Looking ahead

Ndayirukiye was also one of the participants on the 11-day training program in China. He said the training workshop on sustainable agriculture development in Africa was a rewarding experience. According to him, the in-class courses and field visits in Hunan Province gave him an overview of the development of China’s agriculture, vocational education as well as a number of agricultural technologies. Hunan in south China is famous for hybrid rice production, where Yuan Longping, known as the “father of hybrid rice” in China, has experimental fields for his “super rice.”

“These visits have allowed me to deepen my understanding of Sino-african cooperation in the fields of agriculture and livestock,” he said. But even more important for him is that this workshop made it possible for him to analyze the activities being carried out by Chinese experts in Burundi and the challenges they have encountered. “This has put in place a good basis for the promotion of cooperation programs in the field of agricultural and livestock technology exchange,” he said.

As for future prospects, he indicated that the Burundian Government had already proposed a number of programs and projects to the Chinese Embassy in Burundi, to be forwarded to the Chinese Government. Ndayirukiye hoped that cooperation programs between the two countries will be strengthened in order to improve and support Burundi’s agricultural and livestock development, with a view to achieve sustainable agriculture and food security in his country. Comments to lixiaoyu@chinafrica.cn