Officials and technicians from African countries will come to northwest China's Gansu Province in August for an annual training program on combating desertification.

The African trainees will learn Chinese experiences on desert control through lectures and field practice, said Man Duoqing, head of the international affairs department of Gansu Desert Control Research Institute (GDCRI).

"They will spend some 25 days in the field across Gansu and neighboring provinces and regions to learn how to choose plants for desert control and how to set up windbreaks, among others," according to Man.

The two-month China International Training Course on Desert Control Science and Technology is run by the GDCRI, a leading anti-desertification agency. It has more than 20 trainees this year, among whom a dozen come from Africa.

One third of the world's land faces threat of desertification that which causes 42 billion U.S. dollars in economic losses every year, UN statistics show.

With deserts including the Sahara, Africa is the worst desertificated region in the world. The poverty-stricken continent is in urgent need of international economic and technical assistance.

China will cover all the expenses of the trainees, including tuition and accommodation, as well as air tickets to and from China if needed, GDCRI director Wang Jihe said.

Wang said China aims to boost international cooperation in desert control and help developing countries especially those from Africa in this regard.

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