China and Africa signed eight agricultural cooperation projects

As one of the highlights of this China-Africa Economic and Trade Fair, on June 27, the China-Africa Agricultural Cooperation and Development Seminar was held in Hunan Hotel. The politicians and businessmen from Africa and China conspired to develop China-Africa agricultural cooperation. At the seminar, China and Africa signed eight agricultural-African cooperation projects, amounting to US$2747 million. Over 200 guests from African governments, enterprises and international organizations, 212 experts and enterprises from China's agricultural and rural sectors, business departments and domestic agricultural research institutions participated in the event, including 24 ministerial-level guests. The ministers of agriculture of 14 African countries, including Uganda, Central Africa, Ghana, Liberia and Gambia, and representatives of international organizations such as the African Union, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Women's Programme, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the Bill Gates Foundation were invited to attend the seminar. Sui Zhongzhong, deputy governor of Hunan Provincial People's Government, pointed out that Hunan actively promoted the opening up of agriculture and "going out", and vigorously cooperated and exchanged with African countries in agricultural economy and trade, agricultural technology and personnel training, and agricultural assistance cooperation, and achieved fruitful results. In the future, we will further strengthen win-win cooperation in agricultural research, seed industry, technology promotion, training, extension of agricultural machinery and equipment and trade in agricultural products, actively build overseas agricultural industrial parks, expand trade in agricultural products between Hunan and Africa, and establish agricultural equipment and machinery leasing centers to continuously benefit the people of Hunan and Africa.

Ma Youxiang, pastor-in-chief of animal husbandry in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Areas, pointed out that China would like to work with African countries to further strengthen communication and exchanges. We will strengthen the top-level design of China-Africa agricultural cooperation, upgrade the cooperation mechanism, and encourage and support strong enterprises to invest in Africa. We will encourage scientific research institutions, experts and scholars from both sides to strengthen exchanges, base themselves on the reality of agricultural development in Central Africa, strengthen joint research efforts and transformation of achievements, and develop a number of advanced and applicable agricultural technologies and materials and equipment for Africa. At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China will actively strengthen communication and coordination with relevant domestic departments, continue to send high-level agricultural experts and vocational teachers to African countries, further expand the scale of training in Africa, and train more agricultural talents for Africa. At the seminar, a number of Chinese and African guests also held group discussions, discussing and exchanging on policy dialogue and practice of Sino-African agricultural cooperation respectively, and signed on-site contracts. The meeting was jointly launched by the China Center for International Economic and Technological Exchange, the National Research Center for Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology, the African Union, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, the United Nations World Food Programme, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the African Green Revolution Alliance. South-South and tripartite cooperation initiatives in the field of rice in Central Africa.