Announcement of China Joins Consultative Group on November 7, 1983

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W ., Washington, D .C. 20433 , U.S.A. •Telephone : (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE Contact: Pushpa Schwartz November 7, 1983 (202) 477-3651 CHINA JOINS CONSULTATIVE GROUP China this week pledged its support to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), making it the 37th donor to join the organization since its establishment in 1971. The pledge is a landmark in international development and cooperation: China is the worl~'s largest producer and consumer of agricultural products; the CGIAR, with a global network of 13 centers 1/ studying means of increasing Third World food output, is the leading international organization for agricultural research. Saying that he is "fully convinced that there exists a prosperous future for the collaboration between CGIAR and China," Professor Lu Liang Shu, President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, announced his countr~'s decision to become a member during the Grou~'s Annual Meetings at The World Bank Headquarters. At the meetings, Finland, an observer for several years also announced its decision to join the CGIAR. Collectively the 38 donors of the CGIAR committed US$182 million in 1984 to the 13 international centers. China comprises almost one quarter of the worl~'s population: almost 1 billion inhabitants live on only 7% of the glob~'s arable land. Thus, China's high priority for improving agricultural productivity. Since 1977, China has been collaborating with eight of the international institutes. 1/ International Rice Research Institute (IRR!), Philippines; International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico; International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Columbia; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria; International Potato Center (CIP), Peru; West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), Liberia; International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Ind~a; International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR), Italy; International Livestock Center for Africa (ILCA), Ethiopia; International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (!CARDA), Lebanon/Syria; International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD), Kenya; International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), USA.; and International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), Netherlands.  - 2 - According· to Professor Lu, Chin~'s cooperation with the CGIAR will continue to concentrate on exchange of germplasm resources, breeding materials, and. training for its scientists. Already 127 Chinese scientists have received training at the international centers. Aside from its financial contributions, through its membership in the CGIAR China's veritable gold mine of plant genetic diversity will be made available ·to plant breeders the world over. "China's decision to support the CGIAR," said Warren Baum, Chairman of the ·cGIAR and Vice President of The World Bank, "represents a vote of confidence in the work of the international research centers and a recognition of the high rate of return on investments in agricultural research."