On November 6th, the 16th Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum was successfully held in Shanghai as a concurrent event of the 6th China International Import Expo. The forum was hosted by the State Administration for Market Regulation and co-organized by the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the Development Research Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum. Ibrahim Sory Sylla, Ambassador of Senegal to China, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech.
Ibrahim Sory Sylla, Ambassador of Senegal to China, delivered a speech
Dear Representative of the State Administration of Market Regulation
Dear Representative of the Municipality of Shanghai
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I would first like of all to thank and congratulate the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Shanghai Municipality for kindly inviting me to participate in this important 16th Belt and Road Initiative Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum on the theme of Deepening the Belt and Road Cooperation in Agriculture and Food: Jointly Creating a Better Life for Humanity.
I would also like to congratulate the High authorities of the People's Republic of China, in particular President Xi Jinping, for the resounding success of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and for the guidelines speech he delivered on this auspicious occasion of assessment of ten years implementation of BRI, and for identifying prospects for the years to come with a view to ensuring a Community with a shared future for Mankind.
May I recall that Senegal is the first country in West Africa to have joined the BRI because we were convinced by the strategic vision of President XI Jinping formulated in 2013 and which aims to promote a global interconnection because as his said “humanity lives in a community with an interdependent shared future”. Indeed, in his speech, President XI highlighted that the BRI embraces, among others, land, sea, air and cyber connectivity and focuses on economic corridors, structured by major transport routes and information highways and based on railways, roads, airports, ports, and pipelines. And among the 08 priorities formulated by President XI, the promotion of green development figures prominently, indicating that China will continue to deepen cooperation in areas such as green infrastructure, green energy and green transport.
Should I remind you that green development obviously includes ecological and sustainable agriculture which ensures food self-sufficiency for the population and fights against endemic poverty. And in this sense, we must commend the outstanding achievements done by China by lifting out of poverty, in four decades, nearly 800 millions Chinese with the production of at least 650 millions tons of cereals through the establishment of planned, regulated and harmonized development policies.
Within the framework of the Forum on Sino-African Cooperation (FOCAC) co-chaired by Presidents XI Jinping and Macky SALL, food security in Africa remains an absolute priority because our continent faces not only the consequences of climate change with its share of drought and water stress but we are also witnessing famine situations in certain parts of our region, particularly in the Horn of Africa. In this regard, Africa, which has major assets, notably 60% of arable land and 24% of water resources in the world, must draw inspiration from the example of China through sharing of knowledge and technologies with a view to modernizing its production tools, fighting climate change, ensuring an efficient and sustainable management system for hydraulic resources and attracting more Chinese foreign direct investment in the agro-business sector. This is our common objective, included in the FOCAC which is a unique model of win-win partnership in the world.
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Our African leaders are aware of the extreme importance of the agricultural sector in our economies but also and above all to ensure our food sovereignty and awareness has been raised through the organization of conferences on the continent in Dakar and Dar Es Salam on the theme “Feeding Africa: food sovereignty and resilience”. We have also established the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAF) to first strengthen intra-African trade which is currently low (17%) but also Sino-African trade which statistics reveal that trade volume between China and Africa last year was established at $282 billion. The option that must of course be favored is certainly modern and intensive but green and sustainable agriculture which takes into account future generations to preserve our natural resources and invest in the development of renewable energy. For instance in Senegal, the government has taken the resolute option of promoting private investments in renewable energy and the share of these clean energy in our mix grid stands at 31% and will be increased to 41% by 2030. Meanwhile, China, despite the effects of climate change, is the world number one in renewable energy and the option set by President XI Jinping is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
In the field of dairy or milk production, China is today one of the top five global producers with more than 35 millions of metric tons and these five countries occupy nearly 44% of global production. The global dairy production challenge remains persistent due to a structural deficit in certain parts of the world including Africa. On the African continent, the deficit in dairy production is palpable because we produce 3 millions cubic meters per month while the need is 460 millions cubic meters for a population of 1.3 billion and yet paradoxically according to the World Bank data, Africa has 14% of the world's livestock which can ensure our dairy self-sufficiency. This ambivalent situation is linked, among other things, to the consequences of climate change on animal welfare with drought cycles which amplify water stress. Ultimately, the pandemics which affect animal health with its consequences on the weakness of milk production to ensure food security. It is therefore necessary to put in place development policies for the dairy sector in Africa which take into account the climate environment, the supply chain, global competitiveness, and the need for better organization of this sector which is vital for our food self-sufficiency.
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
To conclude, I would like to affirm that green development, including green and sustainable agriculture, is no longer the prerogative of developed countries because we are all aware that without responsible management of our natural resources and their temporal and spatial planning, accompanied of an efficient strategy to combat climate change through, among other things, productive investments in renewable energies, it will be difficult to ensure a bright future for the humanity we share.
I thank you and wish this Forum a great success.
The theme of the forum is, ‘Deepening the Belt and Road Cooperation in Agriculture and Food: Jointly Creating a Better Life for Humanity.’ Leaders from the State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Health Commission, General Administration of Customs, as well as leaders from Shanghai, Henan, Hainan, and other provincial governments, representatives of provincial market supervision departments, representatives of relevant United Nations organizations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and embassies of South Africa, the Netherlands, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Senegal, among others, along with over 400 delegates from domestic and international enterprises, participated in the forum. Guests collectively deliberated on agricultural cooperation and food industry development, contributing insights and strategies for the high-quality development of agriculture and food industries in the Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting the role of the forum as a platform for policy interpretation.
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative and the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum. Over the past decade, the forum has been successfully held for 15 sessions within the framework of the National Food Safety Publicity Week and the China International Import Expo. The forum has solidly promoted high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, extensively conducted exchanges and cooperation in the agricultural and food industries, played a significant role in the development and safety of agricultural food industries in the countries along the route, and facilitated smooth international trade among the Belt and Road countries.
