China's agricultural innovation helps African farmers increase yield, income

Liu Gaoqiong (L), a professor of Horticulture from Nanjing Agricultural University, also a visiting professor at Egerton University, gives guidance to Mary Mwangi, a local farmer, on the field management of grafted tomatoes at a tomato farm in Nakuru County, Kenya, Oct. 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

NANJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- After a short stay in China, Liu Yutao is about to return to Kenya, where he has been working as an expert for almost three years in an effort to help local farmers grow tomatoes.

"Tomato is an important vegetable in Kenya. In recent years, the country's tomato production has been threatened by diseases and pests such as bacterial wilt and leaf miners, leading to severe yield reductions, and in some areas even complete crop failure," said Liu, who is an agronomist from Nanjing Agricultural University in east China's Jiangsu Province.

China's grafting technology provides a solution for tomato farmers in Kenya. A mature, safe and time-honored agricultural technology in China, grafting is widely used in the cultivation of melons, vegetables and fruit trees.

In 2022, Nanjing Agricultural University and Egerton University in Kenya decided to introduce and promote tomato grafting technology in Kenya, with the aim to empower rural youth in Kenya through innovation of the tomato value chain. By the end of 2023, the tomato grafting program managed to secure funding from the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development.

According to Liu, who is also the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Egerton University, the tomato grafting technology has been promoted in Kenya's Nakuru County via 15 demonstration sites and more than 10 technical training classes and demonstration promotions.

"After witnessing harvests achieved at the demonstration farms, more and more local farmers have regained confidence in growing tomatoes, and are signing up for training," he added.

According to Liu Gaoqiong, another agronomist working in Kenya who is also from Nanjing Agricultural University, the tomato seedlings now planted by the farmers at the demonstration sites have strong disease resistance and growth capabilities. They bear fruit earlier, have good quality and high yield, while resulting in an increase in production of at least 50 percent.

Joshua Ogweno, the Kenyan director of the Confucius Institute at the Egerton University, said the tomato grafting technology from China is well adapted to the local environment in Kenya and has greatly improved agricultural productivity. More than 4,000 Kenyan farmers have received training in the fields of Chinese greenhouse agriculture and tomato grafting technology.

It is predicted that this technology can reduce the incidence of bacterial wilt in local tomatoes from 90 percent to below 10 percent, and increase annual yield from near total crop failure to up to 90 tonnes per hectare, while elevating income by about 1.5 million Kenyan shillings (about 11,600 U.S. dollars) per hectare.

The work being done by Liu Yutao and his Chinese colleagues in Kenya is part of China's efforts to use advanced agricultural technologies in cooperation with African countries to promote the adoption of modern agriculture on that continent.

At a China-Africa innovation forum held earlier this month, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the African Academy of Sciences initiated the China-Africa agricultural sci-tech innovation alliance.

The alliance aims to promote the development of modern agriculture in both China and Africa, with emphasis on food security, biosecurity and green development, and cooperation in fields such as sustainable development, application of remote sensing and big data, pollution control, and poverty alleviation through sci-tech empowerment.

Over the last three years, China has sent more than 500 experts to Africa and provided nearly 9,000 training opportunities to agricultural talents. By the end of 2023, China had established 24 agricultural demonstration centers in Africa, promoting more than 300 advanced technologies such as dense planting of corn, vegetable cultivation and rapid propagation of cassava -- benefiting over 1 million local households.

Chinese institutions participating in China-Africa agricultural cooperation include not only local universities such as Nanjing Agricultural University, but also national institutions like the CAAS and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS).

Chen Qing, a professor at the CATAS, has been focusing on green and integrated pest management for cassava in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, for many years. One of his students, Oluwole Gregory Ijiti, comes from Nigeria, which is the world's largest cassava producer in terms of harvested area.

In a field in Sanya's Yazhou District, Ijiti accompanied Chen Qing in harvesting new varieties of cassava under the scorching sun.

"This new variety can be eaten both fresh and processed, with features of high yield, insect resistance and strong adaptability," Chen said.

Cassava is an important staple crop in Nigeria. Chen helped Ijiti establish a research direction based on the actual needs of cassava production in Nigeria and in line with Ijiti's goal of improving his technical innovation ability.

"My student is tackling Tetranychus Urticae, a pest that heavily impacts cassava crops in his home country," Chen said. "By merging insect and pesticide resistance studies, we aim to develop pest-resistant cassava varieties, ensuring both high yield and green approaches."

"Such collaboration is beneficial to both countries, and will lead to progress beyond national borders to alleviate poverty and hunger," Ijiti said.

Over the past decade, the CATAS has signed 19 cooperation memoranda with African institutions, promoted about 50 new varieties and technologies in Africa, and conducted 65 technology training sessions involving more than 3,000 participants.

Technology cooperation efforts include tropical crop cultivation and processing involving Rwanda, tropical crop pest and disease control in collaboration with Tanzania, and research on crops such as cassava in partnership with Nigeria, Tanzania and Cote d'Ivoire.

"China plays an important role in the modernization of agriculture in Africa," said Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman Elnor, the African Union's permanent representative in China.

He added that China's technology advantage and policy expertise combine to offer African countries experiences that are easy to understand and quick to grasp, which not only supports the sustainable development of agricultural production in Africa but also helps African farmers to increase their incomes.