Opening remarks by Ahmed M. Saeed, ADB Vice-President, Operations 2, at the 8th China Taobao Village Forum, 26 September 2020
Distinguished Speakers, FAO DG Mr. Qu Dongyu and Vice Governor of Hebei Province, Mr. Xia Yanjun,
Alibaba Colleagues, Chairman and CEO Mr. Zhang Yong, VP Ms. Wen Jia, and VP Mr. Gao Hongbing,
Colleagues, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), I would like to thank the Alibaba Group and Ali Research for this invitation. Digital technologies have the potential to support transformational growth in rural areas, and it is a privilege to discuss this subject with you.
Farmers, agriculture and rural areas are at the core of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Rural Vitalization Strategy and its goal of achieving a moderately prosperous society. They are also central to ADB’s own partnership with the PRC. A key priority of our August 2018 memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission is support for leveraging digital technologies in order to improve rural development prospects.
In November last year, ADB sought to advance this objective through a new partnership with Alibaba Group to jointly support the PRC’s rural vitalization program. Since then, significant progress has been made in our collaboration. For example:
• The ADB-financed Gansu internet plus agriculture project is establishing a strong partnership with Alibaba’s e-commerce platform, effectively connecting small farmers with big markets;
• The ADB-financed Henan Dengzhou Integrated River Restoration and Ecological Protection Project is leveraging the Ali-clouds platform in order to digitize solid waste management in rural environments; and
• We are working closely with the Ant Forest platform on a new ecological protection and rehabilitation project.
Sharing lessons with other countries is an important aspect of this cooperation. In the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in April, we had an opportunity to share Alibaba’s experience with ADB colleagues covering South Asia and Southeast Asia regions on how digital actions played a proactive role in responding to the pandemic and supported the sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises. We also shared with ADB colleagues of private sector operations and their clients on the experience of Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms in maintaining food supply chains in the face of quarantine and other preventive measures during the pandemic.
The development of e-commerce outlets in rural villages of the PRC such as Taobao Village provides an integrated model of value chain development for small-scale producers and showcases how the private sector can play a proactive role in rural development. ADB is also able to support the sharing of this example with other developing member countries in Asia and the Pacific.
The COVID-19 pandemic reveals the vulnerabilities of our food supply chains to food insecurity risks. It also highlights the importance and fragility of the complex relationship between natural resources, climate change, biodiversity, land use, and human interaction. The post-pandemic recovery phase is an opportunity to promote a more balanced agricultural and food system that can deliver the desired economic growth balanced with ecological protection for sustainable and inclusive development.
The application of digital technologies will be an important component of this effort, and I am pleased to announce that ADB and the Local Services of Alibaba launched yesterday a joint research project addressing these issues, entitled Digitalization to Strengthen Food Supply Chains and Reduce Food Waste.
I wish this year’s China Taobao Village Forum success in sharing best practices for rural e-commerce development. I hope there will be an exchange of thoughts and ideas on how vast rural areas could leverage digital technologies to achieve sustainable growth. We also look forward to further deepening our cooperation with Alibaba Group.
I am sorry that I could not be with you in person, and hope the opportunity arises soon.
Best wishes for a successful forum!
Thank you.