Overview
“The 2030 Agenda is not a pipe dream; it is an unnegotiable global commitment. We have the capacity to change the current situation, but only if we take swift, coordinated and decisive action.”
—- António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Issues Addressed
According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, only 35% of global SDG targets are on track. Nearly half are making slow progress, and 18% are regressing.
Faced with the still severe situation, we must accelerate actions and strengthen multilateral cooperation.
The report points out that focusing on breakthroughs in the areas of food systems, education, employment and social protection, and climate change response will help drive the overall progress of other Sustainable Development Goals.
Our Actions
In line with the guidelines of the report, our project is committed to advancing the achievement of the following four Goals: Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Quality Education (SDG 4), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12).
However, this does not mean that our project will not have an impact on other SDGs. For example, it also touches upon issues related to Climate Action (SDG 13), Life on Land (SDG 15) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
SDG 12: Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns
Why SDG#12?
Our planet’s resources are being depleted, yet the population continues to grow. If the global population reaches 9.8 billion by 2050, it would require nearly three planets’ worth of natural resources to sustain current lifestyles. This necessitates changes to our existing production methods and consumption patterns.
Pesticides primarily pollute soil and water bodies, and they even cause secondary pollution. In addition, pesticide pollution incidents are mainly reflected in products closely related to human life and production. People can easily accumulate residual pesticide molecules in their bodies by consuming such contaminated crops. Consuming such contaminated crops easily leads to the accumulation of residual pesticide molecules in the human body. For example, traditional methods often use copper-based formulations or antibiotics to manage pathogens on crops. Copper accumulates in soil, which is toxic to beneficial soil macroorganisms. It also impacts human health through bioaccumulation. Therefore, traditional methods for managing crop pathogens not only damage environmental resources, but also release harmful chemicals into the surrounding environment during production and use, adversely affecting both the environment and human health.
Research and surveys have found that post-harvest loss is a critical issue in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) —— approximately 14% of global food is lost between harvest and retail. Bacterial diseases cause blemishes on the surfaces of fruits like tomatoes and citrus, which leads to their rejection or being downgraded, resulting in waste at the retail and consumption stages. Traditional pesticides cannot guarantee the preservation and storage of products after harvest. Existing preservatives can also impact human health during their use.
Over 200 bacterial pathogens globally cause serious diseases in economically important crops. Diseases lead to significant grain loss in food production annually. In fact, current chemical pesticides for managing bacterial diseases lack targeted specificity. Thus, they cannot achieve highly efficient eradication of pathogens. Even natural phage pesticides face challenges like failure due to phage resistance.
We Focus on these Subgoals
12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
12.3 By 2030, halve per capital global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.
12.4 By 2020, in accordance with the agreed international framework, environmentally sound management shall be implemented for chemicals and all wastes throughout their entire life cycle, and their releases to air, water and soil shall be significantly reduced, so as to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
How do we achieve SDG12?
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Sustainable Resource Utilization: Phage particle pesticides can target and kill pathogens. Due to their high specificity, PhAgri only acts when pathogens are present in the environment, avoiding negative impacts on other organisms in the ecosystem. If no effective infection occurs within the phage’s active period, the phage coat proteins readily denature and become ineffective in open environments, minimizing environmental impact. Furthermore, literature indicates that after phages clear the pathogens, beneficial bacteria originally present in the soil become dominant and suppress pathogen regrowth. This effectively eliminates pathogens enabling sustainable use of soil resources while protecting the original biological structure of environmental resources.
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Reducing Adverse Impacts on Environment and Human Health: Compared to traditional pesticides, phage pesticide production and use do not involve harmful chemicals. This approach avoids the release of chemicals into the surrounding environment, particularly during application —— traditional pesticides require spraying harmful substances into the environment, whereas PhAgri do not. This significantly reduces chemical pollution and its adverse effects on human health and the environment.
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Reducing Food Waste: During the production process, since bacteriophages can specifically recognize pathogenic bacteria, introduce toxic plasmids and kill the pathogenic bacteria efficiently, this greatly reduces grain losses in the production process. During transportation, fruits and vegetables in relatively enclosed spaces prone to bruising are susceptible to bacterial infection while spotted fruits are even more vulnerable. This imposes strict requirements on transportation methods and significantly limits export potential for products like fruits and vegetables. Using PhAgri, spraying the agent on fruit surfaces can enhance storage resilience, reducing food loss during transport . Spots on fruits like tomatoes and citrus after disease affect sales, causing waste at retail and consumption stages. Therefore, using PhAgri to combat bacterial diseases can effectively reduce waste at the consumption stage.
Stakeholders
Professor Jun Liu
Why We Contact：
To verify whether phage particles can efficiently kill soil-borne pathogens and enable sustainable soil management.
What We Learned：
Early phage intervention can rapidly prevent total crop loss caused by Pseudomonas syringae and significantly reduce the residual load of heavy metals and organic chemicals in soil.
How It Influenced Our Project：
We selected Pst.DC3000 as the target pathogen and switched to a soil spray strategy focused on eliminating residual pathogens from previous crops.
Farmers at the Zhuozhou Science and Technology Backyard
Why We Contact：
To draw on the mature experience of the Zhuozhou practice base in pesticide innovation and application, and identify pain points in bacterial diseases control.
What We Learned：
Symptoms of bacterial diseases appear late, traditional agents act slowly.
How It Influenced Our Project：
We added high-activity phage spot spraying and postharvest preservation solutions to achieve rapid intervention.
Professor Jun Liu
College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University
Why We Contact：
To understand whether our phage particles, compared to traditional pesticides, could effectively kill common plant pathogens and contribute to sustainable soil use.
What We Learned：
He pointed out that Pseudomonas syringae can cause complete crop failure of entire vegetable plantings within a short period, and PhAgri could significantly reduce losses through early intervention. Phages, as pesticides, possess inherent advantages like high target specificity. Compared to traditional pesticides, they can reduce heavy metal residues and the impact of harmful organic chemicals on soil, favoring sustainable soil management.
How It Influenced Our Project?
Professor Liu noted that Pseudomonas syringae, as a classic and commonly used model strain for bacterial diseases, has high research and cultural value. Therefore, we selected P. syringae DC3000 as our target pathogen in subsequent experiments. Also, as an expert in plant immunology, he reminded us that most bacterial diseases are actually caused by residual pathogens in the soil from the previous year. Consequently, we designed our application method as a soil spray.
Farmers at the Zhuozhou Science and Technology Backyard
Interview with Farmers at the Zhuozhou Science and Technology Backyard
Why We Contact：
The Zhuozhou practice base is an important planting base in Hebei Province with extensive experience in pesticide use and innovation. We wanted to learn about current methods for handling bacterial diseases and the use and promotion of pesticides.
What We Learned：
Bacterial diseases are characterized by late detection and difficulty in treatment. Traditional sterilization methods act slowly, and farmers sometimes have to resort to burning infected plants to control the disease, which still results in significant yield reduction. Therefore, our method could help recover farmers’ losses to some extent if it can prevent problems before they occur or mitigate losses in time.
How It Influenced Our Project?
We added design considerations for pesticide application methods. In our initial plan, we only considered the long-term latency of P. syringae in soil, focusing on prevention and overlooking direct disease control after onset. In reality, compared to ordinary pesticides, our PhAgri has higher activity and sensitivity, enabling timely rescue of affected crops.
