These projects are focused on answering the difficult agricultural problems, such as developing sustainable agricultural systems, and addressing food supply and environmental problems, which presently confront developing countries.
Projects combine research in both the natural and social sciences.
The following section presents recent developments in several ongoing comprehensive projects and, in keeping with this year's focus on the People's Republic of China, spotlights important research sites in China where several collaborative projects are currently being pursued. Site-specific comprehensive projects first systematically analyze the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries issues of a specific region through an understanding of the relationships between various factors such as natural resources, environment, technology, and administration, and then conduct multidisciplinary research addressing the needs of the region. Projects in Vietnam , Thailand , Malaysia , and Indonesia are examples of site-specific projects. In addition, these projects promote comprehensive joint research through collaboration with the government of the partner state. Both the China and Brazil projects fall under this classification.