Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) was founded in April 1960. After over 60 years of development, it has evolved into a comprehensive local agricultural research institution with a relatively complete range of disciplines, advanced equipment, high academic standards, strong capacity for achievement transformation, and provides robust support for agricultural development in Shanghai and around the country.

Currently, SAAS comprises 10 research institutions, 1 integrated service center, and 1 comprehensive experimental station. The research institutions include Crop Breeding and Cultivation Research Institute, Forest and Fruit Tree Research Institute, Horticulture Research Institute, Institute of Edible Fungi, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Eco-environment Protection Research Institute, Information Research Institute of Science and Technology (Digital Agricultural Engineering and Technology Research Center), Biotechnology Research Institute, Institute of Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, and Shanghai Agrobiological Gene Center. SAAS houses a total of 68 scientific and technological innovation platforms at various levels, including 17 national-level platforms, 25 ministerial-level platforms, and 26 provincial/municipal-level platforms. Specifically, there are 3 National Engineering Technology Research Centers, 10 Key Laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (6 under trial operation), 2 Shanghai Key Laboratories, and 7 Shanghai Engineering Technology Research Centers. The library collects more than 300,000 Chinese and foreign books and periodicals.

As of July 2025, SAAS has 840 in-service staff members, including 790 professional and technical staff, 15 national and local leading talents, 417 scientific and technological staff with senior professional titles (including 144 research fellows), 718 with master or doctor degree (including 388 with doctor degree), and 59 experts awarded special government allowances of the State Councilas, as well as a postdoctoral workstation. Current research discipline covers 8 fields, including grain and oilseed crop germplasm innovation and application; new variety development and efficient cultivation of horticultural crops; germplasm creation and industrialized production techniques for edible mushrooms; sustainable livestock and poultry farming and control of epidemic diseases; ecological agriculture and control of harmful organisms; innovation and application of efficient biotech breeding technology; quality and safety of agricultural products and preservation and processing technology of agricultural products; and theory of metropolitan agriculture and digital agricultural technology. SAAS conducts scientific and technological exchanges and cooperative research with more than 30 countries or regions, and edits and publishes 7 academic and technical journals such as Acta Agriculturae Shanghai, Acta Edulis Fungi , and Edible Fungi. SAAS focuses on fostering three major S&T industries: seeds and seedlings, edible (medicinal) fungi, and biological vaccines. Based in Shanghai, our scientific and technological services radiate to the Yangtze River Delta, and serve the whole country, with over 300 demonstration bases for new varieties and technologies. Over the past 60 years, SAAS has won 420 scientific and technological awards at or above the ministerial and municipal levels, including 31 national-level scientific and technological awards and 38 first prizes for scientific and technological progress at the ministerial and municipal levels and obtained more than 2,547 patents, new plant variety rights, and approved (recognized) varieties, among which 163 varieties have been approved (recognized) at the national level. It has published 9,470 papers.

In this new Era, SAAS will always take scientific and technological innovation as the foundation of the academy, regard accelerating agricultural scientific and technological progress and improving the level of agricultural science and technology as its fundamental task and take promoting the stable development of agriculture and the continuous increase of farmers' income as its fundamental purpose. By vigorously implementing agricultural scientific and technological innovation projects, promoting the application of scientific and technological achievements, actively carrying out scientific and technological cooperation and joint construction, and conducting all-round farmer training, SAAS will make contributions to promoting the integrated development of Shanghai's urban and rural areas, helping Shanghai take the lead in realizing agricultural modernization, advancing the rural revitalization strategy, and building a powerful agricultural country.