The China-aid Juncao and upland rice technology project in Papua New Guinea Photo: Ministry of Commerce of China

China's Juncao technology has been introduced to 106 countries and regions, helping address poverty in many places such as South Pacific nations, Africa and Latin America, Lin Zhanxi, a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and inventor of Juncao technology, said on Sunday.

Lin made the remarks during a media event on the sidelines of the opening of the 20th CPC National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. 

Juncao, which literally means "mushroom" and "grass," can be used, as its name suggests, to grow edible mushrooms, as livestock feed or as a green barrier to stop desertification.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) was the first country that received aid from China for Juncao technology, Lin said, noting that his team tried their best to localize and simplify the technology of breeding fungi with herbaceous plants so that rural residents in PNG could easily master it.

In 2001, East China's Fujian Province launched the Juncao and upland rice technology project in Eastern Highlands. So far, three phases of the project have been implemented, with a total of seven technical training courses held, delivering training to 623 people, playing an important role in reducing poverty and ensuring food security there, according to a list of cooperation results released by the Fujian local government in May.

To celebrate the success of Juncao technology demonstration projects, the PNG side held a grand ceremony, with participants including then Prime Minister, nine ministers and over 5,000 people from across the country, who hailed "China Herb," and "Herb China," Lin recalled. 

"In order to remember China's help, a minister changed the name of his daughter to 'Juncao,'" Lin said. 

Since then, Juncao technology has helped alleviated poverty in South Pacific nations, Africa and Latin America and changed the destiny of those people, he said.

Juncao technology has been promoted in 18 languages. Over 12,000 people have been trained both at home and abroad, Lin said.

As an affordable way to increase local income through low-cost mushroom cultivation while limiting desertification, China's Juncao technology has now been disseminated across 106 countries and regions.

In 2017, the China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund launched the Juncao Technology Project at the UN Headquarters in New York. China is contributing its own experience and efforts to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Global Times