Eighty agricultural experts arrived today in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, the first stop of a month-long, 5,000-kilometre expedition to help western China adopt the latest agricultural techniques.

The expedition, launched by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, will conclude on June 24.

In addition to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the expedition will cover the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Gansu Province and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The academy expects the expedition to build 10 agricultural production centres and 10 model counties using the latest agricultural technology, said academy president Lu Feijie, the expedition's leader.

In a related project, the academy will train 100 postgraduates, 1,000 cadres and 10,000 rural households from the west, he added.

Wan Baorui, vice-minister of agriculture, said: "It is extremely important to propel agricultural development in the west."

The underdeveloped west covers 70 per cent of China's territory with 30.4 per cent of the nation's population.

The central government has made the development of western China a national priority.

The expedition is the academy's contribution to that goal.

During the expedition, the academy will conduct science and technology training, field instruction and negotiate possible co-operative projects.

"Developing agricultural bases in the west will play a very important role in the development of the entire region. That is the unshakeable responsibility of the academy," Lu said.

"This is also a good opportunity for us to get close to and learn from the industrious local people in the west," he said.

The expedition's experts will share their knowledge on raising crops and livestock with local people.

Li Xiangyi, an academy researcher and leader of the expedition's experts working on growing crops, said: "The west has its advantages and quality species. We expect to help farmers and herdsmen tap their potential."