XIANYANG, Nov. 14 – The 5th International Symposium on the Belt and Road Bio-health Agriculture and China-SCO National Bio-Health Agriculture Overseas Science and Technology Demonstration Park Construction Forum took place at Northwest A&F University (NWAFU), China, and online from Nov. 12 to Nov. 16.
The event, co-organized by the Silkroad (Yangling) Biohealth Agricultural Industry Alliance (SBHAIA) and various prominent institutions, gathered over 200 representatives from Pakistan, Czech Republic, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and other countries.
Professor Muhammad Ashraf, a distinguished Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Science of Engineering (CAE) and the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), served as the conference consultant. Keynote reports during the symposium covered a range of topics, including the comprehensive utilization of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic wastes, healthy animal breeding and environmental protection, as well as the production of bio-health agricultural products and agricultural environment management.
Renowned Pakistani scholars, Professor Shafiq Ur Rehman, President of Haripur University, and Professor Fateh Muhammad Marri, President of Sindh Agricultural University, addressed the conference, emphasizing the importance of bio-health agriculture in sustainable development.
“BHA” (Biohealth Agriculture), introduced by Professor Zhang Lixin of NWAFU in 2017, focuses on utilizing biological means for safe and high-quality agricultural production. It emphasizes the sustainability of soil, plant, animal, human, and ecosystem health, with the aim of reducing or excluding external agricultural inputs, particularly pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
The five-day event also featured a sub-forum on healthy aquaculture and waste resource utilization, along with the release of an academic report on the application of modern biotechnology. Participants had the opportunity to visit various agricultural facilities, including the Xi’an ground breeding base of the Shaanxi Provincial Aerospace Breeding Engineering Technology Research Center and local biological health vegetable bases. Exchange meetings with local enterprises facilitated discussions on the latest developments in bio-health agriculture.
