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Magic of Machines
Chinese expert dedicated to Burkina Faso’s agricultural development
By LI KAIZHI VOL. 14 JANUARY 2022 ·2022-01-10

 

Xue Youguo conducts a demonstration of mechanical rice pest control in Nariou Village on August 9, 2021

Over 10 years ago, Xue Youguo had thought of going to Africa, but did not do it due to his young kid. In December 2018, half a year after the resumption of diplomatic ties between China and Burkina Faso, he forged a deep connection with this country by chance.

At that time, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was selecting agricultural machinery experts nationwide to help with the agricultural development of Burkina Faso. After hearing the news, Xue, who had been working in the field for over 30 years, felt that it was time to make his wish come true. He applied and was selected as a member of China’s senior agricultural expert team to this African country.

In early 2019, Xue came to Burkina Faso and immediately joined the Chinese agricultural expert team engaged in the first-phase assistance work there. In December of the following year, he joined the second phase of the mission as the deputy team leader, helping to improve the level of local agricultural development with his efforts.

Conducting research and making plans

At the welcome party on the night of his arrival in Burkina Faso, Xue noticed that the rice that was served was not whole grain rice. He was curious at the time, but out of respect, he did not ask for the reason. A few days later, while shopping with his colleagues, he saw that broken rice was sold both in the local grain store and supermarket.

“They told me that rice processing here is mainly done by small rice milling machines, and most people still use primitive simple tools to pound rice,” Xue said.

Agriculture is the pillar industry of Burkina Faso, with 80 percent of the population engaged in agricultural production. “The rainy season here is like the beautiful and fertile Jianghan Plain in my hometown in the middle reaches of the Yantze River. However, due to the low level of mechanization, the comprehensive operation level of farming, planting and harvesting is less than 10 percent,” Xue said.

Through visits, Xue found that local villagers have a great interest in growing rice. “With the growth of population and the improvement of people’s living standards, the demand for rice here has been growing by 11 percent per year in the past five years, but rice production could only meet 30 percent of the domestic demand,” Xue said.

For this reason, the expert team decided to enhance Burkina Faso’s agricultural development with the focus on rice. In less than three years, Xue and his colleagues visited the agricultural management agencies in 13 regions of Burkina Faso to learn about their state of agricultural mechanization.

Based on the first-hand information from their research, the team finished various research reports on the development of agricultural machinery industry in Burkina Faso and guidance materials on the technologies for agricultural mechanization.

 

Xue Youguo conducts a technical training in the field at Nariou Village on August 18, 2021

Localized demonstration

Xue then carried out a pilot demonstration of agricultural mechanization technology integrating sowing, harvesting and rice processing, and formulated a set of mechanization models that suit the local conditions and are sustainable.

Following the success of this demonstration, the expert team carried out a number of other experimental demonstrations. In three years’ time, Xue participated in the construction of four rice demonstration villages, which all achieved remarkable results.

In the Bama and Bagré demonstration sites, rice yields increased from 3.2 tons and 2.9 tons per hectare to 5.8 tons and 5.5 tons per hectare, respectively, thanks to the use of large-and medium-sized tractors, rice transplanters, and combine harvesters. In Nariou’s two demonstration sites, rice yields grew from 3 tons and 1.5 tons per hectare to 5.2 and 3.2 tons per hectare, respectively, through the use of agricultural machinery.

Last September, the expert group carried out technical guidance on post-harvest rice management in Nariou Village. “With the support of the Chinese agro-technical team, villagers see a significant increase in household income while input costs are lower, yields are higher, and labor intensity is reduced. We are all very grateful to the Chinese experts and to our Chinese friends,” Nitiema Koudbi, a farmer in the village, said.

Of course, Xue did not forget the broken rice grains he saw on his first day in Burkina Faso. Using two sets of Chinese-aided rice milling machines, Xue provided technical guidance to his local counterparts on the whole process of machine installation including site selection and electric power generation. To ensure smooth operation, he personally checked every screw and wire.

“After nearly a month of work, the installation of the rice milling machines was finally completed. The daily processing capacity reached 30 tons,” Xue added.

On November 26, 2021, at a handover ceremony of Chinese-aided agricultural machinery to Burkina Faso, Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydro-agricultural Development and Mechanization of Burkina Faso, Yassia Kindo said that “the Chinese agricultural expert team has made achievements in a very short period of time. Especially in the field of rice cultivation, solutions have been proposed to increase yields, and agricultural mechanization has benefited our agricultural development.”

Conducting training

In mid-October every year, the lowland rice in Burkina Faso enters the harvest period. This is also a period for the Chinese experts group to provide technical training in the Nariou demonstration area, so that Chinese technology could better benefit the local people.

As part of his training course, Xue made a detailed introduction to the working principle, main structure, operation precautions and maintenance of the combine harvester.

Xue also focused on the training on tractor and harvester operation and maintenance, mainly for the agricultural machinery staff and young people interested in the agricultural machinery. In the past three years, Xue has trained 287 people during six training sessions on agricultural machinery.

“I focus on teaching theoretical knowledge for the agricultural machinery staff, and then provide practical training to consolidate what they have learned. For the youth and other trainees in the demonstration villages, the main focus is on practical operation,” Xue added.

Looking back on his work in Burkina Faso since 2019, Xue said, “I knew nothing about this country before coming to here, I had never even heard of its name. But when I came here, I realized that it is a beautiful country and the local people’s hard work and simplicity, warmth and friendliness touched me all the time. With the joint efforts of everyone, the vision of a beautiful countryside will surely be realized here sooner,” said Xue.

 

 

 

 

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