Sharing skills

Grain security has another facet and that is the ability to regulate the grain price, which the country is able to do through its ample state reserves. Minimum purchasing prices for designated crops have been set to avoid major fluctuations in the food market and ensure that farmers are safeguarded.

"As a result, China's grain price has remained stable, with limited impact seen from the fluctuations in the global prices, having effectively protected farmers' interests, especially those middle- and low-income groups," Qie Jianwei, Vice Administrator of SAG, told ChinAfrica.

With the success of China's grain production system agriculture authorities from African countries are keen to learn more about the Chinese experience and cooperate on grain technology.

"Africa has similar food agencies in charge of regulating price, but they are not effective as those state-owned ones in China. I think China's experience [in this regard] is well worth learning [from]," said Michael Bulwaka, a diplomat from the Uganda Embassy in China.

David Gbenjen, the counselor with the Sierra Leone Embassy in China, said grain safety is no longer an issue that only affects the country concerned, but it has now become a global issue.

"Africa has been ranked as one of the most food insecure regions in the world," said Gbenjen, after a visit to state-owned grain depots in the suburbs of Beijing. "China is a world leader in grain technology research, especially in storage and processing. We hope we can improve the sharing of agricultural technology," Gbenjen told ChinAfrica.

Qie said China is willing to share experiences and enhance cooperation in agricultural technology with African countries. "We have rich experience in grain technology and management. Grain storage and processing will be two primary areas that China and Africa can share good prospects for future cooperation."

He added that the other areas include the development of modern grain logistics, building grain quality control and rapid examination systems, and setting up a modern information system for grain circulation.