Links to other SDGs
PhAgri help maintain the soil environment, contributing to increased resilience in farmland ecosystems. Promoting biopesticides requires gaining the trust of agricultural workers. Using platforms like Science and Technology Backyards that bring technology to the fields, we use facts and data to help farmers understand and recognize the necessity of sustainable development. (links to SDG2)
Based on existing experimental foundations and literature, we designed software capable of providing predictions for tail fiber protein replacement, which helps reduce the workload for researchers. (links to SDG 9)
Our educational outreach activities fully integrate concepts of sustainable development and synthetic biology. In the “Life Building Blocks Fun Play” activity, interactive games included “Phage Stomach Protection Battle” (where players push cans to simulate phage targeting pathogens) and “Synthetic Life Chat” (brainstorming Q&A to inspire thinking about sustainable development), all integrating the project’s biopesticide concept within the narrative of sustainable goals. (links to SDG4)
Potential Challenges and Responses
High Production Costs for High-Tech Products
The high production cost of high-tech products is a core bottleneck for the promotion of phage biopesticides. The development stage requires investment in expensive equipment, professional personnel and high-quality raw materials. Additionally, the production process relies on an aseptic environment, precise control and strict quality inspection. These factors result in a unit cost far higher than that of traditional chemical pesticides, making it difficult for small-scale farmers to afford and limiting its market popularization.
To address this challenge, the project adopts a three-pronged approach combining “Technology-Scale-Cooperation”:
SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
WHY SDG#8?
SDG8, “Decent Work and Economic Growth”, is a core link in sustainable development. By linking economic growth with job quality, it fosters a system where “growth benefits all”. Decent work not only protects livelihoods, but also promotes other goals, such as education and health. It is the cornerstone of a stable social contract.
On September 23, 2025, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its latest economic outlook, projecting global economic growth of 3.2% in 2025. The real GDP growth rate of the least developed countries is expected to slow down to 4.9% in 2025. The world economy is facing a complex mix of short-term problems and long-term contradictions, and the momentum of economic growth is clearly insufficient. Downside risks cannot be ignored.
In 2024, nearly 58 per cent of workers remained informally employed, with persistently high rates in LDCs and sub-Saharan Africa. Youth and women continued to face particularly elevated unemployment and NEET (not in education, employment or training) rates.
The statistics reveal that only by solving the problems of growth quality and employment can we realize the core value of SDG8 , thereby stabilizing society and improving the world.
We Focus on these Subgoals
8.1 Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries.
8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead.
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
How do we achieve SDG8?
Part 1 Decent Work
8.5
“Decent work” is a core concept proposed by the International Labour Organization, which aims to ensure that all workers have access to dignified, safe and fair working conditions.
Dignity: A global survey conducted among nine developed countries indicates that 50% of the respondents are willing to purchase green products, and 24% of them prefer to pay more for green products. Therefore, the green products harvested by farmers in relatively underdeveloped countries after using new pesticides can be exported to developed countries. While they receive better income, they will also realize that agricultural work is no longer synonymous with inefficiency and hardship, but is a new trend of green and environmental protection, which will enhance farmers’ self-identity and the sense of dignity.
Safety: In 2024, a study on occupational health hazards of chemical plant workers concluded that 95% of workers were exposed to chemical hazards. In contrast , the production environment of new phage pesticides does not involve irritating chemicals (such as pesticide active ingredients: organophosphates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, etc.) , providing a safer working environment for workers.
Fair: Once the project matures, we will streamline the process and provide hands-on training so that rural women and the elderly can use simplified facilities to successfully produce the new pesticide themselves after simple technical training. This will avoid gender, age and educational discrimination that may occur in certain jobs.
Part 2 Economic Growth
8.1
Product
According to a report made by Lujia Dong from Stanford Online High School in 2024, “In the long term, phage therapy is more cost-effective than traditional pesticides. They can be multiplied reasonably quickly and at a lower cost than chemical pesticides, so they can become a cheaper and possibly more practical alternative for farmers.” This indicates the general recognition of the potential of PhAgri.
To prevent farmers from being unwilling to buy the new pesticides due to high prices, we will streamline the production process of pesticides and allow farmers to produce them by themselves. This can reduce costs, ensure that farmers’ income exceeds their expenditure and achieve economic growth.
The phage pesticides we developed have the characteristics of precise targeted sterilization, which can effectively prevent and control bacterial diseases. It can also reduce crop yield reduction and quality decline caused by diseases. By ensuring the yield and quality of crops, the market value of agricultural products is increased, and agricultural economic growth is promoted. In addition, replacing chemical pesticides with biological pesticides can reduce pesticide residues or even achieve zero pesticide residues, thereby promoting agricultural products to obtain green product labels, increasing the commercial added value of products and improving farmers’ income.
Studies have shown that in sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 30%-50% of fruits and vegetables are lost before reaching consumers. In Ethiopia, more than one-third of horticultural products are lost after harvest. It can be seen that transportation loss is a major threat to the sales of agricultural products. By spraying PhAgri on the surface of harvested crops, we can reduce the risk of bacterial infection during transportation and significantly extend the shelf life. This better ensures the source of income for farmers in underdeveloped countries or regions.
To sum up, the new phage pesticides reduce the problem of crop yield reduction caused by bacterial diseases. The final crops can be exported as green products to economically developed regions or countries, helping underdeveloped countries achieve the goal of increasing their gross domestic product.
Enterprise
The International Conference on the Biocontrol Industry shows that the European biocontrol market is worth over €1.6 billion, with small and medium-sized enterprises being the core driving force. In the domestic market, PhAgri can meet the demand for new-type biological pesticides in the green development of agriculture. In the international market, it has the potential to participate in competition due to its innovation in the field of microbial agents. By exploring the market, it can bring new growth momentum to the domestic economy, enhancing the possibility of cooperation between China and other enterprises in the global biological pesticide field and achieving economic growth through win-win cooperation.
Industry
The development of green agriculture will drive the development of related industries, such as green agricultural product processing, sales industries and equipment manufacturing industries. The development of these industries can form new economic growth points and promote overall economic growth.
8.4
New phage biopesticides can better guarantee farmers’ income and significantly improve the utilization of land resources and labor resources. In terms of the amount of cultivated land, the 2023 China Natural Resources Bulletin, released by the Ministry of Natural Resources in early 2024, shows that China’s cultivated land has decreased to 127.58 million hectares, with a per capita cultivated land area of approximately 0.09 hectares, which is significantly lower than the world average. This indicates that China faces a severe shortage of land resources. In the field of agricultural cultivation, some regions in China and even around the world still have the problem of investing a large amount of labor but achieving low harvests due to bacterial diseases. This is also a waste of labor resources. PhAgri can not only maximize the usable capacity of land under the condition of limited cultivated land area but also reduce labor waste caused by bacterial diseases. Ultimately, they effectively protect farmers’ incomes and provide an effective solution to the problems of land resource shortage and low agricultural production efficiency.
In addition, according to a short review article by Professor Leilei Zhang, who is from the Phage Research Center of Liaocheng University, bacteriophages are non-toxic to the environment and will not pollute the environment, meeting the requirements of green and pollution-free agriculture advocated by the contemporary era. Bacteriophages are highly specific and only target the corresponding pathogens without destroying the normal bacterial flora. It can be seen that our phage-based pesticides can improve grain quality and promote economic growth without affecting the environment. For more details on this aspect, please refer to SDG12. (Link: SDG12)
Stakeholders
Part1 Product Commercialization
To truly benefit the public, our project needs to move out of the laboratory and enter the market to achieve the goals of “decent work” and “economic growth”. Therefore, we conducted interviews related to the product and used teachers’ experience to further understand the issues that farmers are most concerned about.
