Cao Xingsui introduces the origin of agricultural heritage (Photo/Jiang Dingshu)
On the evening of March 10, Cao Xingsui, Deputy Director of the Expert Committee on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Deputy Director of the Expert Committee on Rural Cultural Industry Innovation and Development Alliance), gave a lecture entitled “Twenty Years of GIAHS Protection: Progress and Prospect” in the conference hall on the fifth floor of Students Service Building. This event was co-organized by Communist Youth League Community of HZAU, Honor College of Intelligent Agriculture and Agricultural History Research Center.
The GIAHS initiative aims to identify and recognize ingenious practices and technologies that have been developed in the traditional agriculture. Agricultural heritage systems have, over centuries, managed to bring about food and livelihood security, making their sustainability and resilience well-justified. Cao Xingsui introduced the origin of GIAHS initiative and stressed that it has served as a learning laboratory and created a bridge to a sustainable future.
Cao said that China is the one of the first pioneering countries to actively respond to the GIAHS initiative. Currently, there are 19 GIAHS pilot sites in China, more than any other country across the globe. China has led in and made remarkable contributions to global agricultural heritage conservation, providing a Chinese model for countries in the world. And China’s efforts have also produced significant benefits.
When talking about China’s experience and the ultimate goals in the protection of agricultural heritage, Cao Xingsui introduced some branding in heritage sites, including Qingtian rice-fish Culture System, Pu’er Traditional Tea Agrosystem and Shengzhou Torreya. Meanwhile, he mentioned that the protection of agricultural heritage depends on notable institutional strength, policy support, and the building and promotion of flagship brands. People currently protect agricultural heritage in the purpose of facilitating social and economic growth, improving local ecology, promoting harmonious development and narrowing the income gap. Only when the research on protection of agricultural heritage delivers substantial benefits to farmers can it be of great practical value.
During interaction, as regard to difficulties in the protection of agricultural heritage, Cao Xingsui said that while contributing to consolidating gains in poverty elimination and increasing agricultural production as well as rural incomes, the protection and development of heritage sites also run into some prominent problems: insufficient support for agricultural heritage sites in less-developed regions; lack of full-fledged industrial chain and the vulnerability of farmers in the chain.
In the end, Cao Xingsui encouraged students to learn well and combine their actions with the country’s efforts of advancing rural vitalization to build up strength in modern agriculture. Driven by this passion, each student could pass on, protect, and develop local customs and the practice of rural autonomy. Based on agricultural resources, we can fully tap into the potential of traditional culture and create agricultural products with artistic characteristics, making the “cultural” produce a symbol of beautiful countryside and a driver of rural economic growth.
Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2023/0313/65829.shtml
Translated by Liu Bangyan
Supervised by Xie Lujie
