African agriculture thrives thanks to Chinese technology and market access

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* In recent years, agricultural cooperation between China and Africa has flourished under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative.

* From local fields to global e-commerce platforms, China’s efforts have significantly boosted the productivity and modernization of African agriculture through technical assistance, industrial chain development and market access.

* Platforms such as the China International Import Expo, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and the African Products Online Shopping Festival have become crucial showcases for African agricultural products, boosting their international visibility .

NAIROBI, June 18 (Xinhua) — At the Nigerian Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center near Abuja, the capital of the West African country, Chinese agricultural experts examine newly harvested rice daily.

Thanks to years of hard work, experts from the Chinese company Green Agriculture West Africa Ltd. (GAWAL) have developed high-yielding rice seeds adapted to local conditions, which outperform indigenous varieties by more than 20 percent. This seed, approved by Nigerian agricultural authorities, is now planted in two-thirds of the country’s states.

Lawal Musa, a farmer from Jigawa State, has been growing this rice for several years. “Rice is vital in Nigeria and every family consumes it. With China’s cooperation, Nigeria is on the path to food self-sufficiency,” he said, praising rice for its high productivity and capacity to resist disease and drought.

GAWAL, a leading seed company in Nigeria, has contributed to the government’s seed procurement program by distributing over 30,000 tonnes of seeds in over 30 states. His efforts significantly increased the country’s rice production, by more than 2 million tons.

In recent years, agricultural cooperation between China and Africa has flourished under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative. From local fields to global e-commerce platforms, China’s efforts have significantly boosted the productivity and modernization of African agriculture through technical assistance, industrial chain development and market access.

Local workers display rice plants at the Nigerian Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center near Abuja, Nigeria, September 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

Transfer techniques to local farmers

Over the past decade, the Nigerian Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center has stood out among the 24 centers established by China across Africa. These centers play a vital role in the advancement of agricultural technology, successfully transferring more than 300 sophisticated agricultural techniques to local farmers.

The impact of these initiatives is substantial, increasing crop yields by 30 percent and positively affecting more than a million smallholder farmers across Africa.

Through concerted efforts, Chinese agricultural specialists have remarkably improved the yield and quality of staple crops such as rice, cassava and soybeans. Additionally, they introduced a whole range of new varieties of fruits, vegetables and beans. These contributions have not only enriched the diversity of African diets, but also opened new avenues for the region’s agricultural progress.

In Kigali, Rwanda, Leonidas Mushimiyimana operates the largest mushroom growing workshop in the region, producing up to 30,000 tubes of mushrooms per month and 600 kilograms of fresh mushrooms per week.

Juncao is a hybrid grass and an important multifunctional agricultural resource developed and used for mushroom cultivation in China.

After learning Juncao cultivation technology, Mushimiyimana established the workshop, employing dozens of people. He plans to expand his business to produce dried mushroom products for international markets, thereby promoting community prosperity.

Juncao technology now benefits more than 4,000 Rwandan farmers, creating more than 30,000 jobs across the agricultural value chain.

A Rwandan media outlet (right) learned about Juncao from a Chinese student at the National Juncao Technology Engineering Research Center of Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University in Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian Province. on March 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

Eric Rokasse Kamo, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Central African Republic, welcomes the practical side of Juncao technology, highlighting its role in creating jobs and improving the income of African populations.

Improve value-added products

China-Africa agricultural cooperation extends beyond the fields, encompassing the entire industrial chain to strengthen the processing capacity and added value of African agricultural products, thereby increasing farmers’ income.

During the rubber harvest season in Ivory Coast, trucks line up outside the Mainland Group’s rare rubber factory in Dabou. The newly harvested rubber will be processed into standard rubber in this Chinese factory before being shipped to China for further processing into rubber products.

This photo taken on June 10, 2024 shows machinery at the Mainland Group’s rare rubber factory on the outskirts of Dabou, a town in southern Ivory Coast. (Xinhua/Zhang Jian)

Despite its favorable natural conditions as Africa’s largest natural rubber producer, Ivory Coast’s lack of processing capacity has limited its exports in the past.

Yobouet Roland, a member of a local cooperative, noted that Chinese factories have doubled their production by offering new sales channels.

Brou Bonaventure, of the Ivorian Interprofessional Agricultural Research and Advisory Fund, said the Chinese factory has strengthened local processing capacity and provided fair and stable shipping channels, allowing farmers to expand their rubber production.

“The Chinese factory has increased the value of our rubber products. We are grateful to China! exclaimed Bonaventure.

Cassava, a crucial food crop in Africa, has also seen progress. Poor varieties and technical limitations previously hampered yield and processing.

During a training session organized by the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS), agricultural officials from South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda and the Republic of Congo were surprised to learn that Cassava starch could be made into products like biscuits, yogurt, cakes and noodles.

In Nigeria, GAWAL and CATAS jointly established a modern agricultural demonstration base in Abuja, including a small-scale cassava starch processing line and a 10-acre high-yield demonstration base. Local training in cassava cultivation and processing was organized there.

Wang Yun, general director of GAWAL, said the base will continue training on the cultivation, planting and processing of cassava plants to expand the entire cassava industrial chain.

Access to larger markets

Early in the morning, freshly harvested rose petals, still adorned with dew drops, could be seen at Tambuzi Limited in Kenya. Within 48 hours, these flowers will arrive on the shelves of Hunan Gaoqiao Grand Market in Changsha, China, ready for Chinese customers to purchase.

Huang Zinan (R), chairwoman of Hunan Xiyue Culture Media Co., Ltd., selects flowers at a factory of Tambuzi Limited, in Nanyuki, Kenya, May 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

Kenya, a major global exporter of fresh flowers, once faced difficulties accessing new markets due to high customs duties and complex regulations.

However, China’s “green channel” for African agricultural products has accelerated inspection and quarantine processes and extended tariff exemptions, benefiting Kenya’s floral industry and other African agricultural products such as avocado, citrus fruits, pineapple and coffee.

Huang Zinan, chairwoman of Hunan Xiyue Culture Media Co., Ltd., said her company, which cooperates with seven Kenyan flower farms including Tambuzi, sells 100,000 flowers per month in 14 Chinese cities and exports to Russia and China. ‘Australia.

Huang highlighted the Chinese market’s significant demand for rare and high-end flower varieties. It planned to develop by-products such as essential oils and floral water to improve the competitiveness of Kenyan flowers in the market, boost local employment and increase the income of flower growers.

As of June 2023, 16 agricultural products from 11 African countries had entered China through the “green channel”, and more African specialty products entered the Chinese market.

China’s trade promotion measures have rapidly increased Africa’s agricultural exports to China, making China the second largest destination for Africa’s agricultural exports.

A coffee exhibitor displays coffee products during an exhibition of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Nairobi, Kenya, May 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)

Platforms such as the China International Import Expo, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and the African Products Online Shopping Festival have become crucial showcases for African agricultural products, boosting their international visibility.

“Imagine a small coffee-producing village in Africa connected directly to the global market. This village could finally free itself from poverty,” said Laila Lokosang, senior technical advisor at the African Union.

Video reporters: Zeng Tao, Zhou Chuyun, Ling Xin, Yang Zhe, Hou Ming, Ji Li, Lin Jing, Wang Ze, Zheng Yangzi, Zhang Jian, Shi Yu, Zhang Yujie, Luo Jiang, Chen Shaohua, Chen Liangjie, Li Yahui ;

Video editors: Liu Ruoshi, Li Qin, Wei Yin, Liu Xiaorui, Zheng Xin

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Wang Shasha