Desert blooms with Chinese expertise

Agricultural researcher recognized by Mauritania for growing pasture for livestock in the Sahara

Three years ago, agricultural expert Ren Xueshan accepted a seemingly impossible task－growing pasture in the world's largest desert.

A researcher at the Forestry and Grassland Administration of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, he recalled that many agricultural experts from China doubted whether Mauritania's hot climate was suitable for growing alfalfa in the Sahara.

Ren, then 57, had accepted an assignment to work at the Mauritania Animal Husbandry Technology demonstration center to provide technical guidance and training on planting pasture and forage material.

"I had no confidence in growing pasture in the Sahara desert," Ren recalled.

Despite the doubts and concerns, Ren traveled to the Northwest African country in April 2017, determined to take on the challenge before his retirement.

His team soon learned that rural people in Mauritania still adhered to natural grazing methods.

In the long dry season, the desertified grassland could barely meet the basic food needs of cattle, sheep and camels.

As a result, during the eight months from the end of each year to the following July, many animals starved, and even died, due to insufficient feed.

As soon as Ren arrived, he began to experiment with the introduction of various pastures.

"But when I stood on the sands of the endless Sahara desert and saw that a bucket of water poured on the ground did nothing, I could not help but have some doubts," he said.