Guizhou seed specialist helps Nigerian farmers develop rice cultivation

Yang Xiugang, a rice seed-production specialist from Guizhou province, has spent most of the past decade helping farmers in Nigeria develop rice farming techniques.

He first went to Nigeria's Jigawa in 2017 on assignment from a seed company and found that average yields in his working area were about 200 kilograms per mu (roughly 0.067 hectares).

Today, farmers in the same area harvest about 600 to 650 kg per mu on average, a rise local technicians and farmers attribute to the high-quality hybrid varieties and careful cultivation brought by Yang's team, he told local media.

Working closely with local teams, Yang began by teaching land preparation and seedling raising, then introduced a comprehensive program of fertilization, pest control, and water management that he adjusted to local soils and climate.

Drawing on the detailed management practices he developed in his hometown of Cengong county, he emphasized proper timing, appropriate spacing, and careful seed selection, training farmers in method and judgment rather than imposing a ready-made package.

Those changes have altered cropping choices and household diets. According to Yang, in his service area, many families have shifted from coarse grains to rice as their staple.

Cengong is Guizhou's only national-level hybrid rice seed production base. The operation now serves 10 townships and produces about 8 million kg of seed annually.

Over the past 20 years, more than 20 agricultural technicians from Cengong have worked abroad in over 10 countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand, spreading seed stock and the cultivation know-how that supports higher yields.

Pan Youting contributed to the story.