Tag Archives: cooperation
China, Africa to Strengthen Agriculture Cooperation
2013-08-29 12:09:54 Xinhua Web Editor: Liu Ranran China and Africa see broad prospects for future agricultural cooperation and the two sides will work to establish a mechanism to advance cooperation in the sector, said an official white paper released Thursday. “The Chinese government attaches great importance to its mutually beneficial agricultural cooperation with Africa, and works hard to help African countries turn resource advantages into developmental ones,” says the paper on Sino-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation published by the Information Office of the State Council. In recent years, Sino-African trade in agricultural products has grown quickly. From 2009 to 2012, China’s agricultural exports to Africa grew from 1.58 billion U.S. dollars to 2.49 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 57.6 percent. During the same period, China’s agricultural imports from Africa, mainly non-food items such as cotton, hemp, silk and oilseeds, saw a 146-percent surge. The paper attributes the robust growth partly to China’s zero-tariff policy adopted in 2005 for some African products, as well as Chinese enterprises’ growing investments in Africa. From 2009 to 2012, China’s direct investment in African agriculture grew from 30 million U.S. dollars to 82.47 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 175 percent. Those investment has increased grain supplies in the countries concerned and enhanced the comprehensive agricultural productivity of those countries, the paper says, citing Mozambique as an example, where 300 hectares of experimental paddy fields supported by Chinese investment yielded 9 tonnes to 10 tonnes per hectare for three successive years. The paper says the Chinese government has tried to enhance Africa’s self-reliance capacity to develop its agriculture by setting up technology demonstration centers, and sending experts to share experience in agricultural production. Since 2006, China has helped set up 15 agricultural demonstration centers in Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, Mozambique and some other countries, and is planning to establish another seven. “In the future, China will advance agricultural cooperation with Africa in all respects while ensuring that this cooperation puts both parties on an equal footing, is mutually beneficial, and advances common development,” the paper says. It will work to establish and improve a mechanism for bilateral agricultural cooperation, and strengthen Sino-African cooperation in the sharing of agricultural technologies, resource varieties and agricultural information, the processing and trade of agricultural products, agricultural infrastructure construction, and human resource training, says the white paper. China will also work to deepen Sino-African cooperation within the frameworks of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, according to the paper. Continue reading
China & Sudan Sign Agricultural Agreement
June 29, 2013, (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s minister of agriculture Abdel Halim al-Mutafi, announced that his government signed an agricultural cooperation agreement with Beijing which gives Chinese companies several options to operate in Sudan. A Sudanese farmer stands in a field of sorghum in Gezira state (AFP) According to the agreement Chinese companies could directly invest in Sudan, engage in partnerships with local partners, or fund agro-processing and food production projects. The accord aims at promoting Sudan self-sufficiency and exporting surpluses to China and the rest of the world to contribute to solving the world’s food shortage, the minister said. Al-Mutafi added in statements to Chinese media on the sidelines of the second session of the strategic dialogue between China and Sudan on Saturday that Sudan seeks to transfer the Chinese experience and advanced technologies to boost agricultural production. He said that the visit also aimed at attending the fourth forum on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) cooperation between China, West Asia, and North Africa countries. The Sudanese delegation currently visiting Beijing is led by presidential assistant Nafie Ali Nafie and several ministers from Sudan’s economic sector as well as a group of businessmen. Al-Mutafi, disclosed that both countries have agreed on the major strategic issues and regional and international relations as well as Sudan’s internal issues. He underscored the importance of the dialogue and said that it offered a good opportunity to discuss the recent problems between Sudan and South Sudan, mentioning the positive role which China could play to promote peace between the two countries. The Sudanese official further said that his country’s relation with China is progressing slowly but in a deliberate and calculated manner, pointing to the joint investment in oil industry as well as minerals and agriculture. He added that China’s increasing food consumption and Sudan’s large fertile land enhance opportunities for agricultural cooperation between the two countries. Last year Sudan granted China permission to set up a free-trade zone for agricultural products and livestock to boost bilateral transactions. Once hoped to be the breadbasket of the Arab world, Sudan’s agricultural sector has continued to deteriorate over the years mainly as a result of negligence, drought, mismanagement, high taxes and the overall economic climate. Sudanese farmers often complain about the high costs of imported materials such as fertilizers. Many of them were sent to jail as their debt piled up. Several ambitious plans enacted to bring life to the sector have failed to materialize and critics say the government forfeited a golden opportunity during the oil boom to boost agriculture. Foreign investors also complain about lack of infrastructure and unfriendly laws which they say deters them from putting money in Sudan’s vast farmlands. (ST) Continue reading
