Vintage Practice Chinese, Ethiopian agricultural experts join hands to improve vegetable culture in a rough environment
In a small field in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, green appetizing vegetables are slowly tanning in the afternoon sun. Suddenly, the wind turns, bringing gushes of rain and hail on the field. Immediately, a man rushes to check on the vegetables. He lifts white plastic sheet covering the field and sighs with relief: “That’s great! The vegetables are safe.”
This man is Liu Shouyun, a Chinese expert in vegetable culture. He is responsible for the field, which is in fact a demonstration site for Chinese agricultural techniques, located in the courtyard of the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.
According to Derbew Kebede Deneke, a horticultural expert with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture, during the rainy season, Addis Ababa gets at least one or two heavy showers per day, often accompanied by hail, which severely impacts vegetable cultivation. During the dry season, it is the lack of irrigation that poses problems.
“Now we can grow vegetables all year round, and no longer have to worry about weather conditions. Mr. Liu’s demonstration of vegetable planting techniques shows that Chinese agricultural technologies are both practical and effective,” he said.
Liu, 53, is a senior agronomist at Yunlianghu Farm in Qianjiang City of Hubei Province in central China. He has spent nearly a quarter of his 32-year-long professional career on the African continent. As an agricultural expert, he was based for three years in Nigeria as part of a Southsouth cooperation project. In Mozambique, he set a new record for rice production at 575 kg per mu. In Malawi, he provided technical training to more than 1,200 people.
“Every time a project is completed, local partners want me to come back to Africa. I am moved by their sincerity, and also by the achievements in local agricultural development. That’s why I have been involved in several agricultural cooperation projects, hoping that my knowledge can change the lives of more people,” Liu told Chinafrica.
On November 8, 2018, as a vegetable expert and member of the third group of Chinese agricultural experts dispatched to Ethiopia, he set foot in Africa again, this time on a three-year mission.
Hidden treasure
According to Liu, Ethiopia’s arable land is both vast and fertile, and gets a good degree of sunshine. This makes the country ideally suited to vegetable culture, especially stem and leafy veggies such as lettuce, spinach, beets and cabbage, which are also among the main ingredients in Ethiopian cuisine. However, the lack of advanced agricultural techniques limits both yield and product quality. “The development of vegetable culture in Ethiopia not only has a great potential, but is also very important for the improvement of people’s livelihood,” he added.
Based on his research, Liu believes that the main constraint to the development of this sector is the lack of agricultural
technology and infrastructure. This makes vegetable culture vulnerable in the face of extreme weather conditions and natural disasters. Drought is severe during the dry season, while rainfall is too concentrated in the rainy season, in addition to frequent hailstorms. The uneven distribution of rainfall severely limits the period for growing vegetables. In addition, the excessive temperature difference between day and night also affects agriculture. Most of Ethiopia’s agricultural land has poor or no irrigation or drainage system.
Simple, but effective
In response to the development needs of Ethiopia’s vegetable industry, the Chinese expert group set up a project to demonstrate techniques in a practical way. Liu was put in charge of techniques related to vegetable culture.
With the joint efforts of Liu and his Ethiopian colleagues, a vegetable demonstration site covering 200 square meters on the Ministry of Agriculture land was quickly put in place. The site is divided into 10 areas accounting for six varieties of vegetables and four varieties of spices. During the 2019 rainy season, despite heavy showers and hailstorms, vegetables were effectively protected by small plastic greenhouses. Crops managed to survive, which led to an increase in production averaging between 17.6 to 23.5 percent. During his visit to the demonstration site on August 31, 2019, Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture Oumer Hussein stressed that this successful technique should be widely applied and promoted across the country.
Liu and local experts have also established two demonstration sites in Menagesha, a farm in Addis Ababa. Four new greenhouses were built and six already existing greenhouses were repaired on three hectares of vegetable growing area, he said. As of today, the greenhouse area in Menagesha covers 3,000 square meters.
“Chinese agricultural techniques are very practical, inexpensive and efficient. We must study them well and then promote them,” said Deneke.
Abdela Negash, Director of the Horticultural Department at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture, took part in the construction of the small greenhouses. When he saw that vegetables were able to sustain even a strong hailstorm, he said: “Chinese technology might look simple, but its effects are amazing!”
Cooperation is key
According to Liu, over the three years of Sino-ethiopian agricultural cooperation, the Chinese expert group will seek to organize technical training related to different aspects of vegetable culture, such as plantation, fertilization and pest prevention. More than 210 civil servants, technicians and farmers are scheduled to take part in these training courses.
Although the expert group has made several efforts to increase vegetable production, there are still many constraints to be addressed in the short term, such as the lack of agricultural infrastructure and funding. Liu believes that further strengthening Sino-ethiopian cooperation is one of the most effective methods to meet these challenges. On one hand, there is a need to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation. For example, a permanent organization or agency could be established to ensure continuous and stable exchanges of experts and equipment between the two countries. On the other hand, cooperation between companies could and should be strengthened, to bring talent, technology and funds to Ethiopia, he added.
“Our group has made efforts to provide assistance to companies, organizations or individuals coming to Ethiopia to conduct any form of Sino-ethiopian cooperation, in order to achieve mutually beneficial development,” Liu said. “The year 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ethiopia. We will continue to work hard to contribute to Ethiopia’s agricultural development and to the friendship between our two countries at this historic time.” CA