Professor Ting Meng
Why We Contact：
How to Evaluate PhAgri’s Commercial Viability
What We Learned：
We realized that we need to prepare a mature business plan to meet the needs of the later stages of the project.
Professor Jieyi Xu
Why We Contact：
How can we market them to realize their commercial value?
What We Learned：
We will market PhAgri through a dual-track strategy: providing low-cost semi-finished products and easy-to-use configuration kits for small farmers to promote accessibility, while offering high-value finished products for large-scale enterprises to ensure profitability. This model emphasizes efficacy over technical complexity, maximizing both social impact and commercial return.
Professor Ting Meng
College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University
Why We Contact：
How can we bring PhAgri to market? How can we market them to realize their commercial value? These questions are crucial to achieving our goal of “economic growth”. After learning that Professor Meng Ting conducts research on consumer economics and agricultural product marketing, we conducted an interview with her.
What We Learned：
Teacher Meng affirmed that our product has good potential market and value. From the perspective of market value, farmers who grow cash crops have high requirements for the appearance and quality of agricultural products. If PhAgri can help them reduce chemical pesticide residues and meet the standards for high-quality agricultural products, they can meet the needs of these farmers to increase their incomes. At the same time, if green pesticides can help agricultural products obtain green labels, they can also help farmers break through the entry threshold of supermarkets and gain price premiums, further opening up the mid-to-high-end market.
However, Teacher Meng also pointed out that commercialization is not an easy task. Farmers are primarily concerned about cost and income. If green pesticides are priced higher than traditional chemical pesticides and farmers cannot clearly perceive the income increase effect, they will directly refuse to use them. Farmers also have a strong sense of risk aversion. Their concerns include the usage methods of green pesticides, the compatibility with existing farming facilities and the effectiveness stability under extreme weather conditions. In addition, applying for green labels requires meeting multi-dimensional standards throughout the entire production process and the mere use of green pesticides is not sufficient. The “acquaintance society” characteristic in rural areas also means that without successful cases led by large-scale farmers, simple promotion will be difficult to gain farmers’ trust. All these factors increase the difficulty of commercialization.
From this, we realized that we need to prepare a mature business plan to meet the needs of the later stages of the project.
Professor Jieyi Xu
College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University
Why We Contact：
From the interview with Teacher Meng, we learned that the project still has a long way to go for industrialization. Teacher Jieyi Xu from the College of Economics and Management not only has rich experience in product commercialization, but also focuses on research areas such as consumer psychology and behavior. She can provide guidance on our business plan from multiple perspectives. Therefore, we designed a business plan and invited Teacher Xu to evaluate it and provide suggestions.
What We Learned：
Regarding the business plan, Teacher Xu mainly put forward the following revision suggestions:
- Although our project aims to enable farmers to produce the product by themselves to reduce costs, it is undeniable that it is difficult for them to fully understand the underlying principles. What farmers really care about is “how much does the pesticide cost” and “how effective is the pesticide”. Therefore, when conducting commercialization, our business plan should target non-biology professionals and highlight the product’s efficacy rather than its principles.
- We hope that farmers can produce the product independently, but we also need to attract investment. In terms of sales models, we can sell semi-finished products and configuration plans to farmers at a reduced price, while using core technologies to produce finished products with relatively high prices for large enterprises that engage in concentrated crop cultivation. This approach not only supports farmers, but also enables the company to make profits, achieving economic growth from multiple perspectives.
Based on this, we revised the business plan. Through conversations with stakeholders, we achieved a cycle of “identifying problems - revising problems - providing feedback on problems - further improving”.
Part2 Meaning assessment and extension
Professor Kun Sang
Why We Contact：
How our biopesticide project could stimulate the biological industry and contribute to rural revitalization.
What We Learned：
He emphasized that expanding the biopesticide market can form a positive industrial cycle and improve farmers’ income. Inspired by this, we plan to collaborate with local “Science and Technology Courtyards” to promote decentralized production, create rural employment opportunities and build pilot zones for biotechnology-driven rural development.
Professor Kun Sang
College of Humanities and Development, China Agricultural University
Teacher Sang’s research focuses on agricultural business entities and agricultural transformation, agricultural technology and agricultural socialized service systems, etc. He can provide targeted guidance for our project.
Communications with Teacher Sang confirmed that our project can promote the biological industry chain, forming a positive cycle and driving industrial development.
Teacher Sang said, “Once the market for (new-type pesticides) is driven, it can achieve a certain scale. There will be a price-friendly market, and even people will place orders through e-commerce platforms. This will drive more people to use biopesticides in turn, forming a positive cycle. Once the market forms a reverse driving mechanism, with the support of these biopesticides, a positive cycle will be formed, and this wheel will start turning.” This fully affirms that our project has great potential to promote the new biological industry.
At the same time, Teacher Sang also put forward ideas on how our project can improve employment.
Teacher Sang inspired us that if farmers’ incomes are good, their occupational attachment will be relatively stronger. The income from managing land to grow high-value-added agricultural products may be similar to that from working in cities. This will make rural areas no longer synonymous with backwardness. Rural areas will also have their own value and further develop unique “rural experiences”. They will become a back garden for urban residents, an ecological barrier, a food base, and a leisure destination, forming a symbiotic relationship with cities.
When agricultural activities gain unique ecological charm, they may even lead to the formation of “agricultural technology towns with biotechnology characteristics” “characteristic towns for organic agricultural product processing” and “characteristic cultural and tourism towns for ecological vacations”. These will provide more diverse occupations, truly improve employment conditions and realize rural revitalization.
Part3 Farmers’ own production plans (8.5)
Teacher Yuan Hongli from the College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, leads the “Weiguang Plan”. This plan trains rural entrepreneurial women to become crop doctors in the fields, supports each rural woman participating in entrepreneurship to launch a small micro-entrepreneurial platform —— a digital ecological agricultural service station —— at their doorsteps. Through high-quality employment and entrepreneurship, they can better realize their life values.
We look forward to further communicating with Teacher Yuan in the future, learning from her experience, and enabling farmers to produce our phage-based pesticides by themselves, especially providing employment opportunities for women and the elderly. We plan to carry out hierarchical training for farmers: for women with a certain agricultural foundation, the focus will be on explaining the core technologies of phage screening and propagation, as well as key points of quality control; for the elderly with limited physical strength, the focus will be on teaching simple operation procedures and safety standards to ensure that each participant can master key skills. During the production process, customized simple devices will be used. These devices are small in size, low in cost and easy to operate, requiring no complex assembly. Farmers can carry out production at home or in service stations. Through technical training and support for simple equipment, we can not only lower the production threshold, allowing groups such as women and the elderly to easily participate in employment, but also promote the rapid application of PhAgri in the fields, providing timely protection for the prevention and control of crop diseases.
Potential Challenges and Responses
The production of new-type biopesticides may have a certain impact on traditional pesticide enterprises. Traditional pesticide enterprises may face declining benefits, and the companies may encounter economic problems, while employees may face potential risks such as layoffs.
Solution
Traditional pesticide industries have extensive experience in the promotion and application of pesticides. In the initial pilot stage of the product, we can choose to cooperate with existing pesticide enterprises, use their extensive audience platform to enhance farmers’ and practitioners’ trust in PhAgri and help traditional pesticide industries achieve overall transformation and upgrading to achieve win-win cooperation.
