In the heart of Madagascar, a quiet revolution is taking place. As the rainy season fades, the town of Mahitsy, just northwest of the capital Antananarivo, is a sea of lush green rice paddies. Here, Chinese agricultural expert Hu Yuefang walks alongside local farmers, inspecting the stalks of rice that promise a bountiful harvest. This scene is a testament to the growing China-Africa agricultural cooperation, a partnership that is not only bolstering food security but also nudging African agriculture toward modernization.
Rice, the primary staple of Madagascar, has long been a challenge for the country. Low-quality seeds and outdated farming methods have hindered productivity, leaving domestic demand unmet. However, since the launch of the China Hybrid Rice High-Yield Demonstration Base in 2007, the landscape has been changing. Chinese experts have successfully developed five hybrid rice varieties tailored to local conditions, achieving average yields of 7.5 tonnes per hectare — two to three times that of local varieties. These high-yield strains have been cultivated across a cumulative area of about 90,000 hectares nationwide, making Madagascar the largest grower of hybrid rice in Africa.
The impact on local farmers has been profound. Femosoa Rakatondrazala, a farmer from Mahitsy, switched to planting hybrid rice three years ago. “Hybrid rice brought us new hope,” he said. “We used to struggle to feed ourselves, but now we have a surplus to sell and even save up to buy more land.” This sentiment echoes across the continent, as Chinese hybrid rice has been introduced to over 20 African countries.
The China-Africa agricultural cooperation is not just about rice. In Tanzania’s Morogoro Region, the “Small Technology, Big Harvest” project, launched by China Agricultural University in 2011, has seen maize yields double on average. In Rwanda, China’s Juncao technology has enabled over 4,000 households to shift to mushroom farming, creating over 30,000 jobs. These projects are part of the first three-year action plan of the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, under which China has dispatched over 500 agricultural experts and trained nearly 9,000 professionals.
The cooperation extends beyond technology transfer. In Kenya’s Siaya County, the Lower Nzoia Irrigation Development Project, constructed by China’s Sino Hydro Company Limited, is bringing water to parched farmland. The project, including 111-km irrigation canals, 71-km drainage canals, and 736-km field canals, plays a vital role in addressing the challenge of unpredictable rainfall and enhancing agricultural productivity.
In South Africa, Chinese drones are transforming modern farming. At Fountainhill Estate in KwaZulu-Natal Province, drones from Chinese tech firm XAG are precisely spraying fungicides over sugarcane fields. The drones offer greater efficiency and precision, reducing pesticide waste and minimizing environmental impact. Since entering the South African market in 2020, XAG drones have serviced over 66,000 hectares of farmland, and today, these smart devices have spread far beyond South Africa’s sugarcane fields to a broader African landscape.
The implications of this cooperation are far-reaching. As China-Africa agricultural cooperation deepens, a growing number of Chinese-aided projects have taken root across the continent, bolstering food security and nudging African agriculture toward modernization. Through technology transfer, infrastructure development, equipment upgrade, and industrial chain expansion, China has substantially boosted Africa’s agricultural productivity and sustainable development capacities, injecting strong momentum into the continent’s modernization drive.
Moving forward, China is committed to fully implementing its plan to support Africa’s agricultural modernization, notably by tackling development bottlenecks and fostering innovative cooperation. This commitment promises to extend the benefits of modernization and usher in a new era of China-Africa agricultural partnership.