China to boost food security in Africa through various channels

In Africa, there is a pesticide company that has been running for seven years and providing trainings for over 200,000 people. This company is Xin’an Sunshine Agric Products and Trading Company (Ghana).

General Manager of Xin'an Sunshine Agric Products and Trading Company (Ghana) Yan Yuting said that the company’s sales revenue in 2010 was 5 million U.S. dollars, and the figure exceeded 40 million U.S. dollars in 2012. Affected by the exchange rate and drought, pesticide demand in Ghana this year fell by 20 percent, but the sales revenue of the company increased by 50 percent. CEO of Kumasi Agger Chemicals Company said that the Chinese pesticide is highly efficient, with low toxicity and residue. Safe and reliable, it is very popular with the consumers.

The company not only provide affordable agricultural products to the West African farmers, but also holds hundreds training sessions for farmers as to how to use the products and plant protection skills. Over 200,000 farmers have received such training so far. The company has been highly praised by Ghana's Ministry of Agriculture for several times. Ghanaian President Mahama once commended it for its contribution to the agricultural development in Ghana.

While in assisting Africa, China and Western countries also began to cooperate with each other. China and the United Kingdom recently signed a four-year joint project agreement, aiming at increasing agricultural production in Africa. According to this agreement, the Department for International Development (DFID) will offer investment funds, whereas the Chinese experts provide agricultural technologies. "This project is China's first cooperation with Western countries to boost the development of African agriculture, a new way to safeguard food security in Africa," Professor Tong Yan'an, Secretary-General at the Secretariat Offices (China) of China-UK Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network (SAIN) told the reporter.

According to DFID Minister Mike Foster, China has the technologies on how to employ the limited arable land to feed such a huge population. If China and the U.K. can join hands sharing these technologies to a large extent, they would make a stride in improving global food security. In this way, the goal of reducing half of starving people in 2015 is likely to be achieved.


Read the Chinese version: 中国多途径助力非洲粮食安全
, source: People's Daily, author: Yuan Jirong

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