Traditional pesticide enterprises have rich data related to bacterial diseases, such as the impact of temperature changes and regional differences on the occurrence of diseases, and the data on the correlation between pathogenic bacteria and spot phenotypes. Based on this advantage, traditional pesticide enterprises can expand their business scope and develop upstream and downstream industries related to this project to achieve diversified product development. For example, developing a big data platform for AI identification of bacterial diseases based on databases, promoting the precise application of biological pesticides and their wide use on different crops, and realizing the transformation of enterprises.
Links to other SDGs
Less developed countries or regions can improve their economic level by exporting green agricultural products, which helps to eliminate poverty and improve the quality of life of local people (SDG1) .
SDG 8.4 and SDG 12.2 overlap on some levels. Both call for sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. For more details, see SDG 12(link to SDG 12) .
Conclusion
By researching and applying phage-based pesticides, this project helps realize decent work in terms of creating employment opportunities and protecting labor rights. At the same time, it promotes economic growth from the perspectives of improving agricultural production efficiency, driving the development of green-related industries and tapping market potential. Closely related to the two major goals of decent work and economic growth, the project has important social and economic value and can contribute to the achievement of SDG 8.
SDG 2 Zero Hunger
Why SDG#2？
Food is a fundamental human necessity. Its security and supply are directly linked to quality of life and social stability. However, the global food crisis is intensifying, with 2.3 billion people projected to face moderate to severe food insecurity in 2024.
Bacterial diseases, a major threat to grain production, are responsible for annual yield losses of 20–30%. In recent years, ongoing climate change has accelerated bacterial reproduction and dispersal. Changes in precipitation patterns can affect the transmission dynamics of pathogens and pests. For example, Heavy rainfall and waterlogged soils create favorable conditions for bacterial spread. Furthermore, extreme weather events like droughts and floods can influence disease transmission patterns and leave crops more vulnerable to pathogens.
Persistent diseases and fragile agricultural ecosystems that lack resilience exacerbate food and nutrition crises in many regions, particularly in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.
We Focus on these Subgoals
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
2.A Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.
How do we achieve SDG2?
Based on PhAgri, we aim to build a disaster-resistant, eco-friendly, and sustainable food production system, in order to achieve the elimination of hunger and the increase of food producers’ income, and promote it as a standardized model worldwide.
1. Focus on 2.4 establish sustainable food production systems
We’ve developed a sustainable and climate-resilient food production system based on existing ones:
In terms of sustainability, our project modifies the tail fiber protein of phage-like particles (PLP) to accurately target and eliminate pathogens by delivering toxic plasmids. A key sustainable advantage is that the process does not release harmful chemicals, and the PLP degrade once pathogens are gone. The surrounding environment remains unharmed and this ensures the sustainable use of natural resources for agriculture.
For climate resilience, our PLP pesticides can rapidly eliminate pathogens. This reduces crop damage during natural disasters. Furthermore, after clearing pathogens, PLP helps beneficial soil bacteria thrive, which suppresses pathogen growth. This establishes a healthier root microbiome —— improving crop disease resistance and enabling crops to better withstand climate challenges.
To validate our method’s real-world viability, we partnered with WuDa Green Oasis, a leading biotech company specializing in biopesticides which holds a benchmark position in the industry both domestically and internationally. According to Professor Li Jinrong, a green pest control expert of the company stationed at Erhai Green Pest Control Science and Technology Backyard, their approach of reintroducing beneficial bacteria into fields to rebuild microbial communities and using “combined fertilization and biological control” instead of high-dose chemical pesticides aligns with our strategy. This validates that our method of using PLP to regulate root microbiota for enhanced crop resilience to diseases and climate is feasible.
Professor Liu Juan, an expert in rural studies, identified a critical vulnerability during her fieldwork in disaster-prone areas: post-flood crops are far more susceptible to disease, reducing yields and threatening food security. PhAgri is designed to enhance crop disaster resistance under climate change, thereby alleviating food security concerns in affected regions.
2. Focus on 2.1 end hunger
By controlling crop bacterial diseases, PhAgri boosts crop yield, ensuring sufficient food supply and contributing to the eradication of hunger. As a green biopesticide, its main component, phage-like particles (PLP), is eco-friendly and leaves no harmful residues. By reducing chemical pesticide residues, PhAgri enhances food safety at the source and enables more people to access healthy, pollution-free food.
To assess PhAgri’s role in food security, we interviewed Professor Liu Jun from China Agricultural University’s College of Plant Protection, an expert in plant innate immunity and disease resistance genetics. His insights directly supports PhAgri’s contribution to target 2.1 in two ways:
- First, by reducing food losses: Professor Liu highlighted that Pseudomonas syringae can rapidly devastate vegetable crops, but PhAgri’s early intervention can significantly reduce losses, turning what would have been wasted into edible food.
- Second, through broad-spectrum and harmless targeting: He emphasized that PhAgri is effective against all strains of this pathogen, making it applicable to various crops without regional adjustments. This provides a stable and affordable vegetable supply for small farmers and vulnerable groups.
Li Jinrong from WuDa Green Oasis Company highlighted that field bacterial diseases are widespread and can cause significant losses. For example, Pseudomonas can infect many crops like tomatoes and strawberries, often leading to sudden yield reductions. PhAgri, with its tail fiber replacement technology, accurately targets and suppresses pathogens. And it is applicable to multiple crops, and provides disease control solutions for vegetables, grains, and fruits, diversifying nutritional sources.
In working towards target 2.1, the Erhai Science and Technology Backyard for vegetables and rice serves as a demonstration site for modern agriculture. Its “localized promotion” experience is highly valuable to us. We plan to use local influential figures, ethnic language translation, and prize incentives to introduce new technologies to fields. This approach ensures that PhAgri quickly reaches small and vulnerable farmers and shortens the time from “laboratory success” to “table safety”, directly supporting the food security of the poor and vulnerable as outlined in target 2.1.
3. Focus on 2.3 double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers
Large-scale agricultural producers often adopt advanced pest control methods to boost productivity and income. We aim to make PhAgri accessible to small farmers, rather than widening the gap between them and large-scale producers. Our field interviews reveal key challenges and opportunities. In our conversation with Mr. Fu, a farmer from Quzhou County, Hebei Province, we found that local farmers generally have a certain level of soil protection awareness. Yet, when it comes to crop disease prevention, they still prefer cheap and quick-acting chemical pesticides due to their low cost and immediate results. They lack understanding of the long-term impacts of pesticide residues and new biopesticides. Encouragingly, after learning about our project, he expressed a clear willingness to try safer and more sustainable alternative technologies but also voiced concerns over the lack of professional knowledge and skills to use them. Talking with Zhang Xinxin, a promoter from the China-Africa Science and Technology Backyard, we also noticed that smallholder farmers in Africa face even more severe problems of low yields, weak technology and insufficient income. Therefore, promoting locally adapted biocontrol technologies will not only help build a disaster-resistant agricultural production system but also provide a reliable way to increase the income of small-scale food producers.
Having identified the farmers’ lack of awareness of new biopesticides, we prioritize practical technical operations in our promotion efforts to ensure that farmers can “understand, learn, and apply” the technology. Relying on rural-based institutions such as Science and Technology Backyard, we focus on the following specific tasks:
- Firstly, we conduct field demonstrations using spraying methods familiar to farmers to visually showcase the actual effects of PhAgri in disease suppression, soil health improvement and reduction of chemical residues.
