More agricultural cooperation pledged at forum in Changsha

Senior officials attending a high-level international meeting in agricultural cooperation on Friday hailed China's contribution to agricultural development and food security in developing countries.

Representatives, including senior agricultural officials from nearly 30 developing countries, and chiefs of international organizations including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, also pledged more intensified cooperation in agriculture to improve food security and promote agricultural modernization in developing countries at the High-level Forum on South-South Agricultural Cooperation, held in Changsha, Hunan province.

China donated $80 million to the FAO in 2008 and 2014 to support South-South agricultural cooperation. It has sent more than 1,000 agricultural experts and technicians to developing countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean region and South Pacific for agricultural assistance, benefiting about 1 million farmers in these countries, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme and China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also released a joint statement during the forum to support China's rural revitalization strategy, put forward by China last year that aimed to modernize its agriculture and rural areas.