6–7 November 2025, Nanning, Guangxi – The World Expo on Digital Agriculture (WEDA) opened on 6 November in Nanning, Guangxi. This year’s edition exceeded previous events in both scale and thematic scope. Combining conferences, side events, and an exhibition, the event brought together representatives from more than 20 countries and 200 companies presenting their latest approaches and solutions for the agricultural sector.
JIANG Wensheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, opened the conference by linking the topic to the 4th Plenum of the 20th Central Committee and the recommendations for the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan. He emphasized the crucial role of digitalization in agriculture in addressing a wide range of issues—from ensuring food security and diversifying food supply to revitalizing rural areas and increasing farmers’ incomes. Digital transformation, he noted, is key to building China into a strong agricultural nation and advancing the modernization of its food systems. Investments in related research, artificial intelligence, testing centers, and rural big data platforms are important drivers of this development.
International speakers and representatives, including participants from Laos, Bulgaria, and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, also stressed the need to transform traditional agricultural practices to achieve sustainable development. They underlined that scientific exchange and the application of smart technologies play an essential role in this process.
In keynote sessions, the focus shifted to practical examples of digital applications for solving sector-specific challenges such as soil management, irrigation, emissions, intelligent farm management, farmland protection and utilization, and agricultural machinery. Three academicians from the Chinese Academy of Engineering presented the latest developments in these areas. They were joined by Peter Sachsenmeier, a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering, who spoke on “Shaping the next global narrative beyond Industry 4.0: The importance of agriculture in a new era of bio-digital-physical fusion.”
The Expo also featured an expanded exhibition area with numerous examples of smart agriculture technologies and a significantly stronger international presence compared to previous years.
DCZ Managing Director Jürgen Ritter attended the event and exchanged views with representatives from international organizations, local partners, and technology providers. He summarized his impressions in a short interview with the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center (FECC), one of the organizers of the Expo.