- Secondly, in combination with local crop types and farming practices, we offer targeted guidance on pesticide application and supporting agricultural techniques. This will help farmers minimize disease-related losses, improve crop yield and quality, and ultimately increase their income.
4. Focus on 2.A increase agricultural investment through enhanced international cooperation
Zhang Xinxin, a promoter of the China-Africa Science and Technology Backyard model, which is now a part of Malawi’s agricultural extension system, offers valuable lessons for other African countries. To explore the impact of international cooperation on agricultural research and extension services, and to learn about the application of this model in agricultural technology promotion, we interviewed her.
In the interview, she highlighted that, under the new era’s food security framework, Africa faces challenges such as insufficient food supply, access difficulties, hidden hunger, and low production capacity. Additionally, local farmers struggle with expensive pesticides and other agronomic management issues, creating a strong demand for technological innovation. Given their economic constraints, they prefer low-cost yet efficient pesticides.
She noted that the Science and Technology Backyard, supported by both Chinese and Malawian technology and funding, employs a “theory-field-theory” training mechanism. This allows graduate students to bring Chinese agricultural techniques to Africa. By conducting joint operations and comparative experiments in demonstration fields with local farmers, the initiative gradually gains their trust. Farmers can directly observe the difference in yield increases and input costs, making them more willing to learn from and adopt China’s agricultural experiences.
Under the replicable and standardized operation model of the China-Africa Science and Technology Backyard, more African farmers are willing to learn Chinese agricultural techniques. This drives sustainable agricultural development in Africa and achieves mutual benefits through international cooperation.
Potential challenges and responses
- Cost and Accessibility: The initial R&D and production of PLP pesticides require investment. Without large-scale and local facilities, small farmers may struggle to afford them. To address this, we plan to collaborate with international partners and China-Africa Science and Technology Backyard to establish local small-scale formulation facilities and strain banks. We will also reduce the burden on farmers through installment payments, demonstration farmer subsidies and a “yield increase revenue sharing” model.
- Environmental Adaptability and Stability: High temperatures, UV radiation, and extreme weather in Africa may affect phage performance in the field. To address this we will develop heat and UV-resistant carriers and formulations, such as microcapsules and lyophilized powders. Furthermore, we will conduct multi-environment trials in experimental fields to demonstrate stability with data.
Links to other SDGs
In achieving target 2.4, The PhAgri project significantly reduces the toxic effects of chemical residues from pesticides and antibiotics on soil, groundwater, and non-target species. Its phage-like particles, lacking self-replicating genes and featuring protein coats that fully degrade in soil, enhance the disease resistance of farmland ecosystems. This helps establish a sustainable and disaster-resistant food production system, preserves soil microbe diversity and beneficial bacterial communities, also complements SDG15, and promotes the co-development of agriculture and ecosystems. (Link: SDG15)
Nonetheless, in working towards target 2.A, the PhAgri project has a dual impact on SDG12. On the positive side, it promotes green agricultural technology, in line with the requirements of SDG12, by reducing pesticide use, resource waste and environmental pollution, thus helping to build a sustainable consumption and production system. On the negative side, the project involves synthetic biology, AI-assisted design and precision delivery systems, presenting certain technological barriers and intellectual property issues. This may hinder access and application in developing countries and remote areas, exacerbate uneven resource distribution and the technology gap, and undermine the equity and sustainability principles of SDG12. To address these issues, we plan to promote the technology locally and open-source it to lower application barriers and create new jobs through a green value chain, achieving a win-win outcome. (Link: SDG12)
Long-term positive impacts based on SDGs 2, 8 and 12
Based on the role of our project in advancingSDGs 2, 8 and 12, We believe PhAgri can generate the following positive impacts on society, economy and environment:
Society
- Ensuring Food Security
Agriculture has always been the foundation of people’s livelihoods, and bacterial diseases pose an ongoing threat to global crop production. The use of PhAgri can effectively prevent crop yield losses, safeguard food security and lay the groundwork for social stability. Meanwhile, as an emerging type of biopesticide, the widespread application of phage-based pesticides in agricultural production helps replace harmful chemical pesticides, reduce pesticide residues in crops, and protect public health. (SDG 12)
- Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Production and Stabilizing Agricultural Systems
Our project utilizes phage-like particles as a green disease control method. While effectively suppressing bacterial diseases, this approach does not disrupt the soil microbial community structure, which helps enhance crops’ resilience to climate fluctuations. By ensuring the yield and quality of key crops such as vegetables, potatoes, and rice (SDG 2.1), we can alleviate regional food supply instability amid frequent extreme weather events, strengthen the climate resilience of agricultural systems (SDG 2.4) and support the achievement of the “Zero Hunger” goal.
- Promoting Technology Inclusivity and Localized Application
Through localized platforms like “Science and Technology Villages”, the application of PhAgri enables small-scale producers to stabilize yields and increase income (SDG 2.3), enhancing their ability to withstand market and climate risks. Our team will fully open-source the design scripts for phage-like particles, experimental protocols and field operation manuals, making them freely accessible to research institutions worldwide for localized development. This initiative facilitates South-South cooperation linked by technology sharing and strengthens global partnerships for agricultural research and development (SDG 2.A).
Economy
- Reducing Post-Harvest Losses and Boosting Export Volumes
PhAgri hold significant economic value in reducing post-harvest losses and enhancing the export competitiveness of agricultural products. High loss rates of fruits and vegetables during transportation severely limit the market value and export potential of agricultural goods. PhAgri exert efficient bacteriostatic effects in post-harvest treatment, significantly extending the shelf life of agricultural products and reducing quality deterioration during storage and transportation (SDG 12). This feature not only directly cuts economic losses caused by fruit and vegetable spoilage but also helps agricultural products meet the high international standards for quality and safety—especially the import thresholds for green food in developed regions. Therefore, PhAgri not only ensure crop yield and quality at the production stage but also enhance the market competitiveness and export capacity of products at the circulation stage, providing technical support and business pathways for developing countries to integrate their agriculture into the global value chain and increase economic gains.
- Lowering Pesticide Costs and Increasing Farmers’ Income
The production process of PhAgri can be localized and simplified. Particularly under the “farmer self-production” model, farmers can produce pesticides independently using simple fermentation equipment, greatly reducing reliance on purchased pesticides and significantly lowering production costs. From a revenue perspective, agricultural products treated with phage-based pesticides are free of chemical residues, making them more likely to obtain “green product” certification. This allows access to high-end markets or export channels, increasing product prices and thus farmers’ income. (SDG 8)
- Stabilizing the Quality, Yield, and Prices of Agricultural Products
For agricultural producers, our biopesticides directly stabilize crop yields by significantly reducing the risk of yield losses caused by bacterial diseases, thereby securing farmers’ expected income. Stable yields translate to more predictable cash flow, reducing financial uncertainty arising from seasonal disease outbreaks and enhancing farmers’ risk resistance and investment confidence. For consumers, by ensuring overall crop supply, our solution helps increase the effective market supply. Stable supply forms the basis for price stability, meaning consumers can access agricultural products of more consistent quality at more stable prices throughout the year. (SDG 12)
Environment
- Reducing Pesticide Residues and Preventing Gene Transfer
Phage particles are inherently proteins. If they fail to act on target pathogens in the soil, they degrade and decompose within a short period, resulting in minimal environmental impact. Additionally, our approach releases particles (rather than chassis bacteria) into the environment, which helps prevent genetic contamination. Conventional phage-based pesticides can mediate horizontal gene transfer, and their application may lead to the horizontal transfer of resistance genes at the community level. In contrast, after our phage-like particles deliver toxin plasmids into target pathogenic bacteria, they cause the direct death of the target strains—thus eliminating horizontal gene transfer between bacteria. (SDG 12)
- Enabling Sustainable Management of Soil and Other Resources Phage-like particle pesticides help protect soil and enable its sustainable use. By killing pathogenic bacteria, these pesticides allow beneficial bacteria to become dominant species in the microbial community, facilitating the restoration and reconstruction of the soil microbial community structure and maintaining soil environment stability. In a healthy soil environment, crops exhibit enhanced stress resistance. When combined with local stress-tolerant crop varieties and good agricultural practices, this forms a more climate-resilient production system. (SDG 2.4)
SDG4 QUALITY EDUCATION
Why SDG#4?
