The China Selenium-Enriched Agriculture Industry Technology Innovation Alliance, composed of 88 member units including China Agricultural University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was recently established in Beijing.

The alliance is based on the national public welfare industry project "Research and Demonstration of Key Technologies for High-Quality and Efficient Selenium-Enriched Agricultural Products." Under the guidance of the China Industry-University-Research Collaboration Association, it was jointly initiated by domestic higher education institutions, research institutes and key enterprises engaged in selenium-enriched agriculture, following the principle of "voluntary participation, equality, mutual benefit and win-win." It is a non-profit organization integrating "industry, academia, research and application." The establishment of the innovation alliance is of great significance for promoting technological innovation and technology application in the selenium-enriched agriculture industry, and for advancing the healthy and rapid development of the selenium-enriched agriculture industry as well as industry self-regulation.

Wu Wenliang, executive vice chairman of the alliance and dean of the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences at China Agricultural University, introduced that selenium is a trace element essential to human life, and selenium deficiency can lead to Keshan disease, cardiovascular disease and other conditions. According to surveys, 22 provinces in China, with about 700 million people, are in selenium-deficient and low-selenium ecological environments. At present, China's selenium-enriched industry is still in its initial stage, with problems such as uneven product quality and poor levels of standardized production. The alliance will jointly advance innovation in the concepts, planning, technology, systems, standards and values of selenium-enriched agriculture, and enhance scientific research and industrial application in selenium-enriched agriculture. (Li Huiyu)

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