New Island Ways

By+Li+Xiaoyu

There is no shortage of crabs in Sao Tome and Principe， where the small crustaceans can be found scurrying about all over the archipelago. But what the little island country off the coast of West Africa is in dire need of is feed for animals.

So when the Eduardo family， which is in charge of a farming cooperative on the island of Principe， learnt that Chinese agricultural experts were producing crabbased animal feed， they were quick to make their way to the island of Sao Tome to meet them.

After their visit， the Eduardos， along with the other 60 members of the cooperative， started using the Chinese experts advice. Results were so convincing that farmers are now producing feed for poultry and pigs， as well as conducting real-time exchanges with Chinese mission experts via Facebook.

Breaking the cycle

This is Chinas first agricultural mission to Sao Tome and Principe since diplomatic relations between the two was resumed on December 26， 2016. The mission team is made up of eight members， including agricultural and livestock experts， a specialist in methane processing and two translators. From January 2016， the team has started conducting field studies to better identify local needs. Over the following nine months， they visited more than 50 villages， communities， breeding farms， veterinary l aboratories and agrifood companies.

Their work shows that the country， one of the underdeveloped countries in the world， depends almost entirely on imports from Portugal， mostly to feed livestock and poultry. Every year， nearly 2，500 tons of animal feed arrive in Sao Tome before being dispatched to the other islands. Transportation costs alone represent more than 30 percent of the final price， and some farms on Principe can often be cut off from these resources for weeks at a time.

As local agricultural production is not sufficient to meet human needs， farmers cannot afford to use these precious resources to feed their animals. In 2016， cereals accounted for 17 percent of the countrys total imports. Moreover， despite the archipelagos rich fi shery resources， the sector remains poorly developed， both in coastal areas and offshore. There is also a lack of processing plants for seafood. Evidently，neither agriculture nor fisheries were able to provide enough protein to feed livestock.

In fact， farmers are forced to graze the livestock on pasture so that they can feed themselves. But this threatens to seriously harm biodiversity and local ecosystems， because of the gradual disappearance of vegetation， along with pollution caused by animal stools. Specialists even predicted a degradation of the archipelagos landscapes and， consequently， a decline in tourism revenues.

All-weather pragmatism

With this mission in mind， the Chinese team set up a program to produce animal feed. In doing so， the Chinese experts tried to take advantage of locally affordable and abundant raw materials such as taro， breadfruit， coconut， crab powder， grass， which couldnt be properly exploited previously due to a lack of adequate techniques. But with the help of biological fermentation and primary mechanization， the mission is now able to make full use of them. As a result， 80 percent of the ingredients for animal feed production can be found on site， and only a small amount of additional proteins and nutrients need to be imported.

Another benefit of this approach is recycling. Once the issue of animal feed is solved， it becomes possible to keep the livestock in a building or pen. Animal stools can be harvested and then processed through fermentation into organic fertilizer to be used on crops. A virtuous circle between agriculture and livestock is thus created. At the other end of the chain， the tourism sector also benefits from better protected landscapes.

Today， this new process has spread to the whole archipelago. After watching a televised report on the Chinese mission， the Olivia family， owners of a farm on the island of Sao Tome， reached out to the Chinese Embassy. The Chinese experts later came to visit their farm and evaluate available resources with which to produce feed.

While the programs effectiveness convinced farm operators， it also caught the attention of government officials. Alfredo da Mata， Livestock Department Director at Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Sao Tome and Principe， explains： “I hope that more technicians and farmers can benefit from this program to improve the general level of breeding in my country. This can also increase farmers profits.”

The team continues to offer training and technical services to breeding communities with the help of the Livestock Department. Always ready to lend a helping hand， Chinese experts continue their meticulous field work and remain attentive to local needs.