Prof. Ke Bingsheng, President of CAU (Courtesy of CAU)

Over the years, China Agricultural University (CAU) has conducted exchanges with 46 African countries and run 27 Africa-focused agricultural training programs. Recently, Prof. Ke Bingsheng, CAU's president, spoke to ChinAfrica about the university's work and future plans. Edited excerpts follow:

ChinAfrica: Since 2001, CAU has successfully launched 27 sessions of agricultural training programs for African teachers, researchers, officials and technicians. How are the programs progressing? What kind of feedback do you receive from the participants?

Ke Bingsheng: Based on the actual needs of African students, the training programs we provide mainly focus on irrigation technology, agricultural machinery, modern agricultural education and other areas. Well-known scholars at home and abroad have been invited to give lectures and seminars. African students can better learn about advanced agricultural production technology and management through lectures, case studies and group discussions. Outside the classroom, field visits and hands-on experiments deepen their understanding of what they learn in class. In addition, we invite African trainees to attend international academic conferences. These provide a good opportunity to exchange with experts.

After the training, we send out questionnaires and assess the programs. Trainees have generally been satisfied. They think China's agricultural development experience is of value to local agricultural policy-making in Africa, and China's advanced agricultural technology and machinery are applicable in Africa. Some trainees said that they applied what they learnt in China to their teaching and research, discipline and laboratory construction at universities, or guiding workers at fields. Thus those programs have helped raise the agricultural production level in Africa and the training of human resources.

What programs have been launched between your school and Guinea's Institute of Agriculture and Veterinary at Faranah (ISAV/F) under the "20+20 Cooperation Project among China-Africa Universities" launched in 2010?

After our educational cooperation was initiated, CAU hosted a training program on rural energy technology for experts at ISAV/F and Guinea's Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. In lectures and on field visits during the 22-day program, trainees discussed rural energy issues like bio-energy, solar energy, wind energy and small-scale hydropower. Between October and December this year, six lecturers and laboratory staff from ISAV/F are attending a two-month training project on creating a sustainable agriculture master program and laboratory construction at CAU.

How many African students are currently at CAU? What are your future plans for enrollment?

As of September 2011, we have 107 African students in total coming from 33 African countries. Currently, 187 foreign students are studying on campus, among which 68 are African. They account for 36.4 percent of the total number of foreign students. We will increase foreign student enrollment over the next five years. By 2015, we hope to establish two English-language master programs for foreign students, and plan to recruit 500 foreign students by then.

Can China's agricultural experience help solve food security and poverty issues in Africa? How?

We have similar experience in agricultural development. China is the world's largest developing country and Africa is home to largest number of developing countries.  African countries may learn something from China's experience, but they must consider their own circumstances. The African continent is rich in agricultural resources and has a huge agricultural market, while China has more advanced agricultural technology and management experience. So, China-Africa agricultural cooperation has great potential.

What are CAU's other plans for future China-Africa agricultural cooperation?

This year, CAU signed a letter of intention with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, set up a network called AfriCAU, and proposed CAU and other African scholars should work together in areas of rural environmental protection and rural energy. Currently, AfriCAU has plans to carry out joint research, and is submitting proposals to the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China for projects on rural sewage treatment technology and biogas technology.