LiangXiaoping(thirdright)shareshisexpertiseoncottongrowingwithlocalfarmersCOURTESYPHOTOAshewatchedtheChineseandBurkinabeflagsbeingraisedintheearlymorningattheRiceCultureCenterinOuagadougou,capitalofBurkinaFaso,LiangXiaopingwasdeeplymoved.
“Iamreallyproudtowitnessthefriendshipbetweenourtwocountries,”saidLiang,addinghoweverthatthispridecomeswithaheavyresponsibility.Andforgoodreason:AstheheadoftheChineseagriculturalmissiontoBurkinaFaso,the53-year-oldagriculturalexpertwillhavetoensurethathisteamcanmeetthehighexpectationsoftheirBurkinabepartners.Itisadifficultchallengeevenforan“oldAfricahand”likehim,whohasarichexperienceofworkinginagriculturalcooperationprogramsonthecontinent.
Ahands-onteam
LiangpreviouslyspentsixyearsworkinginNigeriaandUganda.HestilllikestorecalltheyearshespentinremoteAfricanvillagesconductingfieldstudies.Accordingtohim,thisexperiencehasmadehimmoreflexibleinadaptingtothesometimesdifficultworkingconditionsonthecontinent.
Buttherealchallengesarenotthediscomfortsofeverydaylife,butthelackoffamiliaritywithlocalconditions,hesaid.Indeed,LiangandthreeotherteammatesarenowdoingthepreparatoryworkformoreChineseagriculturalexpertstojointheminBurkinaFaso.
ChinaandBurkinaFasoresumeddiplomaticrelationsonMay26.Sincetheirarrival,thelackofinformationonlocalagricultureinthisWestAfricancountryhascomplicatedmatters.Inaddition,theirmissionwasoneofurgency.ThepreparatoryteamwasscheduledtolandinOuagadougouonJune30.Inotherwords,theyonlyhadonemonthtopreparefortheirmissioninthisfar-offcountry.
Assoonastheyarrived,thefourmembersoftheteamreportedtoBurkinaFaso’sMinistryofAgricultureandHydraulicPlannings.Theyimmediatelystartedtoconductfieldstudiestogainthebestpossibleunderstandingoflocalconditionsasquicklyaspossible,beforesubmittingadetailedannualworkplantoChina’sMinistryofAgricultureandRuralAffairsforapproval.Thishardbutcriticalworkwouldalsofacilitatethesubsequentarrivalofthemission’sothermembers.
Despiteheatstrokeandcountlessmosquitobites,theteammanagedtovisitallofthecountry’sdemonstrationsites,coveringmorethan1,000kmbycar.Withtheassistanceoftheirlocalpartners,Chineseexpertsalsovisitedcommunitiesandfarmerstoconductsurveysonriceproduction,agriculturalirrigationsystemsinuse,andBurkinaFaso’scurrentlevelofagriculturalmechanization.
Addressinglocalconcerns
Theteamquicklyrealizedthattheprospectsoflocalagriculturaldevelopmentingeneralwerenotsopromising.Thecountry’sgrainproductionisbarelymeetingdomesticdemand.Althoughfarmersskillfullyusethecountry’shillyenvironmentforricecultivation,productivityremainslow.Inaddition,seasonalimbalancesinrainfalldonotallowsteadyandstableirrigationoffields.Allofthisresultsinlowriceproduction.
ThisisinlinewiththerequestputforwardbyBurkinaFaso,whichwantagriculturalcooperationwithChinatostartwithricefarming,apredominantactivityinlocalagriculture.Inpracticalterms,BurkinaFasoaspirestoachievebetterproduction,improvementofriceseedsandmoreefficientricemanagement,aswellastobuildsmalldamstofacilitaterain-fedirrigationinthedryseason.Inaddition,thecountryisalsoconsideringintroducingmoremodernagriculturalmachinery,suchasmechanicaltransplanters,threshingmachinesandricemills.
TomeettherequestofitsBurkinabecounterpart,China’sMinistryofAgricultureandRuralAffairspledgedtodispatchtothecountrysevenexperiencedagriculturalexperts,whospecializeinricefarming,hydro-agriculturaldevelopmentandfarmmachinery.Assistedbytwotranslators,theywillbeworkinginthreedemonstrationsites,namelytheBagreAgricenterinBurkinaFaso’sCenter-EastRegion,NariouVillagelocatedmorethan120kmfromthecapital,andBobo-DioulassointheHauts-BassinsRegion.
Astheteam’sspecialistinhydro-agriculturaldevelopment,LiangwillbebasedinNariouVillage.Hismaintaskistobuildareservoirdamandintroduceirrigationtechniqueswithlowwaterconsumption.Despitethenumerouschallengesaheadofhim,heremainsoptimisticaboutfutureprospects.
Increasedcooperation
TheChineseagriculturalmissiontoBurkinaFasoisjustoneofthemanyteamssentbytheChineseGovernmenttoAfrica.Infact,agriculturalcooperationbetweenChinaandAfricaisnothingnew.In1956,thefirstChineseagriculturalmissionwaspackingitsbagsfortheAfricancontinent.Eversince,thescaleandintensityofthiscollaborationhasneverceasedgrowing.FollowingtheestablishmentoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperationin2000,itevenmadealeapforward.
AccordingtostatisticsreleasedbytheofficialwebsiteofChina’sMinistryofAgricultureandRuralAffairs,from2012to2017,Chinahasdonated$80milliontoSouthSouthagriculturalcooperationprogramsorganizedbytheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations.Theseprogramsbenefitedabout1millionfarmersin28countriesaroundtheworld.TheChineseGovernmentalsoshippedmorethan3milliontonsofgraintodevelopingcountries,helpingrelievemorethan100millionpeoplefromhunger.
Asoftheendof2017,Chinahadsetup27demonstrationcentersforthepromotionofagriculturaltechnologiesontheAfricancontinent.Atotalof567agriculturalexpertsand332teachersforagricultural,technicalandvocationaltrainingcentershadbeendispatchedto35Africancountries,trainingnearly50,000localagriculturalprofessionalsonthecontinent.
TechnologiesintroducedbytheChineseagriculturemissionshavealsogainedtractionamonggovernmentauthorities.BurundianMinisterofEnvironment,AgricultureandLivestockDéoGuideRuremapraisedtheChinesemissions’ricedemonstrationproject.“ThisachievementwillgodowninBurundi’shistoryandwillpromptustouseChinesetechnologytodevelopricecultureinBurundi,”hesaid.
Inanotheragriculturalsuccessstory,SãoToméandPríncipePrimeMinisterPatriceTrovoadarecentlypaidtributetotheworkofChineseagriculturalexpertsinthecountry,whounleashedthepotentialofhiscountry’sagricultureandlivestocksector,andhenceincreasethesupplyofgrains,vegetablesandmeat.
AgriculturefieldworkinBurkinaFasoAccordingtostatisticsreleasedbytheofficialwebsiteofChina’sMinistryofAgricultureandRuralAffairs,from2012to2017,Chinahasdonated$80milliontoSouth-SouthagriculturalcooperationprogramsorganizedbytheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations.
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