From April 9 to 13, a delegation led by Mr. Augustin Baharanyi Murhula, Director of the Agricultural Planning Bureau of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), visited the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS). The two sides held discussions on deepening cooperation in tropical agricultural science and technology, with Li Jihua, Vice President of CATAS, attending the meeting.

Group Photo of the Visit

At the symposium, Vice President Li Jihua extended a warm welcome to Director Augustin and his delegation and gave a detailed introduction to the basic situation of CATAS as well as its cooperation with African countries. He pointed out that CATAS focuses on ten key industries such as cassava, sugarcane, banana, oil palm, and tropical spice and beverage crops, and has established a complete technical system in the fields of tropical crop breeding, green production, and agricultural product processing. With remarkable scientific research achievements, it has provided solid scientific and technological support for the development of tropical agriculture. Li emphasized that the DRC, ranking second in terms of land area among African countries, boasts huge potential for the development of tropical agricultural industries. He expressed hope that, based on the signed cooperation agreements, the two sides would expand cooperation in key areas and enhance practical collaboration through technology sharing, joint research, and exchange visits.

Symposium and Exchanges

Director Augustin expressed gratitude for China’s sincerity in cooperation and introduced the basic agricultural situation and scientific research landscape of the DRC. He specifically mentioned that the DRC’s National Strategic Plan for 2024-2028 has listed agricultural transformation as a top priority, and the DRC has an urgent technical demand in the fields of cassava and coffee cultivation as well as agricultural product processing. He hoped that this fact-finding mission would promote the implementation of specific cooperation projects.

During the visit, the delegation visited the CATAS Exhibition Hall and conducted on-site inspections of scientific research bases and laboratories such as the Analytical and Testing Center, Coconut Research Institute, Spice and Beverages Research Institute, Tropical Crop Variety and Germplasm Resources Institute, and Sanya Research Institute. They focused on understanding the latest scientific research achievements in the fields of tropical oil crops, spice and beverage crops, cassava, and tropical fruit trees. Technical personnel from both sides had in-depth exchanges on key technologies such as tropical crop standard setting, variety breeding, pest and disease control, and agricultural product processing, and reached a preliminary cooperation intention on specific projects such as the upgrading of the cassava industry in the DRC.

In the next step, the two sides will carry out specific cooperation in areas such as variety and technology transfer, joint scientific and technological research, and personnel exchanges to help the DRC achieve agricultural transformation and upgrading.

The delegation conducted field visits to CATAS research bases in Wenchang, Wanning, Danzhou, and Sanya.