From November 25 to 27, 2024, the “Symposium on Sino-German Sustainable Development of Animal Husbandry and on-site Observation Meetings” was held in Zhengding, Hebei Province, jointly organized by the National Animal Husbandry Service (NAHS), Hebei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Hebei MARA) and the “Sino-German Cooperation Project for Sustainable Animal Breeding and Husbandry“.
Mr. Yang Jinsong, Deputy Director of NAHS, Ms. Friederieke Dörfler, Agricultural Officer of the German Embassy in Beijing, Mr. Wang Aijun, Deputy Director of Hebei MARA, Mr. Malte Müller, Deputy Program Manager of the Bilateral Cooperation Program of BMEL through GFA, and Mr. Yves Tohermes, Managing Director of ADT Project Consulting opened the symposium on November 26.
The symposium marked the conclusion of the project. During the event, the 14 years of German-Chinese cooperation in animal breeding and husbandry were looked back on and outstanding success stories were presented. However, the event not only looked back, but also into the future and addressed topics that are of great importance globally, but especially in China, with regard to resource conservation, sustainability and strengthening nutrient cycles in agriculture.
A total of 280 people, including more than 40 representatives from German breeding, nutrition and feed companies, machinery and equipment industries and other economic partners of the project, livestock technology promotion departments, demo farms and other relevant personnel from local agencies in Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Qingdao and other provinces and cities, as well as the modern agricultural industrial technology system for dairy cows, cattle and pigs, experts from the innovation team in Hebei, livestock farms etc., attended the event. etc. took part in the event.
Over the years – since 2010, when MARA and BMEL jointly adopted the framework – Chinese and German experts have promoted intensive exchanges between China and Germany in the areas of animal husbandry, management technology and sustainable development concepts through on-site technical advice, technical seminars, visits, etc. These experts included the team from German Farm Concepts, which has closely supported the pig component for over 10 years. This has had a positive impact on the development of Chinese animal husbandry and has become a model of bilateral practical cooperation in agriculture. The seminar focused on the three areas of cattle and pig farming and sustainable animal husbandry, inviting experts from China and Germany to present dual-purpose cattle breeding, cattle and pig feeding, herd health, economic management, strengthening nutrient cycles and other key topics in a total of 24 lectures.
The German delegation concluded with a visit to Junlebao Yuzi Farm, where they were able to see for themselves the practical achievements of modern Chinese cattle breeding technology and health management.
Even though the project has come to an end, cooperation in the areas of research and development of animal breeding technologies, innovative breeding, health management and other aspects will continue to be pursued and the sustainable development of animal breeding and husbandry will be jointly promoted. A new chapter of Sino-German cooperation in animal husbandry will be opened to work together for a better future for animal husbandry.
This article was first published at https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9ixe8TV6MmlA3lEvGLw0eQ.