On June 28-29, Prof. Lidia Sas-Paszt, Head of the Department of Microbiology and Rhizology of the National Institute of Horticulture Research in Skierniewice, and other members of the European Sub-task Leader of the Sino-European intergovernmental cooperation project “Sino-European International Cooperation on Nature-Based Nutrient Management in Agriculture (ECONUTRI)” visited Hebei Provincial Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences and National Agricultural Science Observation Shijiazhuang Experiment Station. Prof. Lidia Sas-Paszt, Head of the Department of Microbiology and Rhizology of the National Institute of Horticulture (NIH), visited the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment (IARE) of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (AAFS) of Hebei Province, as well as the National Agricultural Observatory (NAO) of the Republic of China (SARC) in Shijiazhuang. Dr. Wang Liying, Deputy Secretary of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Chinese sub-task leader of the project, received them.

In the afternoon of June 28, Prof. Sas-Paszt and his party arrived at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment of Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (IAAFS) for a meeting and discussion, which was presided over by the moderator of the Sino-European project topics, Wang Liying, Deputy Secretary of IAAFS. At the beginning of the meeting, Zhang Qiang, member of the party group and vice president of the academy, expressed his warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to Prof. Sas-Paszt for his visit. Subsequently, Minister Zhang Meishen, Minister of the Department of External Cooperation and Jia Liangliang, Deputy Director of the Institute introduced the agricultural resource endowment of the province and the setup of the Institute’s sections and departments respectively, hoping to jointly explore new ideas and new initiatives for cooperative research. Afterwards, Prof. Sas-Paszt, the project leader of the European sub-projects, gave a special lecture on “Bio-fertilizers to improve the quality of horticultural crops and soil fertility”. During the question and answer session, Prof. Sas-Paszt and the experts of ICCROM exchanged views on the research of bio-organic fertilizers to improve soil fertility. Mr. Hou Shenglin, Secretary of the General Party Branch and Director of IISI, made a summary speech, expressing his thanks to Prof. Sas-Paszt for his wonderful report. Both sides expressed strong willingness to cooperate on microbial bacterial agent research and development.

On the morning of June 29th, Prof. Sas-Paszt and his team, as well as Wang Liying, deputy secretary of the Institute, paid a visit to the Vegetable Positioning Experiment of the Shijiazhuang Experiment Station of the National Agricultural Science Observatory (NASO), during which Wang Liying gave a detailed introduction of the experimental arrangement of this long-term experimental positioning site. The two sides exchanged views on soil nutrient management and microbial agent R&D. Prof. Sas-Paszt and his delegation also visited the Soil Exhibition Room of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Hebei Province.

Through this academic exchange and field visit activities, the Chinese and European teams further deepened their understanding and planned to give full play to their respective advantages for in-depth cooperation, and had a clearer direction for the project to carry out biostimulants and efficient soil nutrient management. During the two-day exchange visit, Prof. Sas-Paszt gave great affirmation and suggestions to the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment of Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences on the alternative measures of organic fertilizers for farmland soil management. This activity strongly promotes the implementation of the Sino-European cooperation projects and provides strong support for the sustainable and high-quality development of facility agriculture in China and Europe.

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