2 November 2019

A ceremony to mark donation of agricultural machinery to Yilong County and Guang’an County of Sichuan Province in China was organized by the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE) of the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM), as part of a shared commitment to advancing rural development through sustainable use of agricultural machinery in China.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Mr. Wang Shouwen, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China and Mr. Nicholas Rosellini, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China in March 2018 aimed to strengthen collaboration under the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for China (2016 – 2020) through poverty alleviation and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Chengbu County of Hunan Province in China. In this backdrop, in 2018, CSAM joined the UN Country Team’s efforts in supporting poverty alleviation activities in Chengbu County. Building upon the good practices of 2018, CSAM extended its efforts to support poverty alleviation to Yilong County and Guang’an County. 

At the ceremony, through CSAM’s facilitation, Guangzhou Jifei Technology Co., Ltd. (XAG Co., Ltd.), Nantong FLW Agricultural Equipment Co., Ltd., and Qingdao Hongzhu Agriculture Machinery Co. Ltd. donated an agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone), a walk behind-type transplanter and a potato planter respectively to Yilong Deze Urban-Rural Cooperative Union, Guang’an Gexin Specialized Cooperative of Planting and Yilong Jigongling Farmers’ Specialized Cooperatives of Planting and Breeding. The three enterprises were granted appreciation certificates as co-signed by Mr. Nicholas Rosellini, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, and Dr. Li Yutong, Head of ESCAP-CSAM for their donation and contribution.

Dr. Li Yutong, Head of ESCAP-CSAM and Mr. Zhang Yi, Deputy Director General of CICETE, attended the Machinery Donation Ceremony and addressed the gathering.  Dr. Qu Sixi, Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) China Office, and Mr. Zhang Zhongjun, Assistant Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) China Office, and Mr. Song Jianwu, Division Director of the Department of Agricultural Mechanization of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs witnessed the ceremony.

The donation has enhanced access of farmers’ cooperatives to agricultural machinery in Guang’an and Yilong Counties contributing towards increased efficiency, productivity and sustainability of agriculture. It has also enhanced the capacity of the farmers’ cooperatives in the two Counties in terms of providing tailored agricultural machinery services, particularly to smallholders.