Semex's China Project Director Dr. J. Clare Rennie Given China's Friendship Award
Published: December 5, 2006
Source : Semex Alliance
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China established the state-level Friendship Award to thank, recognize and commend foreign experts for their outstanding contributions to China’s modernization construction. The Friendship Award represents the highest honour that foreign experts working in China can receive from the Chinese government.
Nominated by the Dairy Association of China and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture for the People’s Republic of China, Dr. Rennie was among 49 foreign recipients from 19 different countries.
Initiated in 1993, the IDCBP was a bilateral venture between the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) of the Government of Canada and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC) with a budget of $17.7 million. The project was implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture in China with the Semex Alliance in Guelph, Ontario acting as the Canadian Executing Agency.
The goal of the 12-year project was to strengthen the genetic and managerial base for increasing the quantity, quality and efficiency of milk production in China. The expected outcome was to have sustainable production systems in place, where change and improvements are measurable, in terms of both product volume and increased revenue.
From 1993 to 1995, high quality Canadian Holstein genetics from Semex in the form of live cattle, semen and embryos were shipped from Canada and distributed amongst three demonstration sites. In an effort to support dairy development in villages where the average number of milking cows per household is four, the concept of milking centres was introduced. This system is geared to improving milk yield and also the quality and safety of all milk and milk products, with the end result being increased revenue for the individual household. This domestic shift in dairy production technology, which began in just a few provinces, has spread to every province and region where dairy farming is a significant industry.
Canadian dairy technology was taught both in Canada and in China through this program to an accumulated total of 66,070 managers, technicians and support staff. This training involved the individuals learning from Canadian technical advisors, Chinese advisors trained in Canada and specialists from various departments of the Chinese government.
Topics covered in this training included farm management, nutrition, genetics, reproduction, artificial insemination, dairy herd health, housing, animal comfort, animal identification and registration, DHI, type classification, breeding systems, milking management, milk processing, milk quality standards, product quality, product safety, computers, marketing systems, dairy policies, advertising and promotion.
Also, the project is proud to have been associated with the Chinese School Milk Program. This program’s goal has been to ensure that China’s 200 million school age children get safe, nutritious and convenient dairy products in schools. Highly successful, this program began in 1999 with five locations serving 100,000 children.
By 2003 it had grown to over 3,000,000 children, benefiting the youth and following generations by establishing dairy products as part of the diet into adulthood, while also providing a stimulus to China’s dairy industry and rural areas. The IDCBP contributed significantly to this initiative by providing training on dairy product quality and safety.
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