From 26-27 January, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) held its Annual Work Conference in Beijing and unveiled a comprehensive institutional restructuring plan. The plan aims at strengthening China’s technological independence in agriculture and making research more efficient and effective through a state-coordinated, cross-disciplinary research.
CAAS is transitioning to an “organized scientific research” (有组织科研) model that breaks down traditional barriers between disciplines and institutes. The restructuring includes consolidating research into seven new academic divisions, establishing 15 cross-institute task forces focused on national priorities like grain yield improvement, and creating nine regional centers across China’s key agricultural zones.
The reforms respond to what CAAS president Huang Sanwen described as a paradigm shift in agricultural science driven by artificial intelligence. He cited advanced AI systems like Google’s AlphaFold 3 and U.S. AI biology models as examples of the technological disruption reshaping the field, emphasizing CAAS must strengthen its capabilities in agricultural AI and frontier interdisciplinary research.
The initiative prioritizes technology transfer to farmers and agribusinesses, with plans for a national achievement transfer platform and a program placing CAAS researchers in part-time executive roles at leading agricultural enterprises.
The academy will strengthen cooperation within the agricultural science and technology innovation system through the “Four connections” (四个衔接): connecting with cutting-edge of science and technology (“接天线“), connecting with the main agricultural and rural battlefields (“接地气“), connecting with enterprises to meet market demand (“接企业“), and connecting internationally with the global community (“接国际“).
Sources
CAAS official website article (in Chinese)
China Science Daily report (in Chinese)
China Daily English report (in English)
