Farmer representatives pose for a group photo after finishing a training course organized by Chinese agricultural experts in Burkina Faso (COURTESY PHOTO)

At the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would accompany Africa in its efforts to achieve food security by 2030, implement 50 agricultural cooperation projects, send 500 high-level agronomists to Africa, and train young agricultural researchers and agricultural entrepreneurs for Africa.

Since then, a number of new Sino-African agricultural cooperation projects have been implemented. The Center of International Cooperation Service (CICOS) under the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is one of the main bodies responsible for selecting and sending agricultural experts and teachers to support Africa's agricultural development. At the annual Conference on China-Africa Agricultural Cooperation, held in Beijing in December 2019, agricultural officials and Chinese experts met to take stock of the projects carried out and map out future challenges.

According to Tong Yu'e, CICOS Director, 113 agricultural experts have been sent to Africa between 2018 and 2019, where they promoted 224 new agricultural technologies, completed 35 agricultural infrastructure projects and trained 21,699 agricultural officials, technicians, students and local farmers. "CICOS has carried out a quarter of the Sino-African agricultural cooperation projects pledged during the Beijing FOCAC Summit. ChinAfrica listed some of the major achievements of eight Chinese missions.

Mission to Burkina Faso

On May 26, 2018, China and Burkina Faso announced the resumption of their diplomatic ties after a 24-year freeze. A month later, the first agricultural cooperation project was launched. With the joint efforts of the nine members of the Chinese mission and local technicians, rice yield in Bama, Burkina Faso's main rice producing area, reached 5.8 tons per hectare, an increase of more than 81 percent. Five small-scale water conservation projects were completed to ensure irrigation during the dry season, benefiting more than 3,000 farmers. Experts visited 14 of the country's provinces to conduct 37 surveys, train more than 1,700 people, and write a report of more than 90,000 words on agricultural development in Burkina Faso. For all these achievements, the nine members of the mission were awarded a special prize by Burkina Faso's Ministry of Agriculture and Hydro-Agricultural Development.

Chinese experts of the second mission to São Tomé and Príncipe provide training on biogas technology (COURTESY PHOTO)

Mission to São Tomé and Príncipe

Composed of eight members, the second mission arrived in São Tomé and Príncipe on April 12, 2018, for a two-year project. The average yield of the hybrid maize introduced by the Chinese mission is 48 percent higher than that of local varieties. Chinese experts also introduced several practical technologies such as greenhouse cultivation, egg incubation and biogas tank construction, among others, promoting the concept of green development, based on the principle of "teaching to fish" rather than giving out fish. "After taking part in these training sessions, I now know how to build biogas tanks not only by using molds, but also by using cement bricks. This technology is very useful for our country," said Mário Alves De Carvalhodos Santo, a local worker.

Mission to Burundi

The fourth, nine-member mission arrived in Burundi on March 13, 2018, for a two-year program covering various areas such as rice cultivation, storage of agricultural products and horticulture. Thanks to the continuous efforts of the Chinese experts, many remarkable results have been achieved. The yield of Chuanxiangyou 506, a kind of hybrid rice introduced by Chinese agronomists, has set a new record in Africa. Jean Kennedy Samaniro, an official at Burundi's Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, told ChinAfrica that the hybrid rice crop yield had now reached 12 tons per hectare, up from only four or five tons in the past. According to Tong, the demonstration area now covers more than 400 hectares spreading over more than 100 villages in nine provinces of Burundi. Sino-Burundian agricultural cooperation will continue to contribute to poverty reduction over the next five or six years.

Mission to Ethiopia

Nine Chinese experts arrived in Ethiopia on November 8, 2018, as part of the third mission. They achieved significant results in areas of edible mushrooms, vegetables, aquaculture and livestock, among others. These efforts led to the establishment of the first edible mushroom technology training center in Ethiopia and five demonstration sites. Newly built greenhouses now make it possible to cultivate vegetables despite extreme weather conditions, increasing the yield growth from 17.6 percent to 23.5 percent. To date, 3,000 square meters of greenhouses have been put into operation. "Chinese agricultural technology is very practical, inexpensive and efficient. We need to study it well and promote it," said Derbew Kebede Deneke, horticultural expert at the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.

Mission to Djibouti

On March 13, 2018, a five-member mission was dispatched to Djibouti to implement the third three-year agricultural cooperation program. Chinese agricultural experts developed marine aquaculture and promoted technologies for the prevention of animal epidemics, treated more than 300,000 livestock and trained about 1,000 local veterinarians.

Mission to Zimbabwe

A 10-member mission was sent on November 8, 2018, to Zimbabwe as part of the third three-year bilateral agricultural cooperation program. So far, the average yield of wheat culture at the demonstration site is 50 percent higher than when using local wheat varieties, and cattle and sheep mortality has been reduced by 30 percent with the help of medicated baths. Chinese experts also trained a number of local agricultural entrepreneurs in raising rabbits and chicken.

Mission to Mozambique

The third phase of the 10-member Sino-Mozambican Agricultural Cooperation began its mission on December 27, 2018. To date, they have carried out more than 20 agricultural demonstration projects, organized 16 on-site trainings and trained more than 380 local technicians. "Agricultural cooperation with China has greatly improved our agricultural productivity. Now our rice production has reached 10 tons per hectare, compared to only two tons per hectare in the past," said Daniel Rivas Muvimbene Maposse, an official at the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. "We hope that more Chinese agricultural experts will be able to come to Mozambique."

（Comments to lijing@chinafrica.cn）