Africa partnership yields rich bounty

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."