In Hainan and Jiangsu, China, FAO Director-General outlines vision of agrifood systems transformation for improved nutrition and food security

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu set out a multi-layered vision for the transformation of agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable as he addressed the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 on the last day of an official visit to China after a series of bilateral meetings. The trip also saw visits to innovative farms and research institutions helping to put the transformation into practice and advance the Four Betters agenda - better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.

At the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)

In his remarks at the BFA, Qu underlined the immense economic and social significance of agrifood systems, especially for the world’s poorest and youngest populations. Globally, these systems employ over 1.23 billion people - nearly one-third of the global workforce - and provide livelihoods for 3.83 billion people living in households that depend on them. In Africa, almost half of all workers rely on the sector for survival.

In regions such as the Sahel, where over 65 percent of the population is under 25, the risk of widespread unemployment, instability, and conflict is set to keep expanding without the right economic opportunities, he noted. Qu was speaking in a panel titled ″Creating a Favorable Environment for Peaceful development and Safeguarding Common Economic Security″.

The Director-General said the transformation of global agrifood systems demanded efforts across multiple domains, including: scaling up emergency agriculture assistance; putting in place enabling policies; increasing investment in agrifood systems; harnessing the contribution from science, technology and innovation; ensuring market transparency and an open and fair global trade system; reducing food loss and waste; empowering women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and smallholders; and providing the needed social protection

Qu underlined the importance of producing more with less to meet a growing demand, while safeguarding the environment, as well as achieving diversity in food sources and ensuring value added across the food supply chain. Director-General QU defined food security as ensuring food availability, food accessibility and food affordability for all, which needed to be combined with the four levels of foods: basic (staple) foods; nutritious foods; healthy foods; and functional foods.

QU emphasized that such measures promoting food security and nutrition could not be achieved by a single country or organization, and noted that the BFA served as a reminder that in a world of rising geopolitical tensions, there was an urgent need for strengthened regional and global partnerships and enhanced collaboration at all levels.

On the margins of the BFA, the Director-General held a series of bilateral meetings, including with Zhang Jun, Secretary-General of the BFA who introduced the Forum’s newly-launched annual report and expressed interest in strengthening cooperation with FAO in areas such as climate change, youth engagement, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development. The Director-General commended the BFA for its commitment to inclusivity, cooperation, and multilateralism, and stated that FAO would deepen collaboration with BFA to drive agrifood systems transformation, advance global food security, and advance shared prosperity.

In his meeting with H.E. Mohammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of Bangladesh, the Director-General reiterated FAO’s ongoing technical assistance to Bangladesh in achieving sustainable agriculture development and improved rural livelihoods. H.E. Mohammad Yunus expressed gratitude for FAO’s long-standing support in agricultural production, which had directly benefited smallholder farmers in the country and outlined Bangladesh’s plans to improve its techniques and standards in food processing, storage and packaging, to meet the demands of the international market.

In his meeting with H.E. Ban Ki-Moon, Chairman of the BFA Board and former UN Secretary-General, the Director-General emphasized the importance of continuing to work together towards collective objectives. H.E. Ban Ki Moon commended the Director-General’s dedication to achieving food security and sustainable development, and for his leadership at the helm of FAO. The discussion also explored strategies to advance gender equality, both within the organization and globally.

Also on the sideline of the BFA, the Director-General met with H.E. Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR) of China. The latter thanked the Director-General for visiting the SAR in February, and reiterated Hong Kong’s untapped potential in fisheries and agriculture, particularly when synergized with its diverse food sectors. The Director-General acknowledged Hong’s unique strengths in areas such as food safety, food processing, fisheries and aquaculture, and urban agriculture, and affirmed FAO’s commitment to supporting Hong Kong in the transformation of sustainable agriculture.

H.E. Liu Xiaoming, Governor of the Hainan Province, warmly welcomed the Director-General in a meeting by highlighting the policies of Hainan Free Trade Port and expressed the willingness to have comprehensive and in-depth cooperation with FAO in the areas of digital agriculture development, agricultural heritage conservation, South-South and Triangular Cooperation in agriculture, among others. The Director-General acknowledged Hainan's unique climatic conditions and geographical advantages, which made it an ideal hub for high-efficiency tropical specialty agriculture and cultivating renowned, specialty, premium, and innovative agricultural products. He reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with Hainan Province and facilitating agricultural cooperation and exchanges between Hainan and other tropical countries worldwide.

