European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan and Chinese Agriculture Minister Han Changfu officially launched a scheme for young European and Chinese farmers on Friday 21 April.
The scheme seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two blocs and to provide common lessons to address the challenges to be faced to maintain the vitality and attractiveness of rural areas and encourage generational renewal in the agricultural sector, and promote a more sustainable, competitive and modern agriculture, the Commission says in a press release.
Study visits will allow participants to exchange good practice, such as environmental techniques, and to increase mutual understanding between young farmers. This will then be translated into recommendations on sustainable farming to be shared with the wider farming and rural community, and with policy makers. The project recommendations will also be shared at a final conference to be organised in China end of 2018.
The exchange programme is part of the broader cooperation between the EU and China on agriculture and rural development. The call for applications to take part in the visits will be launched this summer. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)