Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) was established in 1957. It is China's national agricultural research organization, directly affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture. The CAAS has a strategic task of serving nation-wide agricultural and rural development and empowering farmers with science and technology. Its major mandates focus on strategic and applied research solving key scientific problems which are of national or regional importance.

The CAAS has about 10,000 staff members and 38 research institutes located in 17 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. As the only agricultural research academy in China that can confer Ph.D. degree in agricultural sciences, the CAAS has a Graduate School, five State Key Crop Variety Improvement Centers and subcenters, 22 national and ministerial level Key Open Laboratories, and 17 national and ministerial commodity quality supervision and testing centers. Meanwhile, it owns about 100 science- and technology-based enterprises with nearly 2,100 people engaged in science and technology business development.

The CAAS has established extensive international cooperation relationships with more than 40 countries and international organizations, and plays a strong leadership role in China's collaboration network with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in teamed efforts with agricultural universities and other agricultural research institutions.

Website: www.caas.net.cn