True innovations in synthetic biology should not be confined to laboratories but should reach the public. Quality
education serves as a bridge connecting science and society. We chose SDG 4 because we hope to provide more people
with inclusive and fair quality education, so that everyone —— regardless of age, background or
region —— can understand and participate in this dialogue between technology and sustainable
development, thereby jointly shaping a more inclusive and responsible future.
Before conducting science popularization education, we investigated the current effect of science
popularization and identified three main problems existing in the current educational situation.
Investigation on the
Popular Science and Its Guiding Significance
1. Investigation on the
current effect of popular science (4.a)
Feedback on the Current Situation of Popular Science:Through a summer social practice survey covering 85 questionnaires, we found that there are core contradictions in
current science popularization education: the uneven distribution of resources between urban and rural areas
leads to differences in effectiveness (the coverage rate of science popularization facilities in rural
areas is less than one-third of that in urban areas), the content is mismatched with the audience’s demands (62.35%
think the content is too difficult or too shallow), and the monotonous form weakens the depth of participation.
Investigation significance:
Through this research, we have identified the real pain points in science popularization education, which has become
the scientific basis for us to evaluate educational effectiveness and dynamically adjust strategies. Therefore, we
hope that every educational activity we hold truly serves the “all-round quality cultivation” rather than being just
a formality.
- Develop “Learn while playing” immersive game to solve the problem of a single form.
- Through the feedback to evaluate the effect.
- Design stratification based on the differences between urban and rural areas.
The following PDF file is our complete investigation report.(PDF-1)
2. Investigation
on the Awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals
Feedback on the current understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals:
This survey shows that about half (53.23%) of the participants had some knowledge of the United Nations
Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) before, but there is still significant room for improvement in the depth of their
understanding. Half of the participants still lacked attention to the Sustainable Development Goals, which was
something we didn’t expect at the beginning. In terms of the understanding of specific project-related
solutions,
such as addressing the issue of “antibiotic abuse” which is directly related to the project, more than half of
the
people (54.84%) only remain at the stage of “having heard but not knowing the measures”. This indicates
that our educational activities have precisely targeted a cognitive blind spot where the public “knows what but not why”.
Investigation significance:
According to the subsequent project feedback (for details, see Survey on the impact of the activity and the
satisfaction of participants below), we took the specific case of the project as a relatively abstract
carrier of the SDG concept. By introducing the SDG, connecting with global issues and delving into global issues,
we effectively deepened the understanding from “knowing the problem” to “understanding innovative
countermeasures”. It has stimulated the participants’ in-depth thinking on achieving the SDGs through
synthetic biology.
Problem Recognition
According to the investigation, we have identified three main problems existing in the current state of
education.
-
The distribution of educational resources is uneven, and scientific resources are scarce in rural areas
and among left-behind children.
-
Synthetic biology education is disconnected from real-world issues.The understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been superficial.
-
The forms of science communication across age groups are monotonous.
Educational Activity Design
In the face of the three existing problems, we carried out a series of education activities, optimization includes:
- Develop immersive “learn while playing” games to solve the problem of monotonous form.
- Listen to the feedback from the educated and evaluate the educational effect
- Design stratification based on the differences between urban and rural areas. For instance, in cities,
more emphasis is placed on the life-oriented introduction of the cutting-edge innovations in synthetic
biology, while in rural areas, the focus is on popularizing the assistance of synthetic biology to
production technologies.
In addition, the series of educational activities we have carried out strive to achieve the following
targeted goals:
- 4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education
leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes
- 4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and
preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education
- 4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and
tertiary education, including university.
- 4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and
vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in
vulnerable situations.
- 4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable
development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles,
human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and
appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
How do we achieve SDG4?
We have designed interactive science popularization scenarios and carried them out for a wide range of
people, focusing on interdisciplinary knowledge popularization that integrates synthetic biology with
sustainable development goals. A series of immersive and gamified activities were
held, as well as targeted science popularization for people of all ages and diverse backgrounds.
In addition, feedback from participants in educational activities was collected in a timely manner,
and the educational effects were evaluated promptly.
Immersive Game Events
Biobricks Create and Play
Interactive Public Account Push
Targeted
Popularization
(Science popularization in combination with our project, PhAgri)
Kindergarten
"Shared Reading Plan"
Primary School
"CHUN GENG Program"
Primary School
"Erhai Gusheng Village Primary School SDG theme courses"
Primary School
"Inner Mongolia Minority Perspective Enhancement Classroom"
Middle School
Science Popularization Class in Wenzhou No.2 Middle School
Middle School
Afternoon interaction with The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China
University
Synbio Challenges Cooperative University Lecture
University
Dine-and-Learn
University
Erhai Science and Technology Backyards Science Popularization class
Community
Wande Home Community Dialogue
Evaluation of Stakeholder Education
Effectiveness
Survey on the
Impact of the Activity and the Satisfaction of Participants
Our activities achieved extremely high participant satisfaction and remarkable educational outcomes.
Feedback on the educational effect of the activity: In the biobricks create and play, as high as 91.94% of the participants felt “very happy and interesting”, proving
that the form of education through entertainment successfully stimulated the interest in learning. And, more importantly, as much as 98.39% of the participants said activities on the understanding of synthetic
biology “there is a huge help” or “is” to have some help, 75.81% of them said “very interested” in the future will
continue to learn in this field, this directly prove the activity in the break barriers, lead the public towards the
success of “first step”. Data shows that after the event, 70.97% of the participants thought synthetic biology was
“interesting”, and 54.84% were “very optimistic about its application prospects”. Successfully
transformed the “profound and abstruse” impression of the discipline (40.32% of the participants’
thoughts before the event) into an “interesting and promising” exploration field (70.97% of the
participants’ new perspectives on synthetic biology after the event).
Investigation significance: This survey evaluated the effectiveness of our activities and successfully implemented our two core goals,
“embodied cognition” and “broad population”: this was not only a knowledge
transfer, but also a successful enlightenment of scientific interest and the establishment of
confidence.
Long-term Positive Impact
Environmental Impact
In the design of the event game, we explore the content of the PhAgri project itself and concretely interpret
and disseminate the sustainable development goals.
- We introduces the role of the project in reducing environmental pollution and waste of natural resources in the
trend of smart agriculture that integrates the “precise targeting” and “precise intervention” of phage tail silk
proteins.
- Integrating the application and effects of chemical pesticides and antibiotics into popular science can raise
public awareness of environmental protection.
