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Science data are very important resources for innovative research in all scientific disciplines. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China has launched a comprehensive platform program for supporting scientific innovations and agricultural science database construction and sharing project is one of the activities under this program supported by MOST. This paper briefly describes the achievements of the Agricultural Science Data Center Project.

The Project was initiated in 2002. The overall framework for data integration has been determined. At the top level, the data are classified into 12 categories, and they include data in crop science, animal and veterinary sciences, fishery science, tropical crop science, agricultural resources and environmental science, agricultural zonation science, grassland science, food science, agricultural biotechnologies, agricultural microbiology, agricultural information technology and management, and other basic agricultural information and data. At the second level, data included in each of the above 12 categories are classified into about 5 core databases. And at the third level, about 10 databases or data sets are planned into each of the core database. So the final pattern of the data integration is as follows: 12 categories, about 60 core databases and about 600 databases or data sets.

As of the end of 2005, over 170 databases or data sets have been developed and new data and databases will be added during the following years. All the databases are open to agricultural scientists, and they can be accessed through the Internet at the Agricultural Science Data Center website (http://www.agridata.cn).