A land of rich pickings

But he also believes it is the most important of the three sectors for Africa.

"Agriculture, in my opinion, will be the main tool for Africa to develop. In most African countries, about 80 percent of the population is involved in some form of agriculture, but it's suffering from low productivity. It is traditional, subsistence farming.

"I think it (large-scale agricultural investment from China) is good for Africa. The importance of investment is not only money; it's a transfer of knowledge and technology, of raising the standard of living for people."

Government forecasts bumper grain harvest

A touch of class for farming

Kelvin Mushoba, one of Si's Zambian employees, agrees the Chinese presence is positive.

With a shy duck of his head, Mushoba wanders up to the farmhouse to chat with Si's wife Zhou, who speaks his local dialect. The 28-year-old Zambian says that without Si, he and his workmates would probably have no job.

Figures from the World Bank suggest that Zambia's labor participation rate for those 15 years or older is about 79.5 percent.

But of that, only 17 percent are known to be "wage and salaried workers". This is despite about 75 percent of those in the labor force being engaged in some form of agriculture.

The figures stack up with what Mushoba knows first hand: Many Zambians are still subsistence farmers who largely live off what they can grow on small plots of land. Locals line the roadsides in Lusaka selling these cash crops, hawking fruit and vegetables and other produce from the bottom of the value chain.

Born in a town about four hours' drive from Lusaka, Mushoba came to the city about three years ago looking for something better than subsistence farming and roadside selling could offer. Si took him on.

"I'm learning modern farming," Mushoba says. "I can change pipes and handle the irrigation now. I worked on a traditional farm and a piggery before (with no modern equipment). It was really hard work. Everything is better here."

Mushoba lives on the farm with his wife and two young daughters. He is paid the equivalent of about $2.50 to $3 a day, depending on the exchange rate.

The wage is low, he says, but concedes it is not terrible. And now he has experience and expertise using modern farming equipment, Mushoba believes he has options and can pick and choose where he wants to work.