The WAFI 2025 Global Agrifood Innovation Roadshow — China Agricultural University (CAU) Special Session was successfully held on September 19. As a key ongoing event under the 2025 World AgriFood Innovation Conference (WAFI), this roadshow featured five innovative projects from CAU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, and College of Information and Electrical Engineering.

The event attracted global investors, industry experts, and media representatives, who engaged in in-depth discussions on technological breakthroughs and industrial applications. The session served as an effective platform for transforming agricultural and food innovations into tangible outcomes.

Five Innovative Projects Presented by China Agricultural University:

1.Project by Prof. Zhou Xiangmei, College of Veterinary Medicine

"Application of Bovine Mycobacterium Polysaccharide Extract in Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Endotoxemia Therapy"

Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, leading to significant economic losses in dairy and beef cattle industries. The polysaccharide vaccine, a high-molecular-weight amphiphilic lipopolysaccharide isolated from the Mycobacterium bovis cell wall, demonstrates strong immunomodulatory effects. It significantly mitigates systemic inflammatory responses and pathological tissue damage caused by tuberculosis infection, reducing both morbidity and mortality rates. Clinical trials confirm that this vaccine prevents active bovine tuberculosis, improves dairy production efficiency, and offers advantages such as a short treatment cycle and low cost, presenting broad application prospects.

2. Project by Prof. Hu Yanxin, College of Veterinary Medicine

"AI + Pathology: Opening a New Chapter in Canine and Feline Tumor Diagnosis"

Aligned with national and municipal policies on AI integration and smart agriculture, this project addresses critical bottlenecks in pet tumor diagnosis by establishing a multi-center pathology database and an AI-powered intelligent diagnostic platform. By creating a replicable “data–algorithm–platform–application” innovation model, it reduces diagnosis time from 30 minutes to under 5 minutes and cuts misdiagnosis rates in primary clinics from over 30% to below 5%. This approach enhances pet healthcare services in Beijing and offers scalable solutions for livestock and plant disease diagnostics.

3. Project by Prof. Li Yuan, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering

"Anmeng Drink: Fast-Acting Sleep Aid Nanoemulsion"

Targeting China’s 500 million people suffering from sleep disorders, Prof. Li’s team developed a nanoemulsion containing natural sleep-aid ingredients such as jujube seed and GABA. With particle sizes around 170 nm, the formulation improves oral bioavailability by 10 times and reaches peak blood concentration within 30 minutes—significantly faster than traditional products that take 1–2 hours. Combined with gut-targeted release technology, the product ensures both safety and efficacy. The project has applied for multiple patents and is currently undergoing industry-academia collaboration for commercialization. The lab also possesses advanced delivery technologies for functional factors such as hollow salt and DHA nanoemulsions.

4. Project by Prof. Liao Xiaojun, presented by Dr. Chen Kun, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering

"Leveraging Bio-intelligent Manufacturing for Functional Proteins in Next-Generation Factories"

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a critical antioxidant enzyme that prevents oxidative damage by scavenging superoxide anions. To overcome challenges related to stability, enzymatic activity, and production costs, Prof. Liao’s team employed genetic engineering and synthetic biology strategies. They constructed Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris expression systems for heterologous expression of chestnut rose-derived Cu,Zn-SOD and enhanced protein stability through semi-rational design based on consensus sequences. After nearly a decade of research, the team has addressed key production challenges, secured 11 patents, and developed core technologies including engineered strain modification, protein purification, high-density fermentation, and stabilization techniques.

5. Project by Dr. Ye Hao, College of Information and Electrical Engineering

"Mobile Farmland Micro-Service Station – AI Empowering Agricultural Technology Service System"

To tackle the issues of low service quality and efficiency among traditional agricultural service personnel and the lack of scientific guidance for smallholder farmers, Dr. Ye Hao’s team developed an integrated service vehicle equipped with:

• Portable sensors capable of detecting over 20 indicators related to soil, crops, air, and moisture;

• A digital twin model of "crop-soil-atmosphere" for precise calculation of crop nutritional needs;

• The "Houji" large agricultural technology guidance model, generating prescriptions with over 95% accuracy;

• A one-stop service mini-program enabling closed-loop operations from data collection to prescription generation in the field.

Deployed in more than 10 counties in Yunnan and Inner Mongolia, the solution has served hundreds of thousands of mu of farmland, helping farmers reduce water use by 30%, increase crop yield by 10%, raise income by over RMB 50 per mu, and improve service efficiency by 5–10 times.

The roadshow featured three esteemed judges:

• Prof. Fu Wenge, Secretary-General of the WAFI Advisory Committee and Director of the MBA Education Center at CAU;

• Mr. Mao Changqing, Co-Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Center at CAU and Chairman of Desai Yingfu Fund Management;

• Mr. Gu Ming, Founder of Xunzheng Investment.

The judges provided in-depth evaluations from perspectives of technological advancement and market feasibility, offering suggestions on technical optimization, business models, and international collaboration. Prof. Fu emphasized that the roadshow provides an international platform for agricultural technology projects, accelerating the transformation of innovations into industrial applications and enhancing the resilience of global food supply chains.

Conclusion and Future Steps

The WAFI 2025 Global Agrifood Innovation Roadshow leverages the world-class platform of the World AgriFood Innovation Conference to address structural challenges in the global agrifood industry. By focusing on the intersection of technological revolution and industrial upgrading, it fosters deep integration of technology, capital, and industry, turning innovative ideas into scalable, productive realities.

Selected projects will be included in the "WAFI Global Agri-Food Innovation Portfolio," with priority access to international capital and research resources, overseas market entry support, and opportunities to contribute to high-quality agricultural development.

About WAFI

The World AgriFood Innovation (WAFI) Conference serves as a global exchange and cooperation platform for integrated innovation in agricultural and food systems. It promotes transformation across the agrifood systems, facilitates interaction among government, industry, academia, and end-users, and encourages cross-sector dialogue and collaboration to create a healthy, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural future. Since its inception, WAFI has been widely recognized as one of the world’s top three agrifood conferences.

WAFI 2025, themed "Resilient Food Supply For Agrifood Systems Transformation," will take place from October 12–14 at the Pinggu Jinhai Lake International Convention Center in Beijing, China, and on October 15 at China Agricultural University. The event will include an opening ceremony, plenary sessions, thematic forums, parallel meetings, side events, innovation showcases, and an exposition.