Scientists and officials told a Beijing seminar yesterday that the future of worldwide sustainable growth lies in successfully linking environmental, economic and social needs.

Participants in the five-day International Workshop on Sustainable Agriculture in China, which started in Beijing yesterday, praised Sino-German environmental research projects over the past five years.

The leading project, Sustainable Agriculture with High Productivity in the North China Plain, is regarded as a successful example of practically applying research findings and involving a wide range of people in the drive for sustainable development, said Andrea Kramp, director of Project Management Organization at the German Ministry for Education and Research.

"Chinese farmers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists and politicians have been working hand in hand with scientists from both countries over the past few years to provide options for sustainable land-use management in North China," Kramp said.

With the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the German Ministry for Education and Research, the 3 million euro (US$3.27 million) project was jointly launched by China Agricultural University and the German-based University of Hohenheim in November 1998.

The project has yielded good results in the 8-million-hectare North China Plain, one of the major agricultural production zones in China, said Sun Qixin, vice-president of China Agricultural University.

The project's irrigation strategies have saved 10 to 20 percent of irrigation water, compared to conventional irrigation practices. Nitrogen-balance models for crop and vegetable farming have saved 20 percent of nitrogenous fertilizer, Sun said.

China's Ministry of Education and the German Ministry for Education and Research are considering new agricultural projects for the next five years, which will focus on agricultural product safety, according to Sun.

(China Daily March 18, 2003)