When Yue Chenghe's phone rang unexpectedly, he picked it up and heard an anxious voice at the other end: "Mr. Yue, the real-time image of the biological microscope has suddenly disappeared!" It was Afonso Sussuno, a local technician from Mozambique's Central Veterinary Laboratory. Yue had previously installed the said biological microscope.

"Don't worry. I will be right there!" He hung up the phone and rushed to the lab. After carefully checking both the equipment and software, he breathed a sigh of relief: the problem had nothing to do with the microscope itself. In fact, the image disappeared due to wrong operation. The Chinese expert restored the image in just a few minutes. Sussuno smiled, shook hands with Yue and expressed his gratitude. "De nada (you're welcome)," replied Yue, using some of the few words of Portuguese that he knows.

"Things like this happen all the time. I am just like a firefighter in the lab. I have to intervene whenever a problem arises," said Yue.

Yue is based at the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of Dujiangyan City in southwest China's Sichuan Province. A graduate from the College of Veterinary Medicine of Sichuan Agricultural University, Yue specializes in animal epidemic prevention.

"I have spent most of my academic and professional life in the labs, so I am familiar with testing, operating and maintaining equipment." While still young at the age of 34, Yue has gained a wealth of experience in this field.

In early 2018, having passed numerous exams, he became a member of Chinese expert group in the third phase of the Sino-Mozambican agricultural cooperation project, mostly because of his excellent professional skills and English proficiency.

"At that time, my child was under 2 years old. But my family supported my decision. I was lucky to have been selected and I am very much thankful to my family," he told ChinAfrica.

On December 27, 2018, Yue and nine other agricultural experts from different fields arrived in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to begin their three-year mission. For Yue, it was his first visit to Africa.

Strange yet familiar

"Africa is a continent that I got to know only from television and the Internet, so it is full of mysteries. And it's these mysteries that make the continent interesting to me," said Yue.

After a series of surveys, Chinese experts found that the local natural conditions are favorable for the development of agriculture, but due to a lack of funds, technology and talent, the potential has not yet been fully realized. Under the coordination of Mozambique's Institute of Agricultural Research, the 10 experts began to work in their respective areas of expertise.

As a veterinary laboratory expert, Yue was put in charge of the maintenance and demonstration of laboratory equipment. He also performs laboratory diagnostic tests related to animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, small ruminant disease, brucellosis and tuberculosis. Unlike clinical veterinarians, who are in direct contact with animals and provide diagnostic and treatment services, Yue mostly works in the lab.

According to Yue, the conditions of local veterinary labs in the country are uneven. The highest-level central veterinary lab has both professional equipment and talented people specializing in different disciplines, but this is not the case in the country's other regions. In addition, they lack coherent and established standards for the use of various devices in those labs, which results in a lower reliability of the laboratory tests.

Effective remedy

"Some sets of equipment are not used mainly due to the lack of maintenance and standard operating procedures," Yue said, noting that the devices are mostly donations from different countries and international organizations. The virology and molecular biology laboratory, for example, has more than 100 sets of equipment imported from 17 countries and regions at different times. If a machine breaks down, it is extremely difficult to find spare parts to fix it.

"All we can do is to try to get product manuals and contact manufacturers for technical support." So far, with the help of local technicians, Yue has successfully repaired more than 10 sets of instruments and equipment.

Furthermore, the absence of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and quality management systems has led to improper equipment use, which negatively impacts the experiment results and the lifespan of the devices. Yue and his local partners are therefore working to put in place a management system that meets international laboratory management standards. Eight sets of regulations concerning equipment operation have been formulated to guarantee the accuracy of laboratory tests.

"I believe that such standardized management will significantly improve the level of laboratory diagnosis of animal diseases and the reliability of the tests. In turn, this will establish a solid basis for improving animal disease prevention and control capacities in Mozambique," said Yue.

To address the shortage of laboratory equipment, Yue submitted a supply list to the Center of International Cooperation Service of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. This includes 18 sets of instruments and equipment, which were officially brought to Mozambique on March 7, 2019. Yue has provided technical support during the installation and operation of the equipment.

Strength of unity

According to Yue, who is also the deputy head of the expert group, their efforts are beginning to bear fruit. To date, the experts have completed 26 research reports in various fields. Their rice growing demonstration field now produces more than 10 tons of rice per hectare, which is six times higher than the average production in the country. Chinese experts have also successfully cultivated the first locally produced mushrooms in Mozambique. They tested more than 1,500 serum samples from cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. About 630 local technicians participated in their training sessions.

"This is the best group of experts I have seen. They have not only a high level of technical expertise, but also a strong spirit of cooperation. They have done a lot of useful work for us," said Olga Lurdes Jossias Fafetine, General Director of the Mozambique Institute of Agricultural Research.

At present, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the expert group has had to postpone their training on quality management scheduled for April. "During this time, I will continue to prepare for future tasks, so that I can restart my work as soon as possible," said Yue. 

(Print Edition Title: A Multitalented Veterinarian)

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