International Plant Protection Cooperation Organization (IPPCO) was Established

   The inaugural ceremony of the International Plant Protection Cooperation Organization (IPPCO) was held in Guiyang, marking its official establishment.

    It is understood that the cooperation organization was co-founded by Guizhou University, the ASEAN University Network, and research institutions from multiple countries. Its aim is to build an open, cooperative, and shared international exchange platform to promote the coordinated development of global higher education, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation in plant protection, thereby contributing wisdom and strength to the sustainable development of global agriculture.

    As one of China's first national ecological civilization pilot zones and the first national big data comprehensive pilot zone, Guizhou has seized opportunities in the development of the digital economy in recent years. It has continuously explored the path of green development and accelerated the in-depth integration of new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence with various fields. A series of breakthrough achievements have emerged, including leading the country in the area of rocky desertification control, increasing its forest coverage rate by 20 percentage points in ten years, and seeing the proportion of green economy in its regional GDP  reach 45%.

    Based on Guizhou's rich biological resources and ecological advantages, Guizhou University relies on platforms such as the world-class construction discipline "Plant Protection", the national key discipline "Pesticide Science", and the State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticides. It has focused on the field of plant protection and achieved remarkable results in cutting-edge directions such as pesticide reduction and efficiency improvement, and ecological restoration technologies.

    "Plant protection is the cornerstone of global sustainable agricultural development and a key link in ensuring food security, ecological security, and human health," noted Song Bao'an, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Guizhou University, at the meeting. He pointed out that currently, the world is facing challenges such as intensified climate change, cross-border spread of diseases and pests, and food security crises. Only through transnational and interdisciplinary collaborative innovation can we inject lasting impetus into the global plant protection cause.

    It is worth mentioning that the meeting also witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on jointly building the International Plant Protection Cooperation Organization (IPPCO) and the inauguration ceremony of the secretariat members of IPPCO. Song Bao'an, president of Guizhou University, appointed Professor Wang Qiao from Guizhou University and academician of the Royal Society of New Zealand as the first Secretary-General of IPPCO and issued the certificate. Subsequently, Professor Wang Qiao awarded appointment letters to secretariat members from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania.

    Immediately after the meeting, the annual meeting of the secretariat was held, and a visit to the campus of Guizhou University and the State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticides was scheduled for the afternoon of the same day.