Africa partnership yields rich bounty

Editor's Note: People-to-people exchanges are deepening the connections between countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. This column celebrates the efforts of those working toward a shared future.

When Wei Shunlong first set eyes on the expanse of land earmarked for a trailblazing rice farm in Mozambique in June 2013, he had to draw heavily on his imagination. The sparse vegetation－dotting scrubby fields amid yellowed clumps of dried-out grass－did not at first look promising for the Chinese-backed project.

"The soil was actually very fertile but few crops were grown due to lack of infrastructure such as irrigation facilities," says Wei, a specialist in rice plantations.

Together with 27 other Chinese experts, Wei worked hard to restore the farmland, in the Xai-Xai district of the southern Mozambican province of Gaza. They removed the wild grass, filled trenches, and built irrigation canals and pumping stations. And, within two months, they succeeded in creating an initial 500 hectares of viable farmland in the southeastern African country.

With the farm's success, more and more villagers have sought to try their hand at growing rice. Due to the improved irrigation system and effective management, yields at the farm have been increasing steadily. They have reached as high as 9 metric tons a hectare in recent years－five times as high as the levels managed by local farmers, says Wei, a manager of the rice farm that's known as Wanbao Mozambique. It takes its name from a Chinese company that was engaged to work on the project.

The Wanbao rice farm, now covering 20,000 hectares, was created with investment from the China-Africa Development Fund in Beijing and is leased by the Mozambique government.

Boosted by the Belt and Road Initiative, the development fund has topped up its investment in the project. About 3,000 hectares of bushland have been converted into farmland over recent years－accounting for 15 percent of the total area of the farm, according to Dong Kun, the supervisor of the project.

Today, it stands as China's biggest crop investment project in Africa, contributing to food security in Mozambique with its high rice yields. It has also served to spread advanced farming techniques among local farmers. Most of the farmers engaged with the Wanbao Mozambique farm are local villagers. They grow rice under various arrangements, such as farmland plots allocated under contracts, and receive guidance from Chinese experts such as Wei.

"Despite the favorable climate and fertile soil, many farmers in Mozambique are not very skilled at farming and the rice yield is very low," he says. "In the Wanbao farm they can learn practical skills to grow rice, and many of my apprentices have left and started to operate their own farms after acquiring skills."

The success of the Wanbao project has even changed the habits of residents, as some have turned to rice as their staple food instead of corn－their traditional food, the native of Hubei province says.

China-Africa cooperation has been intensifying in various aspects over the past decades, especially over the past eight years with the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. Such endeavors have benefited both sides. More than 40 countries in the continent have joined the initiative, accounting for most of the states in Africa.

Direct investment from China to Africa reached $49 billion by the end of 2019, a nearly 100-fold increase compared with 2000, says Liu Yuxi, head of the Chinese Mission to the African Union. China has also been Africa's biggest trading partner since 2009, replacing the United States.

As of September, the China-Africa Development Fund, a major investment platform to provide financial support for BRI projects, had committed investment of more than $5.7 billion in 37 African countries. The funds have gone to infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture and energy, among other sectors, according to the fund.

Although building infrastructure such as roads, bridges and railways is a key part of bilateral cooperation in Africa, more agricultural projects have also been carried out in recent years. They have been vital in contributing to improved food security in the continent.

Modern methods

On the Wanbao Mozambique rice farm, farmers not only have reaped the benefits of bountiful harvests and increased incomes, they have also learned how to grow rice and improve production using modern methods. Moreover, the success of the farm has also brought confidence to residents with the knowledge that they can resolve food shortages with the right farming techniques, says Guan Wei, chief financial officer for the Wanbao project.

Like some other countries in Africa, Mozambique boasts favorable natural conditions for farming, such as fertile soil, abundant water resources and sunshine. But most of the country's land is yet to be developed, and farmland yields are very low, as farmers tend to rely on the mercy of nature for harvests, Guan says. This has resulted in insufficient food supply in Mozambique, which has to import large quantities of food every year to meet domestic demand, he says.

"We adopted large-scale intensive farming methods in the farm, as is done in China, to improve production through science," he says. "For example, we use large machinery to plant rice, apply fertilizers and harvest. We use the proper kinds of seeds for the land. We also guide local farmers to irrigate farms, remove weeds and use herbicides at the right time and with the right amount."

Dong, from the China-Africa Development Fund and the supervisor of the Wanbao project, says that in addition to working with local farmers to grow rice, the enterprise also provides other services such as harvesting, rice drying and storage. This minimizes any losses from the harvested crops.

With advanced farming techniques and management, rice yields on the farm have reached more than 6 tons a hectare on average, several times the yields on farms owned by locals, he says.

"With increasing yields, more local farmers are willing to take part in rice growing in the farm," Dong says. "I think it also helped to change their concept of farming, so they will not just rely on the nature for harvest when farming."

'Decent living'

Milagre Abel Massingue, a farmer and contractor at the Wanbao Mozambique rice farm, joined the project five years ago. He says that with the Chinese technology he can at least double the output nowadays, and his life has changed dramatically due to rising harvests.

"The hut has been replaced with a concrete house, and furniture and household appliances have been added. I have made a decent living by planting rice in Wanbao," Massingue told Xinhua News Agency in an interview in September.

Guan says the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some interruptions to the operation of the Wanbao farm.

"Many Chinese technicians have been working in the country for more than a year and have not returned home yet, due to restrictions on flights, and rotation of personnel has been suspended. Many people are working under stress," he says. In addition, due to lockdown measures, sales of rice have also been affected.

However, Guan is optimistic that rice farming in the country will still have a good future, as it can greatly contribute to its food security.

Dong says the success of the Wanbao farm may encourage more Chinese investors to put money into agricultural ventures in Africa. Still, he says there are difficulties.

"Investing in agriculture in Africa can be costly due to a lack of infrastructure and high risks due to disastrous weather," he says. "Agriculture is also less profitable compared to many other sectors."

To improve profits and reduce risks, the enterprise has also been exploring ways to diversify crops on the farm. Much of the land is yet to be developed due the costs involved and the limited labor. Vegetables such as tomatoes have been planted in small plots as experiments, Dong says.

"We wish to see more Chinese enterprises participate in agricultural development in Africa to help it improve food security, and we have confidence in the agricultural potential of the continent," he says.