A few dozen Chinese officials from companies, universities, and municipal governments participated in a Dutch-Chinese conference on sustainable dairy industry in Beijing. Dutch companies provided explanations on how the Chinese milk industry can be modernized.
The seminar was organized by the agricultural section of the Dutch embassy, in collaboration with the Sino-Dutch Dairy Development Centre and the Dairy Association of China. The well-attended seminar titled “Sustainable Dairy Chain: from grass to glass – Examples from the Netherlands” was also supported by the Dairy Association of Anhui.
The Chinese government wants the dairy sector to become more self-sufficient and aims for the industry to be CO2-neutral within thirty years. To achieve this, the entire Chinese economy will have to drastically change its environmental approach, and much know-how and technology will need to be imported.
Furthermore, the Chinese government had previously determined that the country itself needs to produce more and better pasteurized milk, fermented milk, cheese, milk powder, and other high-quality products. At the seminar, experts from China and Dutch companies discussed how the dairy industry can be made more sustainable, especially regarding reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Prof. Shengli LI, chief scientist at the National Dairy Industry Technology System, emphasized the necessity for green and sustainable development of the Chinese dairy sector. He said that only half of Chinese dairy farms apply the planting and feeding model. To become more sustainable, dairy farms are encouraged to grow their own feed and ensile it more and to better utilize cow manure.
China also faces rural depopulation and consequently less availability of labor. According to the agricultural section of the Dutch embassy in Beijing, the current Chinese dairy industry has a low self-sufficiency rate for dairy products, substantial environmental pollution, and a lack of dairy cattle.
Automation, ICT, precision agriculture, and improving local dairy cattle breeding are therefore the main tasks for future Chinese dairy farms. Prof. Li foresees fully automated dairy farms in the future Chinese dairy industry.
Prof. Wei Wang of China Agricultural University gave a lecture at the conference about the relationship between CO2 neutrality and Chinese dairy farming. In it, he called on the Chinese dairy industry to pay more attention to CO2 neutrality: “Increasing your profit and protect the environment.”
Several Dutch dairy and food companies shared their experiences, visions, and strategies regarding a sustainable dairy chain with the Chinese audience, including FrieslandCampina, CRV, Akzo/KNZ, Nutreco, and Nedap.