Social Impact
We take the content of the project itself as a natural and irreplaceable educational resource, concretely
conveying the core spirit of synthetic biology and sustainable development, and providing an innovative solution
for inclusive and equitable quality education, which is difficult for other educational projects to
replace.
-
The educational content encompasses all the stages of the “design - construction - testing -
learning” cycle, which is conducive to cultivating the public’s practical ability of scientific
thinking.
-
We package the project principles in interesting stories and lower the cognitive threshold through ingenious narration.
-
Through multi-level and immersive educational forms, the accessibility and depth of understanding of
synthetic biology knowledge have been significantly enhanced. Creating an educational scenario of
“learning through play and thinking while learning” has cultivated the problem-solving abilities of the
participants.
-
It covers a wide range of groups and promotes the practical effect of “fairer distribution of
educational resources and overall improvement of scientific literacy in the community”.
We
pay attention to the differentiated learning needs of people of different age groups and
backgrounds. Our activities are not passive knowledge imparting, but active exploration and
experience. In games and challenges, participants must apply logical thinking and weigh the pros and cons.
This is extremely important for education of all age groups.
-
It provides broader opportunities for groups with relatively scarce resources (CHUN GENG : Left-behind
children, Sustainable Development Course : Rural children) and helps narrow the educational
gap. (4.a)
Economic Impact
Our educational practices cover Henan, Yunnan, Wenzhou, Inner Mongolia and Beijing, sowing seeds for the long-term
economic development of remote areas in China.
In the countryside, we are not only for the children to the scientific knowledge, but also for the future vision and
possibility. By arousing their interest in frontier fields such as synthetic biology, can we hope that this group of
children in the future and continue to learn, grow up to have a new generation of scientific literacy, they will
have more ability to apply green technology construction home, eventually drive the sustainable development
of local knowledge can be converted to real economic power.
Sustainability and Interconnection
with Other Goals
We take the content of the project itself as a natural and irreplaceable educational resource. Through design, we
break the sense of distance between disciplines, stimulate the public’s willingness to explore, and concretely
convey the core spirit of synthetic biology and sustainable development to them. This is of great
significance for the long-term healthy and sustainable development of education.
We promote interdisciplinary knowledge popularization of synthetic biology and the Sustainable Development Goals
through gamified education (SDG 4), and encourage the public to become responsible producers and
consumers (SDG 12). The planning content designed in the game, material creation, etc. can all
serve as excellent educational tools for all future teams to use. The “ Fluorescent Orienteering”
promotes exercise and a healthy lifestyle (SDG 3), and the “Molecular Show”
inspires students to think about responsible innovation (SDG 9). The activities cover all age
groups and promote educational equity (SDG 10).
Potential Challenges and Responses
-
The content is too cutting-edge for the public to understand.
-
Involving gene editing may raise public concerns about biosafety and ethics.
Take the initiative to guide.
Clearly state the biosafety measures adopted in our
project and emphasize that “responsible research“ itself is part of science education.
Actively guide the ethical discussions in the activity, instead can help cultivate the public
ethics accomplishment of science.
-
The educational effect is difficult to quantify.
Conclusion
In our educational activities, we explore how to integrate the content of the project itself into education in order
to achieve more efficient stakeholder connections. According to the participants’ feedback, We have successfully
enhanced the accessibility and depth of understanding of synthetic biology knowledge through multi-level and
immersive educational forms.
SDG13 Climate Change
WHY & HOW
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
Climate change is a common driver of the increased risk of bacterial diseases-rising temperatures, increased humidity, changes in precipitation, and extreme weather events have all been shown to be positively correlated with the incidence of a variety of bacterial diseases. When it comes to climate change, those infectious disease pathogens that exhibit greater environmental resilience may, under favorable transmission conditions, cause their spread to be wider and more intense.
For example, Xanthomonas rugosa, which causes citrus canker, is widely distributed in warm and humid tropical/subtropical regions, and extreme weather such as heavy rains and typhoons significantly accelerates its spread. Rice bacterial leaf blight, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae, is a widespread and destructive rice disease. It is expected that under climate change in Tanzania, rice bacterial leaf blight will cause greater losses in the future.
It can be seen that climate change will make bacterial diseases of crops more serious, bringing unpredictable hidden dangers to agricultural production and food security.
Therefore, our PhAgri are particularly important. Their targeted nature makes pest control more effective, while the interchangeable phage fibers increase the broad-spectrum of the pesticide. Our new phage pesticides can effectively address the rapid spread of bacterial diseases in extreme weather conditions, providing a sustainable solution for countries to address climate change.
Stakeholders
During our conversation with Professor Liu Juan, we received a question about climate change. Professor Liu has extensive research experience and is well-versed in climate change. She suggested that climate change might impact the development of bacterial diseases, making prevention and control more difficult.
(Link to iHP page)
Professor Meng Ting also suggested we research more on the relationship between climate change and bacterial diseases. Drawing on previous research experience, she noted that climate change exacerbates pests, creating a broader market demand for herbicides. Therefore, we can also consider the efficacy and market value of new phage pesticides from the perspective of climate change.
(Link to iHP page)
SDG15 Life on Land
Why SDG#15?
Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides are a critical foundation for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Terrestrial ecosystems not only provide humans with food, water, and livelihoods but also carry cultural, spiritual, and economic value. However, biodiversity is continuously declining worldwide, land degradation is intensifying, and the rate of species extinction is accelerating. These not only weaken the self-regulating capacity of ecosystems but also directly threaten food security and human well-being.
The improper use of agricultural chemicals significantly contributes to soil degradation, water pollution, and biodiversity loss. Our project, PhAgri, centered on Phage-like Particles, aims to safeguard crop health while reducing the negative impact of chemical pesticides on terrestrial ecosystems and promoting harmony between agriculture and nature.
We Focus on these Subgoals
15.3 By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2030, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
How do we achieve SDG15?
The PhAgri project reduces the use of chemical pesticides at the source and minimizes agricultural system interference with ecosystems through the following specific pathways:
1. Replacing Chemical Pesticides
Phage-like particles precisely target pathogenic bacteria without leaving chemical residues in the soil, thereby protecting non-target organisms and soil microbial community structure, and preserving farmland biodiversity.
2. Promoting Soil Health
By reestablishing healthy root microbiome systems, we enhance soil organic matter stability and erosion resistance, indirectly alleviating soil compaction and reduced biological activity caused by monoculture and chemical overuse.
3. Supporting Ecologically Resilient Agriculture
The project promotion integrates the localized “Science and Technology Backyard” model, encouraging farmers to adopt eco-friendly practices and enhancing the habitat function and ecological connectivity of agricultural landscapes.
Long-term Positive Social, Environmental, and Economic Impacts
Environmental Impacts
- Significantly reduce the accumulation of pesticides in soil and water bodies, mitigating harm to non-target organisms such as earthworms, pollinators and soil microorganisms.
- Rebuild microbial communities to enhance soil carbon sequestration and water retention capacity,thereby improving the climate resilience of farmland ecosystems.
- Foster the development of pollution-free and low-interference farmland environments, providing healthier living and migration spaces for wildlife.
Social Impacts
- Increase farmers’ awareness and acceptance of ecological agriculture, promoting a shift towards environmentally friendly production methods.
- Facilitate the global dissemination of ecological pest control knowledge and capacity building through open-source technical manuals and international cooperation.
- Improve the rural living environment and reduce potential health risks associated with pesticide exposure for communities.
