China's agriculture has grown rapidly over the last 50 years, bringing self-sufficiency and economic development to the world's most populous country. However, Jiang Gaoming, a researcher with the Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that the Chinese should pause and take note of Africa's approach to protecting biodiversity and ecology through farming. Protecting biodiversity and the environment, he feels, can be more valuable to China than double-figure GDP growth. His thoughts are as follows:

In China, people always equate uneven development in urban and rural areas to "European-esque cities and African-esque countryside." This comparison is grounded in the notion that Africa is the world's poorest region. This, however, is a misunderstanding. Recently, I traveled to the continent where I attended an international academic conference organized by UNESCO. It was an opportunity to experience perhaps some of the planet's last untouched terrain.

The conference was held in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, which is 300 km away from the country's capital, Ouagadougou. Our schedule had us staying in Ouagadougou for one night. Afterward, we departed for the conference by minibus.

During the drive I was impressed by Burkina Faso's many forests, where centuries-old trees grow all around. Villages hide in those forests. When their trees die, people don't hack at them. They carve them, transforming them into pieces of art.

The country features an average annual precipitation of 800 mm and an average annual temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. Precipitation is low in winter, and dry and humid seasons follow each other in rotation. All of this make the forests themselves seem miraculous. Humanity's touch, though, can turn them into deserts.

In Nasso, another stop along the drive, we were shown another forest. It covered an area of 300 hectares. Tall trees, abundant vines and a crystal clear river made us feel like we were in a tropical rain forest. But beyond its reaches was a desert, caused by an attempt to improve the forest artificially by planting water-hungry eucalyptus. In 1951 when the local goveranment noticed this shift, a reserve was set up and managed by citizens. Under this protection, the forest was revitalized. It's quite shocking visually to compare natural forests with those destroyed. Nowadays, ecotourism is bringing more benefits to local people than deforestation.

The forests are an enviable green. The singing of birds here is reminiscent of the Chinese countryside 40 years ago. Women collect fruit for food and fallen leaves from trees to feed livestock. Although forests have been developed for farmland, some trees remain, sheltering crops like peanuts and cotton. The forest protects farmlands from sandstorms and farmlands nourish the forest.

Farming methods in West Africa are notable. Agriculture here is at the mercy of the nature, without chemicals or fertilizer. Groundwater is used, but only through the drilling of wells that irrigate gardens, in order to preserve it. Crop fields rely on rain.

General attitudes about nature in West Africa seem to be more protective. In Mare, a wetlands reserve founded in 1978 is very impressive. Due to strict policies, the wetlands here are still wild. Birds come from Europe to spend winter here. Different plants populate the shore, on and under the water. The water is clear, and drinking it reminded me of the taste of the river from my childhood. I have been to many rivers, lakes and wetlands in both developed and developing countries, but few made me feel as safe about drinking from their waters.

With their booming IT sectors, Africans are no strangers to mastering how to squeeze the money out of something. But they haven't done this with their farming or natural resources. They know that if they do so, bad weather and disease will settle in, making it hard to survive.

By contrast, China is playing a dangerous game. Its farmlands are full of poisons. Its biological diversity and soil capability are deteriorating fast. Chinese agriculture should not blindly follow in American footsteps but should learn instead from Africa. Protecting biodiversity and the environment means more than double-figure GDP growth.