From 24–29 November 2025, the “International Training Camp on Cassava Tissue Culture and Genetic Transformation” was successfully held in Shanghai. Organized by the Shanghai Center for Cassava Biotechnology (SCCB) led by Prof. Zhang Peng, the program welcomed six senior researchers from Kasetsart University and Mahidol University for a full-chain, immersive one-week course.

As a key platform for exporting China’s cassava biotechnology, SCCB has built a systematic training curriculum focused on germplasm innovation and molecular improvement. The course followed a “Theory–Practice–Industry” model: lectures covered embryogenic callus induction, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and CRISPR reagent delivery; participants then completed every core step of cassava transformation on the center’s experimental platform; finally, an industry day at SanSu Bio’s million-plant micro-propagation center in Nantong, Jiangsu, showcased the complete “lab-to-greenhouse-to-field-to-market” pipeline, highlighting China’s strengths in commercializing cassava biotechnology.

During the camp, Thai scholars discussed critical bottlenecks in Thailand—haploid breeding, resistance to cassava mosaic virus, and post-harvest physiological deterioration—with Prof. Zhang’s team. Leveraging SCCB’s research and platform resources, the two sides drafted a joint project on “autopolyploid haploid induction” and agreed on a germplasm and data-sharing mechanism, laying the groundwork for sustained China–Thailand collaboration.

This training module is the first standardized biotechnology course launched by China’s National Cassava Industry Technology System along the Belt and Road. It demonstrates SCCB’s leadership in international cooperation, talent development, and technology diffusion, addresses the urgent need for upgraded cassava seed systems in Thailand and ASEAN, and contributes Chinese expertise to a green, efficient, and sustainable global cassava industry.