The 2021 (Changsha) International Forum on Rice Development opened in Changsha on October 16. A main forum, six sub-forums and a field test base inspection and exchange activity were held during the forum.

The forum was founded under the care and support of Yuan Longping, the “Father of Hybrid Rice” and late academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. So far, it has been successfully held for 3 sessions, which has further raised the profile of Changsha as an “international rice capital”.

The theme of this year’s forum is "inheriting and carrying forward Yuan Longping's sci-tech innovation spirit and promoting the technological development of the rice industry". The forum discussed latest rice development, shared rice technologies and displayed rice achievements, aiming to promote the integrated development of good varieties, good methods, good tools, and good products in the whole rice industry chain.

“Planting rice on saline-alkali land to double farmers' income was Academician Yuan Longping’s dream before his death," said Zhang Deyong, Secretary of the CPC Committee of the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center. He introduced that, a special forum on salt-tolerant rice development was held this year, to share and exchange the latest technologies and progress of salt-tolerant rice development.

Hunan’s rice production area and quantity have ranked first in China for 40 consecutive years, and its double-cropping rice planting area also ranked first in China.

Changsha has unparalleled advantages in rice research, with such platforms as the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, the Yuelu Mountain Seed Industry Innovation Center, and the National Salt-tolerant Rice Technology Innovation Center. Changsha is striving to build itself into a “Silicon Valley” for the seed industry, which is based in Hunan, has a wide influence across the country, and faces the world.

Source: en.changsha.gov.cn