Essential support

Chinese experts are playing an important role in helping Madagascar improve its food security

In the context of the public health crisis threatening Africa's food security, the role of South-South cooperation has become even more prominent. The incidence of undernourishment in Africa in 2019 was 19.1 percent, equivalent to more than 250 million people facing undernourishment, which is more than twice the world average (8.9 percent), and this number is growing faster than other regions of the world. If the trend continues, it is forecast that Africa will account for 51.5 percent of the global hungry population.

The novel coronavirus outbreak poses a serious threat to food security, particularly in Africa. Because of the pandemic, exports of cash crops have been greatly affected, many countries have imposed restrictions on food exports and the increase in food prices has made it more difficult for many African countries to obtain food and the food security situation has deteriorated.

Agriculture has always been a basic part of the cooperation between China and Africa. China-Africa agricultural cooperation under the framework of South-South cooperation has played an important role in ensuring food security in African countries.

In Madagascar, Chinese experts are assisting farmers in the country to improve their agricultural production capacity and food security through the transfer of practical agricultural technologies, which is boosting the confidence of Madagascar and other African countries that they can achieve the zero hunger vision of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In order to support the agricultural development of Madagascar, the Chinese government, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Malagasy government signed a tripartite agreement in December 2018. To implement the agreement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of China sent nine agricultural experts to Madagascar in September 2019, as the South-South cooperation expert team.

The Chinese experts have carried out technical assistance in the fields of hybrid rice production, animal husbandry and comprehensive agricultural management in the project sites of Mahitsy, Zhaka and Diego. All the projects have achieved positive results and have been highly praised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Madagascar. In the context of the novel coronavirus outbreak, they have made vital contributions to solving the problem of food security in Africa, and have accumulated valuable experience, mainly in the following three aspects:

The first has been promoting practical agricultural technology to increase grain output. In the project areas of Mahitsy and Zhaka, the Chinese expert team organized around 30 technical training programs and on-site demonstrations to guide local farmers in hybrid rice planting, farm planning and farmland management. As a result, the local grain output increased from 2.8 to 10.28 metric tons per hectare, and the loss of rice after harvest was reduced from 14 percent to 4 percent.

Fanomezantsoa Lucien Ranarivelo, minister of agriculture, livestock and fisheries of Madagascar, praised the results of the China-Madagascar project, saying "under the background of the pandemic and the difficulties in food imports in many countries, China's hybrid rice technology has helped us alleviate food security problems". Alain Randrianarivelo, who has farmed rice in Madagascar for more than 20 years, said: "I think this new variety of rice is the future of our agriculture. The yield obtained is breathtaking."

The second has been the focus on investigation and research to optimize livestock and poultry production. At the Diego project site, the Chinese expert team conducted a survey to find out the bottleneck that restricts the development of the local animal husbandry industry.

Introducing Chinese straw ammoniated feed production methods effectively improved the production and quality of local forage and alleviated the problem of small local ruminants. This has addressed the shortage of forage grass in the dry season and provided a targeted solution for the development of local animal husbandry.

The third has been extending the value chain and helping farmers access the market. The project adopts the "company plus farmer "model, relying on local partners to provide farmers with improved seed varieties, agricultural materials and technical services, while purchasing agricultural products in accordance with the contract, building a bridge between farmers and the market.

With the South-South cooperation projects serving as the leading demonstration bases, local agriculture can be driven to further development. At the same time, the projects pay special attention to the employment of women and youth, which effectively improves the economic and social benefits of local agriculture.

The Madagascar project is only a microcosm of China's agricultural South-South cooperation with Africa. Due to the outstanding challenges facing Africa in terms of food security, the current South-South cooperation projects implemented by China under the FAO framework are mainly concentrated in Africa.

China has implemented nearly 30 South-South cooperation projects in Africa and dispatched about 1,100 experts and technicians. The practical experiences of China-Madagascar South-South cooperation projects once again show that South-South cooperation plays an important role in promoting food security in African countries.

Combining China's agricultural development and the practical experience of agricultural cooperation with Africa, the promotion of agricultural development in Africa should focus on the following aspects:

First, government departments should attach great importance to agricultural development and raise agricultural development and food security to a national strategy. Recognizing agriculture as the foundation of the national economy is one of the important experiences China has shared with Africa in South-South cooperation.

The second is to improve African countries' self-sufficiency in food through technology transfer, training, demonstration and other methods aimed at improving the level of agricultural technology and skills in Africa.

The third is to increase investment in the agricultural industry, introduce responsible investment, help African countries develop agricultural value chains, increase the added value of agricultural products, and at the same time promote investment in African agricultural infrastructure, help African countries improve agricultural production facilities and conditions.

The authors are from the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China.