From December 9th to 10th, the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Agriculture was held in Sanya, China. In his opening remarks, Han Changfu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China (MARA), underlined that MARA will continue to strengthen the cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the framework of FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC).

In his keynote speech, Han Changfu highlighted that China and Africa have a longstanding cooperation in agriculture based on equality and mutual benefit. Positive progress has been made in key areas such as trade and investment, cultural exchanges, and technological training. As far as multilateral agricultural cooperation is concerned, he emphasized that China will continue to deepen cooperation with international agencies like FAO, establish and improve Triangular Cooperation (TrC) relations and mechanism, with the main focus on supporting African countries to increase their capacity for food production and help them to achieve agricultural modernization.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu stated in the congratulatory letter to the Forum that “FAO is ready to work closely with the Government of China to implement joint projects through the ‘Hand-in-Hand Initiative’, SSC and TrC, aiming at improving food security and nutrition and enhancing social and economic development in Africa.”

FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative aims to enable “matchmaking” – bringing countries with the highest poverty and hunger rates together with developed countries – to support development efforts in the Least Developed Landlocked Countries, Least Developed Small Island Developing States, and countries affected by food crises. Through this initiative, FAO will leverage its convening power to lead international efforts towards rural and agricultural development through a comprehensive and multilateral approach.

Under the theme "Join Hands for Sustainable Development and a closer New-type China-Africa Partnership in Agriculture", more than 600 participants had in-depth discussions on agricultural trade cooperation, agricultural innovation cooperation, and TrC. Godfrey Magwenzi, Senior Advisor to the FAO Director General, and Vincent Martin, FAO Representative in China and DPR Korea, attended the main forum and participated in the TrC Seminar and the UN Rome-based Agencies’ Side Event on Strengthening SSC and TrC to Enhance Value Chain Development and Policy Dialogue on E-Commerce.

Since 2009, China has donated USD 80 million to FAO through two phases of trust fund to support the FAO-China SSC Programme. Through the programme, more than 290 Chinese agricultural technicians were deployed in 12 countries, directly benefiting more than 70,000 people in rural areas and indirectly benefiting several hundreds of thousands of people.