Soybean research collaboration forged with the support of CUHK’s mobility scheme

The beauty of Argentinian tango roots in partnership, so does scientific research.

Sustainable agricultural practice, which aims at maximising productivity and minimising negative environmental impacts, is one of the major global issues in the 21st century. This requires the integration of multi-disciplinary knowledge via international collaborations.

A team composing of Prof. Hon-Ming Lam, Professor, School of Life Sciences; Prof. Amos Tai, Assistant Professor, Earth System Science Programme; and Prof. Jimmy Lee, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering has initiated a project applying agricultural biotechnology, computer modelling, and artificial intelligence to predict the environmental impacts of soybean cultivation and propose ways for optimisation. Soybean is chosen as the first crop model due to its environmental-friendly characteristics.

Argentina is the third soybean production country worldwide and has accumulated valuable experiences and field data in soybean production. For example, zero-tillage planting method is considered to be an important approach to reduce fertiliser usage. The CUHK delegation visited the headquarter of Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) and two of its subsidiaries, the Institute of Soil and Institute of Climate and Water, in Buenos Aires, Argentina in August 2015. They met with Dr. José Catalano, Vice President and Dr. Eliseo Monti, National Director of INTA to explore collaboration opportunities.

INTA is the national research institute under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina. With 12 subsidiary research institutes, 42 experiment stations, and 240 extension and technology transfer units in the country, it is the most resourceful institute in agricultural research and the leader in sustainable farming in Argentina.

CUHK and INTA are keen to develop collaboration in soybean research and an agreement is underway.

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This article is written by Prof. Hon-Ming Lam, Professor, School of Life Sciences and Director, Centre for Soybean Research. He was awarded to visit INTA under the Outbound Research Mobility Scheme 2015-16.

The University has in place a number of Internationalisation Faculty Mobility Schemes, i.e. International Partnerships Development Programme, Inbound and Outbound Research Mobility Schemes, and Short-term Faculty Exchange Programme, to boost the international exposure of its faculty members and visibility of CUHK as a whole. Selected outbound faculty members are granted an economy class air ticket and accommodation support while hotel/on-campus accommodation support is provided for inbound visiting scholars. In 2015-16, 46 CUHK faculty members and 13 visiting scholars were awarded under the Internationalisation Faculty Mobility Schemes. To view the list of awardees, please click here.