Economic Impacts
- Reduce farmers’ reliance on expensive chemical pesticides, lowering production costs, while generating a “green premium” due to improved crop quality.
- Promote the development of a green agricultural industry chain, creating job opportunities in technical services related to ecological conservation.
- Enhance the long-term resilience of agricultural systems to climate and disease pressures, stabilize farmers’ livelihoods, and reduce economic volatility risks caused by ecological degradation.
Potential Challenges and Responses
1. Technical Adaptability and Ecological Safety
The performance of phage-like particles may vary across different soil-crop systems, and their potential impact on non-target microorganisms requires ongoing evaluation. We will collaborate with research institutions worldwide to conduct regional ecological risk assessments and long-term positioning monitoring to ensure the ecological safety of the technology.
2. Promotion Awareness and Acceptance
Many farmers still rely heavily on chemical pesticides and have limited understanding of ecological control methods. We will use localized platforms like the “Science and Technology Backyard”, alongside demonstration plots and farmer training, to visually demonstrate the dual benefits of biological control in ecological protection and economic returns.
3. Insufficient Policy and Market Support
Without policy incentives and market recognition, green control technologies may struggle to scale. We will actively advocate for the inclusion of PhAgri in national green agricultural subsidy schemes and eco-certification systems, and collaborate with international organizations to establish value realization mechanisms for agricultural products based on ecological contributions.
SDG17 Partnerships
Why SDG#17?
On the path to promoting sustainable development，it is difficult to deal with complex global challenges alone. We have chosen SDG17 because we firmly believe that cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing are key to integrating synthetic biology with the Sustainable Development Goals. By establishing diverse and inclusive partnerships, we inspire innovation in communication； by integrating resources and optimizing strategies, PhAgri has evolved into a more resilient and impactful solution.
We Focus on these Subgoals
17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.8 Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
Problem Identification
We have observed that current collaborations between teams often remain superficial, lacking in-depth interaction and a feedback loop, making it difficult to form genuine synergy. Therefore, with bidirectional feedback and iterative learning at the core, we are driving collaborations from “form” to “substance”. Relevant details can also be found in the “Engineering Success” section on our homepage.
How do we achieve SDG17?
With the principle of “bidirectional growth” as our collaboration philosophy, we have engaged in in-depth partnerships with many iGEM teams, universities, middle schools, communities and enterprises. These collaborations cover various dimensions, including experimentation, modeling, human practices and educational outreach：
17.6：Cooperation with BNU-China and BUCT-China
Collaboration Details:
We have cooperated with BUCT-China, BNU-China and other teams for many iterations, not only through joint science popularization activities, curriculum package development and technical seminars，but also through technical exchange in professional fields such as CRISPR technology seminars and Viroid particle research, and built a knowledge sharing system based on common interests.These activities have transformed the scientific research resources of colleges and universities into disseminated educational materials, and realized the widespread dissemination of synthetic biology knowledge among college students, primary and secondary school students and the public.
Significance of cooperation:
We have not only achieved the common improvement of technical capabilities at the specific levels of experimental design, education and promotion, but also successfully made synthetic biology knowledge radiate to a wider range of social groups.
17.17：Industry and Science Popularization Linkage with Synbio Challenge
Collaboration Details:
Partnering with the official platform Synbio Challenge, we co-organized a synthetic biology roadshow, integrating our team’s creativity with the expert resources of the research institute and successfully demonstrating the charm of iGEM and synthetic biology to college students and the public.
Significance of cooperation:
The linkage of “university-industry-public” has been realized, and the awareness of the project in the broader community has been enhanced.
17.6 & 17.16：Mutual Enhancement through Teaching and Learning in the Chungeng Summer Camp
Collaboration Details:
We form a joint team with the college of Biological sciences to jointly design and implement synthetic biology courses for left-behind children through summer camps. Through nightly trial lectures and mutual evaluations, we continuously refined teaching plans and incentive strategies in an iterative process.
Significance of cooperation:
The teams established an efficient pedagogical feedback loop; successfully bringing high-quality education to left-behind children. We share the team’s innovative reward mechanism with our partners and achieve synergy in solving specific problems.
17.6 & 17.8：Platform-based exchange between Peking University Exchange Conference and CCiC Conference
Collaboration Details:
On the communication platform, we take the initiative to show the pain points of the project and seek modeling guidance from the Peking University teams.In CCiC, we discussed with many teams, clarified the trend of experimental technology path and modeling integration of AI, and exchanged HP cultural and creative products.
Significance of cooperation:
Significance of cooperation: We used a large-scale communication platform to efficiently obtain knowledge and technical inspiration in different fields. This enabled breakthroughs in core areas such as modeling and experimentation, while further consolidating our collaborative network within the iGEM community.
Possible positive effects
1. Social impact
By establishing a cross-regional, cross-age and cross-disciplinary collaboration network, we have facilitated knowledge flow and collective capacity building, while strengthening community cohesion and public recognition of synthetic biology. The educational courses and cultural-innovative products developed through this collaboration will continue to empower subsequent teams, advancing the accessibility and equity of science education.
2. Economic impact
Through linkage with enterprises and universities, we are advancing the translational potential of synthetic biology results, which has injected new momentum into the development of green technologies and sustainable agriculture.
3. Environmental impact
Our environmental protection concept and the dissemination of green technology are inseparable from cooperation and exchange. By co-designing and developing popular science content and activities, we have raised public awareness of biodiversity conservation, climate change and other issues, promoted the formation of broader environmental consensus and behavior change, and indirectly promoted ecological protection and sustainable use of resources.
Potential Challenges and Responses
In the process of cooperation, we have encountered the following problems：
1. Low cooperation efficiency and difficulty in reaching consensus
Response:
We improve cooperation efficiency by strengthening communication, clarifying common goals and tasks, and ensuring clear responsibilities and timely feedback from all parties.
2. Resource Inequality Leads to Imbalanced Collaboration
Response:
We lower the threshold for participation through online collaboration and course package sharing, and promote fair collaboration.
SDG References
[1] Sharma A, Abrahamian P, Carvalho R, Choudhary M, Paret ML, Vallad GE, Jones JB. Future of Bacterial Disease Management in Crop Production. Annu Rev Phytopathol. 2022 Aug 26;60:259-282. doi: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-021621-121806. Epub 2022 Jul 5. PMID: 35790244.
[2] Rai, R., Rai, M.N. Tackling bacterial diseases in crops: current and emerging management strategies. Phytopathol Res 7, 58 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42483-025-00350-4
[3] Balogh B, Jones JB, Momol MT, Olson SM, Obradovic A, King P, Jackson LE. Improved Efficacy of Newly Formulated Bacteriophages for Management of Bacterial Spot on Tomato. Plant Dis. 2003 Aug;87(8):949-954. doi: 10.1094/PDIS.2003.87.8.949. PMID: 30812801.
[4] Biruk Alemu Gemeda, Kebede Amenu, Claudia Ganser, Coen P.A. van Wagenberg, Sisay Girma, Wubetu Bihon, Ramasamy Srinivasan, Degaga Guder, Abdallahi Abdurehman, Eyob Gelan, Loretta M. Friedlich, Michelle D. Danyluk, Arie H. Havelaar, Theodore Knight-Jones, Reusable plastic crates vs. wooden crates: Comparing microbial contamination and costs during long-distance transportation of tomatoes in Ethiopia, Food Control, Volume 181, 2026, 111747, ISSN 0956-7135, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2025.111747.
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