AU agency welcomes China’s support for Africa’s agriculture

A specialised African Union agency focusing on capacity building has welcomed China’s pledge to support Africa in further developing its agriculture and addressing the effects of climate change.

At the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing earlier, China promised to expand its cooperation with Africa and implement 10 partnership actions over the next three years.

China pledged to support Africa’s further development in the agricultural sector through various initiatives, including the construction of standardised agricultural demonstration centres.

It would also consider the deployment of Chinese agricultural experts and the creation of a China-Africa agricultural scientific and technological innovation alliance.

The executive secretary of the Harare-based African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Mamadou Biteye, said Africa would benefit immensely from the knowledge, innovation, and expertise of Chinese agricultural experts.

“China is a very important partner to Africa, especially as we come out of the FOCAC Summit and some important announcements have been made.

“This includes capacity building through the deployment of Chinese experts to support agriculture productivity in Africa,” Mr Biteye said.

He added that China’s continued support for Africa’s infrastructure development, particularly climate change-related and resilient infrastructure, is crucial to Africa’s efforts to modernise and combat climate change.

“China can share its experiences in agricultural development, including research on developing new varieties of crops, such as drought-resistant rice and other food crops.

“Which can adapt well and provide high yields to support the growth of Africa’s agriculture sector,” Mr Biteye said.

He added that increased Chinese support in agriculture could help Africa reduce its food import bill and enable the continent to achieve food sovereignty.

(Xinhua/NAN)