The First International Conference of World Peasant Association (Global Peasant Organization) kicked off on Dec. 15, 2022, in Senshan Health Town, Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, China, as scheduled. Organized by China Agriculture Cooperation Association (World Peasant Association Greater China Region), the conference was open to the public in an unofficial form. It demonstrated efforts to strengthen openness and cooperation across nations as well as the genes and bloodline of the unification and cooperation of all peasants worldwide. With the theme of “People from peasant, peace depend on food”, it highlighted the notion that peasants are the cornerstone of humanity and that food is the foundation of security. It aspires to develop an open platform for peasants all around the world to come together, work together, and start jointly building a community with a shared future for global peasants. WPA (GPO) also held its first members’ representative meeting, which was jointly organized by Pakistan, Iran, Nepal, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, South Korea, Togo, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Cyprus, Poland, Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, and China (China Agriculture Cooperation Association, Hong Kong Peasant Association), World Food and Peasant Organization (New York, United States), Global Peasant Organization (Hong Kong, China), World Food and Peasant Organization (Bangkok, Thailand) (preparatory), and other international organizations. Representatives from these countries, organizations and associations were also invited to participate online and offline to elect the first Executive Committee and Youth Committee. World Peasant Cooperation Initiative, which is dedicated to promoting freedom, justice, and peaceful development of peasants worldwide, was jointly released by representatives of participating countries.

As a non-governmental and non-political international organization, WPA (GPO) is committed to serving the peasants. Instead of leading and being led, there is an equal partnership among the peasants’ organizations of the member countries. This connection specifically features “mutual respect, seeking common ground while reserving differences, mutual learning, and win-win cooperation.” The cooperation between peasants’ organizations is strengthened to achieve the following objectives. It aims to help enhance their abilities to manage the production of agricultural products from the farmlands, mountains, grasslands, lakes, rivers, and oceans, promote technical exchanges, improve productivity, facilitate communication on production, processing, logistics and marketing of agricultural products. In addition, WPA (GPO) seeks to open up new channels of circulating agricultural products, increase peasants’ incomes, create employment, and help low-income peasants and the landless urban poor in less developed countries and regions to get rid of poverty and improve their lives. All these efforts are made to meet the requirements of “two assurances (adequate food, adequate clothing) and three guarantees (access to compulsory education, basic medical services, and safe housing)”, and then to move closer to a well-off society, and ultimately to realize common prosperity. WPA (GPO) has been working jointly with peasants’ organizations of all member countries to fulfill the vision of a community with a shared future for global peasants.

In essence, WPA (GPO) values the principle of respecting, conforming to, and protecting nature. WPA (GPO) is devoted to carrying out agricultural product research, improving agricultural product education, spreading knowledge of agricultural practices, protecting natural resources, and optimizing agricultural production. It is committed to enhancing the processing, marketing and distribution of agricultural products around the world, drawing on its advantages to provide appropriate agricultural credit policies, and proposing an international policy of agricultural commodity trade to offer member organizations the required technical support.

China, the initiative’s creator and the conference’s host nation, emphasizes internationalization and openness, places a premium on national equality and solidarity, and works to push forward global agricultural cooperation to a new level. It firmly adheres to the spirit of “building a high-quality partnership for a new era of global development” as expressed by President Xi Jinping at the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development, and strictly abides by the charter to focus on peasants’ organizations, agricultural technology needs, and international agricultural development trends. It also expands exchanges and cooperation between member countries by concentrating on new technologies and advocating new ideas.

The conference also included the world peasant forum, themed on “The Convergence of Global Digital Economy and Modern Agriculture”, where speakers from China and other countries delivered speeches. Dr. Huang Guobo, Chief Investment Officer of CNIC Corporation Limited in Hong Kong, delivered a speech entitled “Digital Currency and Renminbi Internationalization”. According to Mr. Huang, from a digital perspective, digital currency itself is a business system that will create a systematic network of security protection, develop a complete linkage, and provide a management mechanism of normal operation. Manoj Kumar Oli, from Nepal, delivered a speech with the title of “ Boosting the Modernization of Nepalese Agriculture”. He said that Nepalese agriculture is backward and needs modern agricultural technology to help peasants access new markets, exchange expertise and good practices and secure funding that will increase the value of their production. The speech “Analysis of Digital Currency Applications and Security in the Age of Agricultural Digitalization” was given by Mr. Zhong Kai, Deputy Director of No. 30 Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and General Manager of Westone Information Industry Inc. According to him, digitalization promotes the development of world agriculture and all links of agricultural production. E-CNY is the key to enhancing the data chain and trade chain and promoting the development of agricultural trade supply chain. Rodrigo Do Val Ferreira, from Brazil, delivered the speech “New Challenges Require New Solutions”. With the end of 2022 approaching, feeding more than 8 billion people for the first time is a challenge that no country or group can meet alone, and requires the world to work together and think together. Mr. Xie Ronghua, Chairman of Fujian Sinomyth Science and Technology (Group) Co., Ltd. and Co-founder of Chuancha Science and Technology Co., Ltd., delivered a speech “Tea Drinking Powered by Science and Technology, Let the World Love Chinese Tea”. In his speech, he encouraged everyone in attendance to share the story of Chinese tea and promote Chinese tea culture.

Finally, Mr. Jacky Chen, Executive Director of the first Executive Committee of WPA (GPO), Chairman of the Thai Committee for the Economic and Trade Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Advisor to Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen of Cambodia, Special Representative of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia to China, Executive Chairman of the Cambodian Association for Cultural and Economic Exchanges with China and Chairman of the ASEAN Committee on Small and Medium-sized enterprises, Mr. Nicos Ioannou, Executive Director, member of the Secretariat of the political parties of Aker, director of the Treasury and member of the Political Bureau of Cyprus, as well as Alaa Aldeek, official spokesman of the Palestinian city of Kafr Al-diek, etc, delivered remarks from the perspective of agriculture on behalf of their own countries. They are confident that WPA (GPO) will benefit the peasants around the globe and provide new opportunities for human development.

In light of the pandemic outbreak and the complicated global environment brought on by the profound changes unseen in a century, the existing international mechanisms have increasingly shown governance flaws, most notably in the form of challenges maintaining the objectivity of global governance issues in the original international organizations, difficulties responding to emerging global challenges, dilemma of reforming international mechanisms, and the lack of consensus on reform. In this regard, we should emphasize the significance of peasant and agricultural development globally, address pressing issues including the current situation, typical patterns and prospects, and launch an initiative through the first international conference hosted by WPA (GPO), in the hopes that with the advancement of our efforts and the subsequent participation and cooperation of more international organizations, the future development of peasants and agriculture will be fruitful. It is anticipated that it will act as the “bellwether” and “navigator” for the future growth of peasants and agriculture throughout the world as more international organizations join forces, participate in, and cooperate.