BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 30 young people from around 20 African countries attended the week-long "Youth Leadership Program in the Belt and Road and South-South Agricultural Cooperation," which started Monday.

Jointly launched by the Institute for South-South Cooperation in Agriculture, China Agricultural University, and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, the training program includes a series of sessions, a field trip to the northeast city of Shenyang and dialogue among participants.

China's South-South agricultural cooperation focuses on utilizing its advantages and sharing its experiences to promote agricultural development with other developing countries in Africa and along the Belt and Road, said Zhao Lijun, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, at the opening ceremony.

The exchange, training and field studies can further deepen the understanding between China and Africa and enhance South-South cooperation in poverty alleviation, ending hunger, achieving food security and improve nutrition in Africa, said Alwin Chinyun Wesseh, the assistant minister from the Ministry of Agriculture of Liberia.

The program also gained support from the World Food Programme, the World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The upcoming 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is scheduled for Sept. 3 to 4, themed "China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation."