In a joint collaboration with the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IAED/CAAS) and the Policy Research Institute of Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (PRIMAFF), the Korea Rural Economic Institute held the fifth international symposium of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Northeast Asia (FANEA) in Beijing, China, for three days from October 15 to October 17.

This year the symposium was held in three sessions. The first session was presided by Choi Jung-Sup, president of KREI, on the subject of agricultural finance and insurance. Chong Ho-Gun, a KREI researcher, presented a paper entitled "The Present and Future of Korean Agricultural Financing System." Fu Qin, director general of IAED/CAAS, presided the FANEA meeting's second session which focused on rural aging. At the session, KREI researcher Ma Sang-Jin delivered a research report on productive activities of the aged in rural areas and relevant variables. The symposium's third session, which focused on bio energy, was presided by Kozo Konishi, director general of PRIMAFF. KREI researcher Lee Sang-Min delivered a paper concerning bio fuel production and its prospects in Korea.         FANEA was launched in 2003 by the three research institutes to stimulate policy research and promote information exchange and academic activities in the Northeast Asian region in the agricultural field. The forum holds an international symposium every year.  
 
On October 16, the symposium participants took part in a conference that reviewed the research results of a World Bank project on China's agriculture. On the following day, the participants took a field trip to Hancunhe Village, a sample village for rural development, and  Xinpadi Agricultural Wholesale Market in Beijing.  In the meantime, the FANEA meeting for next year is scheduled to be held in Japan in early June.