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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: China initiating food security for Zimbabwe HARARE, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China may have provided Zimbabwe with food aid in the past but that gesture appears to have ignited its interest to help Zimbabwe enhance food security. Under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China pledged to construct 14 agricultural technological demonstration centers in Africa and later increased the number of centers to 20. Zimbabwe was chosen among the beneficiaries. The main purpose of the centers is to help Africa improve agricultural production and enhance its food security through use of advanced agricultural technology and modern agricultural machinery in the production of high yielding and superior quality food crops. In Zimbabwe, construction of the center at Gwebi agricultural college about 27 km outside Harare began in October 2009 and is about 95 percent complete. The demonstration center will target training middle and small scale farmers, farm managers, agricultural specialists and agro- students, among others, and will open with an initial enrolment of 120 persons per year which may be increased in the future. The center is envisaged to become the country's hub of high-tech agricultural experimental study and demonstration, technical training and sustainable development. The center covers an area approximately 109 hectares, and includes a demonstration field covering 80 ha. It plans to plant its first food crops this October, according to Du Yongqi, the project manager. He said the crops to be planted include the staple maize, wheat, soya beans and potatoes, while more food crops like vegetables will be grown in the future. Du says the focus will be placed on these crops to enable Zimbabwe become food self-sufficient. The country has been plagued by food shortages in recent years owing to unfavorable weather conditions which have reduced national food production. Agricultural experts also contend that lack of accurate information on rainfall patterns and suitable seeds to grow have left farmers, mostly peasant and small-scale, unable to make the right farming decisions. Du stressed the importance of farmers accessing regular weather information and the need for wide use of information communication technology to disseminate such information. High seed and fertilizer prices have also impacted negatively on food production in the country which requires at least two million tons of maize annually for consumption yet production has been falling far short of national requirements over the past decade. Maize production dropped drastically over the 10 year-period of economic decline but has been rebounding from 500,000 tons in 2008 to 1.3 million tons and 1.4 million tons in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Wheat production has also fallen sharply in 10 years. National wheat consumption is about 450,000 tons annually and the country relies on imports to cover the cereal deficit. Faced with such a huge gap in staple food requirements, the Chinese-funded agricultural technology demonstration center becomes very essential in ensuring local farmers master the advanced agricultural production technology as well as production management methods to enhance yields. According to Du, the center will demonstrate the use of low- cost irrigation systems suitable for small-scale farmers in the wake of climate change which has been ruining farmers' operations in recent years. Du says Zimbabwe's agriculture sector has huge potential for growth due to its good but shattered past record, good weather, good soils and abundant agricultural expertise. He said nothing can stop Zimbabwe's agricultural sector from growing rapidly once local farmers master modern farming techniques from China, itself able to feed its 1.3 billion people. "We are going to show the local farmers how to prepare the soil, how to manage crops and how to use farming machinery," Du said in an interview with Xinhua. "In China, we have different ways of preparing land to make it suitable for different types of crops, we will show local farmers how to do this. We will also show them how to use fertilizer and chemicals, how to efficiently use these to produce more." Du said for the past two years he has been in Zimbabwe, he has discovered that most peasant and small-scale farmers do not know how to efficiently use fertilizer and chemicals for maximum production. Some just plant and wait to harvest without investing in crop management, he said. "Some local farmers don't pay attention to the management of crops. Crops need management like watering, weeding and application of chemicals but they (local farmers) just plant and wait to harvest." Du, however, stresses that it will not be one way of learning as China also seeks to learn from Zimbabwe's farming experiences. "We also want to learn from the local farmers, Zimbabwe is a good country for agriculture," he said. Zimbabwe, he added, has good quality seeds which the center will use to produce yields "that are better than the local output". He said the main thrust of the center will be on improving yield through high-yielding production technology. Zimbabwe's maize yield per ha averaging about one and half tons was generally low, he says, when compared to the internationally accepted average of at least seven tons per ha. Du sees this project as one of the many that reinforces China's commitment to help Africa achieve food security. "May be some people do not know what we are doing. In Zimbabwe, the Chinese are planting crops on 80 ha of land to demonstrate to the local farmers the agricultural technology from China. All the produce from the land will be sold in Zimbabwe and the proceeds will go to the institution. The center belongs to the Zimbabwe government, not the Chinese. The center is there to serve the local people long after we leave," he said. The center, which will be supported by Chinese grants in the first three years, will be transferred to the Zimbabwe government after 15 years of operation. During this period the Chinese will run the center with the support of Zimbabwean experts. In the end of it all, Du says the center will not only enhance food production in the country but contribute to the commercial development of farmers and food processing. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 4.
#2. To: Tatarewicz, X-15 (#0)
That is so bogus. How many millions of metric tons of grain does China purchase from us year after year? (Thank God)
You really wouldn't make it as a loyal, unquestioning citizen in Communist China :p
You're right. Only on the internet can I be a sovereign person. Accepting nothing, questioning everything.
#5. To: Lod (#4)
The burr under my saddle is my annual tax-bill from the local school districts. It's not that much, but I am compelled to pay for an educational system full of nonsense that I find completely revolting and contrary to the true principles of Western Civilization.
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