1.The China-UK Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network (SAIN) has been established to provide a coherent framework for the development and implementation of China-UK collaboration on environmentally sustainable agriculture. It will support the aims of the existing China-UK Sustainable Development Dialogue (SDD) and provide a flexible and largely self-sustaining platform for long-term China-UK collaboration in this area. Development of the SAIN is included in the SDD Work Programme on Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries agreed by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of the UK government.

2.The proposal for such a network was originally made at the 2005 UK-China Partners in Science conference at Yangling in North West China, and was further discussed by partners involved in the SDD project on “Improving livelihoods for Shaanxi farmers by reducing non-point source pollution through improved nutrient management” at a workshop in September 2007.? It was also discussed by DEFRA, DFID, MOA and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and China’s North West Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU) at a dinner in Beijing in November 2007. A Business Plan was produced through a DEFRA/DFID consultancy after wide consultations with Chinese stakeholders, bilateral agencies and international organisations. The draft business plan was reported to Chinese and UK primary stakeholders on 14th December 2007; the full business plan was accepted by MOA, MOST, DFID and DEFRA in April 2008.

3.The main objectives of the SAIN are to:

(a)Support the implementation of the UK-China SDD and its natural resources management theme by fostering innovation in three areas: policy approaches; institutional mechanisms for collaborative research; translating policy and science into practice on the ground.

(b)Stimulate innovative thinking and research on all aspects of environmentally sustainable agriculture and its relation to the local, national and global economy

(c)Communicate information on environmentally sustainable agriculture issues and opportunities for change, and disseminate best practices to key audiences (farmers, policy makers, businesses)

(d)Contribute to global sustainability through south-south learning and similar initiatives

4.The governance structure of the SAIN includes a Governing Board (GB), two Secretariat Offices (each in China and UK), and several Working Groups (WGs). The primary Secretariat Office for SAIN will be in China within the North West Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU). A smaller, secondary Secretariat Office will be based in the Overseas Development Group at the University of East Anglia in the UK. Defra and MOA will provide financial support for the two Secretariat Offices.The NWAFU has agreed to provide office space, necessary equipment and facilities, and personnel free of charge for the China Secretariat Office as its contribution to the SAIN.