CABI Blog

Wu Kongming, Joint Lab Co-Director (2008 – 2013) and Trevor Nicholls, CEO, CABI

2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the Joint Laboratory for Bio-safety established by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) and CABI.

A decade of cooperation and knowledge sharing through the Joint Lab has helped to address Chinese and global needs for food and nutritional security, food safety, greater innovation and sustainable development.

Vital to the establishment of the Joint Lab was China’s membership of CABI in 1995 followed by CABI opening an office in the country in 2002. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese at the High-level Joint Summit on Strategic Partnership in 2007 agreed the establishment of the Joint Lab. It was opened the following year in 2008 at the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Beijing.

Since then, the Joint Lab has provided a platform for research and development collaboration, a centre for training and scientific exchange, an open platform for joint collaboration with third parties and a consultancy service for the Chinese government.

Its main research areas include; integrated pest management and biological control technologies, prevention and control of invasive alien species, biopesticide research and development, reduction of chemical pesticide residues, and environmental safety research of transgenic organisms.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Joint Lab we’ve highlighted 10 key achievements so far. The Joint Lab has;

    1. Introduced advanced biological control technologies to manage major crop insect pests in China…
    2. for example, the importation of a biological control agent from Europe to China to control mirid bug, a serious cotton pest
    3. Collaborated with Plantwise to train 562 plant doctors in China, establish over 90 plant clinics to benefit 73,000 farmers with free plant health diagnostic services
    4. Organised 12 major international events attended by over 2300 delegates from 50 countries
    5. Successfully won 25 major international projects worth approximately USD 23 million
    6. Trained hundreds of professionals and students from developing countries on integrated pest management and biological control
    7. Published more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, including 18 SCI papers with IF >2, 3 books and 4 national patents
    8. Delivered two projects supported by DG DEVCO EuropeAid and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs which have helped smallholder farmers in Laos, Myanmar and Southwest China to increase their rice and maize production sustainably. The project was awarded the 2nd Science and Technology Progress Award by Dehong Prefecture Government, Yunnan Province.
    9. Established the first MARA-CABI European Laboratory in Switzerland in 2018. The close partnership will create a new approach to research in agricultural science and technology, shaping Europe’s agricultural future.
    10. Won multiple international awards recognising the work of Joint Lab Co-Directors, namely:
      • Professor Wu Kongming, the Co-Director between 2008 and 2013, was elected academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2011. In 2012, he was promoted to Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
      • Wu’s successor, the current Co-Director, Professor Zhou Xueping won the prestigious Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize in 2017
        • Dr Ulrich Kuhlmann, current Co-Director of the Joint Lab, received a Friendship Award from the Chinese Government in 2012, and an International Friends Award from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2017

10th anniversary video produced by CABI. First shown at the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultations in Beijing, 15-19 October 2018:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jGpf5Jwo2s&w=560&h=315]

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