Visiting experts prove popular with African farmers

Chinese contributions to UN agricultural programs are reaping tangible benefits

In addition to the bilateral cooperation between China and individual African countries at government and business levels, China also provides agricultural support through other international organizations such as the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.

China is a partner of the FAO on South-South Cooperation in programs for food and nutrition security in selected countries. During 2009-2011, China provided a FAO-China Trust Fund of $30 million.

So far, seven of eight countries covered by the trust fund are in Africa: Malawi, Mali, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Senegal, Liberia and Ethiopia. The fund plans to cover 20 countries in the future.

Hundreds of Chinese agricultural experts and technicians have been sent to Africa under FAO programs to provide knowledge and business consultation.

"At a time when continued economic uncertainties are having an impact on the flow of traditional North-South development assistance, South-South cooperation is creating and building on partnerships that support the direct exchange of financial and technical contributions between developing countries," says Laurent Thomas, assistant director-general of the FAO's Technical Cooperation Department, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The FAO's experience with SSC has shown that the knowledge and skills of technical experts and field technicians from the South have made an invaluable contribution to efforts to modernize small-scale agriculture throughout the developing world, he adds.

"Different from the bilateral agricultural cooperation between China and African countries, which is based on the desire for cooperation from both sides, the FAO SSC is multilateral cooperation, which is a means to get the best match for global resources," says Liu Zhongwei.

Liu is a program officer from the Rome-based food agency responsible for Chinese programs in the South-South Cooperation and Resource Organization Division. Before joining FAO in 2008, he worked for the Department of International Cooperation at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.

During his visit to Uganda in March, he received many compliments about the Chinese expert team from local farmers.

Since December 2012, seven agricultural experts and 24 technicians have been working in Uganda, covering various agricultural sectors, such as agribusiness, horticulture, grain production, fishery and food safety.

Those agricultural experts are working with the Ugandan government to implement and supervise local programs and Chinese technicians are working with local programs and some private farms.

"Those Chinese experts and workers are going to stay in Uganda for two years," Liu adds. "They are based in rural communities and are able to deal with farmers 24 hours a day, which most agricultural experts from the West with programs under North-South cooperation do not offer.

"Everyone in the team is very experienced in China, so they are able to recognize problems in their work in Africa."

Li Guiqiang is a Chinese technician teaching local farmers in Kabale to produce better apples. He has run three training programs in the region. Because he has passed on many effective and practical skills, he has become very popular in the local community.

Bazanye Mutabazi is from Li's neighboring community, Kisoro. After he attended Li's lectures he invited the Chinese to his apple orchard.

"In fact, those skills are very basic for us," Li says. "For example, local farmers believe the more apples they grow from each tree, the better the work they have done. Therefore, they never cut any part of their apple trees.

"In fact, good apples need sufficient sunshine and nourishment, which means that trimming off some parts of the tree will produce better apples."

Though an important contributor to SSC programs in African agriculture, China also benefits from this international cooperation.

Ensuring food security in Africa by using uncultivated land and increasing the total amount of food supply for the global market, not only secures stable societies, but also provides a better economic environment for Chinese agriculture, he says.

zhaoyanrong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/28/2013 page7)