The year 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the invention of Juncao technology, a groundbreaking innovation developed in 1986 by Prof. Lin Zhanxi of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU). Over the past four decades, Juncao technology has evolved into an important model of South-South cooperation, sustainable agriculture, ecological restoration and rural development, benefiting communities across Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Originally developed as a scientific solution to the global “fungi-forest conflict,” Juncao technology enables the cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms using herbaceous grasses instead of wood logs, thereby reducing deforestation and promoting environmentally sustainable production systems. Beyond mushroom cultivation, technology has expanded into multiple applications including livestock feed production, soil and water conservation, saline-alkali land rehabilitation, methane production, desertification control, climate adaptation, and ecological restoration.
The international study tour is convened in the broader context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly goals related to poverty eradication, food security, employment generation, climate resilience, environmental protection, and sustainable livelihoods. It also contributes to the objectives of the Global Development Initiative and the Pact for the Future by promoting science, technology and innovation through South-South and triangular cooperation.
Since 2017, UNDESA, through the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund and in partnership with the National Engineering Research Centre for Juncao Technology at FAFU, has supported the transfer of Juncao technology to developing countries through capacity-building workshops, policy dialogues, demonstration projects, and technical training programmes. During the first and second phases of the project, thousands of policymakers, researchers, technicians and farmers participated in training and demonstration activities across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
