Tasty Opportunities

By+Xia+Yuanyuan

If the way to a mans heart is through his stomach， then China has definitely won over the officers at Umbeluzi Agricultural Station， Mozambique.

“Chinese food， muito bom （very delicious）！”said Atomane Nuro from the station， between two mouthfuls of exquisite Chinese food. It was the first time Nuro tasted so many dishes made with fresh Chinese vegetables， including celtuce， radish， carrot， celery and green bean.

All these vegetables were planted by Zhou Jing， a Chinese vegetable expert stationed at the Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique （IIAM） in Boane， Mozambique. For the past year， she planted， grew and promoted hundreds of Chinese vegetables in Mozambique.

On November 19， 2015， with Peng Zhengkai as its leader， the second Chinese agricultural expert group to Mozambique arrived in Boane and settled down in the Chinese Agricultural Technology Research and Transfer Center. Zhou is one of the groups four Chinese agricultural experts to have been assigned to work at the IIAM.

Through their efforts， great achievements have been made in improving Mozambiques crop farming， vegetable planting and animal husbandry.

Fostering change

Thanks to its fertile soil， high precipitation， vast arable land， low pollution level and long growing season， Mozambique is a vibrant country with excellent prospects for agricultural development.

While praising Mozambiques natural agricultural conditions， Peng also pointed out that the country remains plagued by numerous problems， including a food deficit of nearly 300，000 tons of grain， a consequence of the countrys 15-year civil war， frequent natural disasters and primitive farming techniques. More than half of the nations 24 million people are still living below the poverty line， according to data released by the African Development Bank （AfDB） in 2012.

“Mozambique has large area of arable land， but only a small proportion is currently cultivated. A lot of the fertile land is idle，” Peng told ChinAfrica.“The country has a total of 4.26 million agricultural households， of which 98.92 percent are lacking farm tools and irrigation system. The growth of crops is entirely dependent on the weather， soil conditions and rainwater.”

The arrival of the Chinese expert team， together with its advanced agricultural technologies， has brought significant change.

Agricultural cooperation between China and Mozambique started as early as 2007， when the Chinese Agricultural Technology Research and Transfer Center was established in Mozambiques capital Maputo， as part of Chinas first batch of agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa. Funded by China， the $55-million center was built on a 52-hectare plot in the Umbeluzi Agricultural Station， near Maputo.

In 2014， the first team of Chinese agricultural experts arrived in the country to help modernize Mozambiques agricultural sector.

Both teams of Chinese experts dispatched to Mozambique came with a common purpose： to improve the countrys farming methods and yields.

New possibilities

In Mozambique， potatoes are the staple food and occupy a large area of the countrys arable land. However， in 2016， the market gap for potatoes amounts to 170，000 tons. Peng， a biologist， dedicated a whole year to improving the countrys production of potatoes.

“The growth cycle of potatoes is too long in Mozambique and survival rate and breeding potential are low，” Peng said. “The improper use of land cannot guarantee enough nutrients for rapid reproduction of potatoes.”

To promote better reproduction of potatoes， technologies including rhizome cutting propagation， bud seedling propagation and stem propagation in seedbeds are widely used in China. But in Mozambique， such technologies are new.

By collecting samples and conducting on-thespot investigation， Peng achieved great results after repeated testing. “I succeeded in applying the rhizome cutting propagation technology to the planting process. By implementing this technology， the production and quality of potatoes will be largely improved. Fifty- or 100-gram potatoes will be commonplace in the future，” Peng said.

Besides potato growing， animal husbandry is another sector Chinese experts hope to improve in Mozambique. Upon his arrival in Mozambique， Fu Youqing， a Chinese expert in animal husbandry， was astonished to learn that the natural mortality rate in the countrys animal husbandry industry is as high as 40 percent.

“Mozambique is still using natural grazing methods， and animals feed on naturally growing grass，”Fu told ChinAfrica.

Since the growth of grass is seasonal， every year from October， the grass withers， thus depriving animals of food. A large number of cattle and sheep starve to death as a consequence.

“I introduced ensile technology to the IIAM， which consists in storing and preserving green fodder as food for cattle and sheep by cutting a crop such as grass or corn when it is still green and then keeping it covered，” Fu said.

Crop straws， sweet potato vines and elephant grasses， once wasted by farmers， were made full use of by Fu to ensure adequate food for cattle and sheep. “In the coming year， I am committed to promoting this technology across the country， which can reduce the animals mortality rate during the dry season，” explained Fu.

Food on the table

Vegetable expert Zhou， for her part， wanted the team to help put more Chinese vegetables on the tables of Mozambique families， which， beside potatoes， onions and lettuce， are too few.

In the Umbeluzi Agricultural Station， she established a 6，000-square-meter test base where she planted lettuce， radish， eggplant， Chinese cabbage， cowpea， etc.

On October 14， the newly-introduced vegetables were finally ripe. The expert team held a Chinese Vegetables Culture Day and invited local people to get a taste.

“Locals showed great interest. They asked me how to plant and how to cook. They took photos and wrote down every cooking procedure carefully. It shows these vegetables could be very popular in the country，” said Zhou. She believes that with adequate promotion， Chinese vegetables could bring more diversity on the tables of Mozambique families.

“Chinese experts use scientific research to speed up agricultural development in Mozambique. It will complement the governments vision to transform agriculture into a productive， highvalue market-oriented sector，” said Patricio Sande， President of the Scientific Research Association of Mozambique.

“Many of Mozambiques exports are agricultural products. When we talk about combating poverty， we are mainly looking to agricultural development，”he added.

Though these improvements， the expert group paid particular attention to include and train local agricultural academy students， experts and farmers. “Locals should be part of the development so it is sustainable once we leave，” said Peng.