China Institute for Conservation Tillage was established in China Agricultural University

      China Agricultural University (CAU) established the opening ceremony of China Institute for Conservation Tillage (CICT) on Thursday, July 11,2019. Sun Qixin ⁽¹⁾, Gong Yuanshi ⁽²⁾, Kang Shaozhong ⁽³⁾, Zhao Chunjiang ⁽⁴⁾, Li Anning ⁽⁵⁾, Fang Xianfa ⁽⁶⁾, Liu Hengxin ⁽⁷⁾, Li Yutong ⁽⁸⁾, Josef Martin Kienzle ⁽⁹⁾, Gottlieb Basch ⁽¹⁰⁾, Emilio Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez ⁽¹¹⁾, Wang Guanglin ⁽¹²⁾, the representative of Australia Agtrans Research Company, the research institutes which cooperated with CICT for many years, and the related enterprises attended the ceremony.

      Sun Qixin said that soil is the basic element of crop survival. In order to realize the sustainable development of agriculture, it is necessary to ensure the sustainable utilization of cultivated land. Sun also said that CAU took the lead in pioneering the demonstration and application research of conservation tillage technology in China and achieved very good results. CAU decided to launch the CICT, which has the great practical significance for safeguarding the national food security and achieving sustainable agricultural development. We hope conservation tillage research can promote the interdisciplinary integration and innovation of original technologies, ensure the sustainable development of China's arable land, provide the CAU’s wisdom in safeguarding national food security, and contribute Chinese solutions for world food security.

      Li Anning, Liu Hengxin, Li Yutong represented the department of farm mechanization of ministry of agriculture and rural affairs of the Peoples Republic of China, Agricultural Machinery Appraisal General Station and Extension General Station of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural, Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to express the congratulations for establishment of CICT, respectively. They believe that the establishment of CICT is conductive to promote the in-depth research and further promotion and application of conservation tillage and help green development of agriculture in China.

    

      The CICT, which is supported by the Conservation Tillage Research Center of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, is affiliated with college of engineering, CAU. Zhang Fusuo, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, will be the honorary director; Li Hongwen, professor of CAU, will be the director; He Jin and Cui Zhenling, professor of CAU, will be deputy directors.

      After ceremony, the seminar on conservation tillage was held. Li Hongwen, the director of CICT, introduced the development process of conservation tillage team, from the establishment of the team in 1992 to the establishment of CICT in 2019. Josef  Martin Kienzle , Agricultural Engineer of FAO, indicated that conservation tillage is the core of sustainable crop production intensification and is conductive to reduce the greenhouse gas emission and water consumption, increase soil quality, strengthen biological system stable and improve the soil productivity.

Director of CICT. Li Hongwen
         
Agricultural Engineer. Josef Martin Kienzle

       Gottlieb Basch, President of European Conservation Agriculture Federation, introduced the development process and status of conservation tillage in Europe. He emphasized that Europe had formulated the working plane and conservation tillage managing standard to solve the soil degradation problem. Emilio Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez, Secretary General of European Conservation Agriculture Federation, introduced a method (INSPIA) to evaluate the agricultural sustainability, which can adapt the different agricultural climate and tillage model and can improve the farm’s economic and ecological benefits.  

Union President. Gottlieb Basch on reporting

Secretary General. Emilio Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez on reporting

     Talia Christine Hardaker, Business Economist of Australia Agtrans Research Company, introduced the origin and development of Australia’s conservation tillage and the restricted reason for further promotion and popularization of conservation tillage in Australia. Simultaneously, she emphasized that the cooperation of government, farmer and researcher will be the key factors to promote the development of conservation tillage in Australia. Joseph Sean Lynch Abell, the Business Economist of Australia Agtrans Research Company, according to literature analysis and more that 10-days investigation in China, reported the effect of the objects form Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research on the development of China’s Conservation tillage.

Business Economist. Talia Christine Hardaker on reporting

Business Economist. Joseph Sean Lynch Abell on reporting

      A few days before the ceremony, the experts from Europe and Australia conducted on-the-spot investigations of the CICT's cooperative enterprises, experimental demonstration bases and application situation of China's conservation tillage.

Experts in enterprise

Experts in enterprise

Experts in Lai Xi, Shandong Province

Experts in Ping Du, Shandong Province

Experts in field

Experts in field