At the invitation of Xia Jingyuan, director of the Department of Crop Production and Protection of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and Dr. Robert Kituru from the Sino African Joint Research Center at Jomo Kenyatta Agricultural University in Kenya, HAAFS dispatched a delegation of Professor WANG Huijun, Researcher LI Shunguo and JI Zengfa, to visit Italy and Kenya from October 16 to 25, 2023.

During the visit to Italy, the delegation visited the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and met with Director General Qu Dongyu to congratulate him on his re-election. Professor WANG Huijun introduced the series of activities organized and participated in by HAAFS since the International Year of Millet in 2023, and stated that they will strive for more cooperation projects with FAO in the future. Director Xia Jingyuan introduced the development history, goals, tasks, and overall framework of FAO, focusing on the motivation, goals, and work carried out by FAO to establish the International Year of Millet and highly praised the activities organized by HAAFS.

The delegation also participated in the International Year of Millet Chef Challenge held during the World Food Forum, and served as a special guest as the competition judge. Professor WANG Huijun presented the documentary film "The Story of a Millet" and the feature film "The Soul of the Valley" planned by HAAFS to Director Xia. Director Xia expressed his intention to broadcast them on the FAO website, which has raised the Chinese voice internationally and raised the reputation of HAAFS. The delegation also visited the Azienda Agricola BIO Menichelli organic farm in the suburbs of Rome and learned about various aspects of farm rotation, fertilization, and harvesting.

During the visit to Kenya, the delegation listened to the introduction of the China Africa Joint Research Center and discussed cooperation with Dr. Robert Gitulu from African Center, and Professor David Mubru from the Department of Land Resources Planning and Management. Professor WANG Huijun introduced the general situation of agriculture in Hebei Province and hopes to use the China Africa Joint Research Center as a platform in Kenya to carry out the Hebei seed industry's "going global" strategy. He hoped to conduct experiments, demonstrations, and promotion of new varieties and technologies in Kenya, gradually expanding to agricultural products such as fertilizers and agricultural machinery, and making contributions to improving crop production capacity in Kenya and Africa. Professor Robert Githuru gave high praise to the proposal. After full communication, both sides agreed that the Hebei Seed Industry Going Global Project should be launched as soon as possible, jointly promoting the implementation and transformation of Hebei achievements in Kenya, and promoting the improvement of African agricultural production capacity.

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