In the meeting with Mr. Zhao Fengtao, Vice Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), the Director-General expressed his gratitude to CIDCA for its continuous support to FAO. The two sides agreed to further strengthen their partnership through an enhanced exchange mechanism, expanding project cooperation, and mutually supporting key events, to address global challenges in food security and agricultural development.

Other high-level counterparts met with included Mr Liu Zhenmin, China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Mr Sajjad Ahahd Zedeh, President of the Center for Progress and Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Prof Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University, and Mr Erik Berglof, Chief Economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

In Hainan Province

In Hainan province, the Director-General visited two institutes of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS)—the Coconut Research Institute and the Spice and Beverage Research Institute.

At the Coconut Research Institute, the FAO Delegation visited the planting areas of date palm, betel nut, coconut and oil palm and discussed their scientific research achievements and agricultural products value chain. The Director-General encouraged the Institute to scale up efforts in research on germ plasm to develop high-quality varieties of tropical oil crops that are better adapted to differentiated cultivation conditions in China. The Director-General invited CATAS, through mechanisms such as knowledge sharing and technology transfer, to disseminate their expertise, their scientific research results and rich experience in the field of tropical palm crops with FAO member countries.

At the Spice and Beverage Research Institute, the Director-General discussed the best methodology for upgrading the infrastructure, advocacy, strategy and marketing.

In addition, the FAO Delegation visited the Fengjiawan Modern Fisheries Industrial Park, a project for the transformation and upgrading of Hainan's fishery industry, in Wenchang City. The park has served to explore the multilayer breeding model and promote the green transformation of the fishery industry. At the Industrial Park, the Director-General met with the world’s biggest aquaculture seedlings producer, the Haid Group, where he commended the achievement in mastering top-notch technologies by consistent investment in research and development. He encouraged the Group to take a more globalized view of the aquaculture sector to identify partners in developing countries that could benefit from the company’s high-quality products and more importantly could gain know-how through the partnership.

In Jiangsu Province

Prior to attending the BFA, the Director-General paid a visit to the Jiangsu Province, where he  held high level meetings with local authorities, forged with local academies and conducted a field visit to rural areas.

The Director-General met with Mr Zhou Hongbo, Party Secretary of Nanjing Municipal Party Committee, who thanked the Director-General for having received him at FAO headquarters recently and expressed Nanjing’s commitment to applying the Four Betters to its agricultural development, aiming to share successful examples and experiences that would contribute to building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind. The Director-General highlighted FAO’s ongoing collaboration with the Nanjing Agricultural University and the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and expressed confidence that these partnerships would yield practical and impactful results. He further emphasized FAO’s role as a global platform for sharing Nanjing’s agricultural best practices and innovations.

In Nanjing, the Director-General signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with two research academies. With the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), the Director-General signed an extension of FAO’s MoU on cooperation, and on the occasion paid a visit to JAAS, including the Smart Agriculture Integrated Research & Demonstration Base, the Jiangsu Provincial Crop Germplasm Medium-Term Repository and the Provincial-Ministry Joint Incubation Base for the National Key Laboratory of Food Quality & Safety.

The Director-General also visited the Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), which included the veneration of a bronze statue of Zou Bingwen, a key founder of modern higher agricultural education in China, the Vice Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of FAO and the first Permanent Representative of China to FAO. The Director-General signed an MoU with NAU for cooperation in research and toured the FAO-NAU history exhibition on the campus.

In Nanjing, the Director-General visited a high-yield wheat demonstration zone and the Chrysanthemum Garden, both located in the Hushu Community. This community exemplifies efforts to revitalize agriculture in response to rapidly expanding urban areas. A multi-faceted approach is being implemented by a range of stakeholders—including the government, farmers, academia, and the private sector.

The community is at the forefront of adopting advanced agricultural technologies such as flower germplasm improvement, precision quantitative cultivation, deep plowing, integrated drainage systems, robust seedling overwintering, and precise fertilization—all aimed at achieving better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life.