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E-mail Xinhua, March 31, 2025
by Xinhua writers Xu Jiatong, Liu Yang, Li Yan
NAIROBI/BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The 20,000-ariary banknote of Madagascar features a golden ear of hybrid rice, a symbol of agricultural partnership between China and Africa.
Since 2007, China has been sending agricultural experts to the Indian Ocean island country, successfully boosting rice yields on trial plots to two to three times those of traditional African varieties. By 2022, this technology had been applied to 75,000 hectares of land, doubling the incomes of tens of thousands of farmers and significantly strengthening Madagascar's food self-sufficiency.
In most African countries, food security and agricultural development remain pressing concerns. In recent years, the continent has transitioned from "relying on weather for good crops" to "securing good harvests with technology," thanks to agricultural knowhow from China.
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, China has actively supported other developing countries in addressing agricultural and food security challenges by sharing its knowledge and expertise in such areas as rice production, agricultural statistics and climate-resilient farming.
TECHNOLOGY ADAPTATION
The core of technological implementation lies in "adapting to local conditions." Chinese experts customize their programs to align with Africa's unique soil properties and climate patterns.
In Guinea-Bissau, an approach featuring "technology and equipment" has been well received by locals. China has provided material assistance in the form of agricultural machinery and tools while dispatching agricultural experts to provide long-term technical training.
This has effectively raised the number of skilled agricultural workers, said Mamadu Saliu Lamba, the country's former minister of agriculture, forestry and rural development.
In Madagascar, experts have been working to cultivate insect-resistant rice seeds to combat pests.
According to Philibert Rakotoson, Madagascar's former secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture, hybrid rice has made a convincing case that hunger will eventually be eradicated.
Between 2013 and the end of 2023, China established 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa and introduced more than 300 advanced agricultural technologies, increasing local crop yields by an average of 30 to 60 percent and benefiting over 1 million farmers across the continent.
Based on local conditions, hybrid rice cultivation, along with other Chinese agricultural technologies, has become a crucial means of helping African countries combat poverty and achieve food self-sufficiency.
INNOVATION BOOST
About 60 km east of the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott, the village of Idini, on the edge of the Sahara Desert, was once plagued by extreme heat, drought, poor soil and violent sandstorms.
Today, a Chinese mushroom-growing technology known as "Juncao" -- two Chinese characters meaning "mushroom" and "grass" -- has taken root here. The grass planted to be used as substrate for growing mushrooms has earned the nickname "the happiness herb" among locals. Beyond stabilizing shifting sands, it can also help improve livestock farming.
"Our sheep used to starve or become emaciated," recalled Amir Abdou, a local shepherd, who once struggled with barren and sandy land.
"Thanks to the Chinese experts who taught us to grow Juncao and other plants, we finally have forage to feed our herds. Today, I am raising 10 sheep, all in excellent health. Thank you, Chinese friends!" he said.
Such technological innovation has introduced sustainable solutions to Africa's agricultural challenges, ranging from solar-powered insecticide lamps that reduce pesticide use by 20-30 percent, and drought- and flood-tolerant rice varieties that preserve nearly 60 percent of the harvest in case of disaster, to small agricultural machines that mitigate soil degradation through precision farming while enhancing farmland resilience to climate change.
China-Africa agricultural cooperation has transformed deserts into fertile land. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, said this collaboration enables Africa to achieve self-sufficiency by leveraging its natural resources.
WIN-WIN COOPERATION
In August 2022, fresh African avocados were exported to China for the first time, marking a deeper and more diversified agricultural partnership between the two sides.
According to official data released in 2024, China has established agricultural cooperation mechanisms with 23 African countries and regional organizations, signing 72 cooperation agreements.
More than 200 Chinese agribusiness companies now operate in Africa, with total Chinese agricultural investment on the continent exceeding 1 billion U.S. dollars. This has created a collaborative network spanning cultivation, processing, and trade.
In Nigeria, Chinese-developed rice varieties have increased production by about 25 percent compared to local varieties. In Uganda, Chinese-introduced millet has tripled yields per unit of land. In Tanzania, experts from China Agricultural University collaborate with local farmers on maize and soybean projects, while in Rwanda, Chinese e-commerce training has helped Rwandan coffee producers gain direct access to the global market.
In addition to the Chinese experts sent to Africa, African trainees who studied in China have also contributed to applying these technologies across the continent. They have learned agricultural technologies and benefited from digital marketing courses to introduce local agricultural products to international markets.
As one Nigerian farmer puts it, Chinese technology has "illuminated our path to self-sufficiency." Enditem
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