’s Strategic Programm Leader of Rural Poverty Reduction Programme Management Team presented the efforts of FAO on rural poverty reduction in recent years. Project officials from the South-South Cooperation Office of the FAO Headquarters and FAO China representative office introduced the long-term support and contribution of the FAO-China SSC Program to GIAHS since 2015.

During the field visits, participants visited the Huzhou Sangji Fish Pond System in Zhejiang Province, the Tongling White Ginger System in Anhui Province, and the Anxi Tieguanyin Tea Culture System in Fujian province.

At the closing ceremony of the workshop, many participants expressed that the workshop was both meaningful for its comprehensive programme, and memorable for their personal experiences and communications with different officials, GIAHS working staff and experts. After returning to their home countries, they hope to became the GIAHS “ambassadors” and bring back the theoretical knowledge and valuable experiences gained in China. Moreover, they would also like to be actively involved in the promotion of GIAHS and make their own contribution to the protection of precious agricultural culture and heritages of all human being.