Twinning program forges bond
between agricultural heritage systems from China, France
The Association of Fuzhou Tea Industry of China and the Association Campaigning for the Inscription of the Climats du Vignoble de Bourgogne on the World Heritage List of France signed the Memorandum of Cooperation for Agricultural Heritages in Fuzhou, China on July 6, 2014.
The Memorandum signified a twinning between Jasmine and Tea Culture System of Fuzhou City and Climats of the Bourgogne vineyard. Under the twinning program, both sides will have cooperation in agricultural heritage conservation, agro-product promotion and agritourism.
Fuzhou City is of over 2,000 years of Jasmine cultivation, and the tea-scenting technique can be dated back to more than 1,000 years ago. The Jasmine and Tea Culture System of Fuzhou City was officially designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in April, 2014. Since the FAO launched the GIAHS initiative in 2002, a total of 31 sites from 13 countries have been inscribed as GIAHS. Now, China has 11 GIAHS sites, ranking top in the world.
Having a history of nearly 2000 years in viticulture and wine-making in Bourgogne, Climats of the Bourgogne vineyard was nominated as a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO's) World Heritage in February, 2014.
Though having their own distinctive features, the two farming systems have much in common on which they may draw upon each other's strengths and tap great potentials for cooperation.
As a result of the bridging efforts made by Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the twinning program not only celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, but also is a testimony of the first GIAHS site in China to forge a stable partnership with a foreign agricultural heritage.
Ms. Safia Otokore, Vice President of the Burgundy Regional Council, Mr. Yang Yimin, Mayor of Fuzhou City, Mr. Bruno Bisson, Consul General of France in Guangzhou and Ms. Tong Yu'e, Director-General of CICOS attended and addressed the signing ceremony.
After the signing ceremony, the French delegation paid a field visit to several spots of the Jasmine and Tea Culture System, including a core reserve for Jasmine cultivation, a Jasmine tea culture innovation park and an ancient tea plantation. In addition, both sides exchanged their experience on agricultural heritage conservation.