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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 president; Li Hongwen, professor of CAU, will be the president; He Jin and Cui Zhenling, professor of CAU, will be deputy presidents.
After ceremony, the seminar on conservation tillage was held. Li Hongwen, the president 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.

President 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

 
 
 
Author: Liu Peng, Ouyang Yongzhi, Bao Xuanbin, Liu Kaihua, Li Ruijie

 
P.S.
(1) Sun Qixin: President of CAU
(2) Gong Yuanshi: Vice-president of CAU
(3) Kang Shaozhong: Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering
(4) Zhao Chunjiang: Head of National Engineering and Technology Center for Information Agriculture and the academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering
(5) Li Anning: Vice-director general of the department of Farm Mechanization of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China
(6) Fang Xianfa: Vice-president of China Academy of Agricultural Mechanization sciences
(7) Liu Hengxin: Head of Agricultural Machinery Appraisal General Station and Extension General Station of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
(8) Li Yutong: Head of Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(9) Josef Martin Kienzle: Agricultural engineer of FAO
(10) Gottlieb Basch: Union president of European Conservation Agriculture Federation and the associate professor of Portugal Evora University
(11) Emilio Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez: Secretary General of European Conservation Agriculture Federation and the associate professor of Cordoba University
(12) Wang Guanglin: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research