The League of Tropical Universities 2026 Summit, hosted by Hainan University, was held on May 20 in Haikou — capital of China's Hainan province. 

The League of Tropical Universities 2026 Summit [Photo/Sinomach Hainan]

During the event, the inauguration ceremony took place for the HNU-Angola International Science and Technology Backyard for Tropical Rare Fruit Industry — jointly developed by Sinomach Hainan Development Co., Ltd (or Sinomach Hainan), Hainan University (HNU) and the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF).

As a frontier platform for Sinomach Hainan to deepen agricultural cooperation with Africa, the initiative is tailored to the soil and climatic conditions of Africa and focuses on addressing specific bottlenecks in the industrial development of rare tropical fruits, such as avocados. 

It will carry out three core tasks. The first is to establish a technical system for nutrient management and scientific fertilization to underpin green and efficient production, while the second task is to systematically introduce, evaluate and select tropical fruit germplasm resources suitable for local environments.

Thirdly, it will build a platform for demonstrations, promotions and talent development. It will also launch an innovative "1+1+1" practical education system for international students — thereby creating a new model for international agricultural cooperation and talent training.

 [Photo/Sinomach Hainan]

The inauguration marks a new step for Sinomach Hainan in advancing its business transformation and promoting Hainan's high-efficiency tropical agriculture to go global. 

It is also injecting new vitality into industry-university-research collaborative innovation within the League of Tropical Universities.

Moving forwards, efforts will be made for the Backyard to strive to become an open innovation platform integrating joint R&D, technology demonstrations, talent cultivation and community services. 

It will aim to empower the upgrading of Africa's tropical fruit industry with cutting-edge technologies and drive the transformation of local agriculture from resource-dependent to technology-driven and value-added models.

It will also provide new impetus for China-Africa agricultural science and technology cooperation, Hainan Free Trade Port's push for tropical agricultural technology to go global, and for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.