(2009-06-09) Chinese interest in African agricultural resources is growing, paving the way for a "green revolution" on the Continent, and Angola and Mozambique are among the chosen few, according to researcher Loro Horta.
“While China may be motivated principally by the need to respond to the growing demand for food in its country, the modernization of the African agricultural sector should also benefit the continent's population," said the researcher in the recent article "Food Security in Africa: China’s New Rice Bowl.”
“Considerable attention has been paid to Chinese interests in oil and other African mineral resources, yet it is perhaps in agriculture and food processing that China will have the most significant impact on the future of the continent,” the academic has said, son of the current president of Timor, Ramos Horta.
At the heart of the Chinese strategy are southern African countries such as Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and, “increasingly” Angola, though Guinea Bissau is also included.
He recalls that in 2008, the Chinese government pledged a US$800 million investment for modernization of the Mozambican agricultural sector.
The plan aims to increase rice production five-fold, from the current 100,000 tons to 500,000, through the boosting of crop research centres and agricultural colleges throughout the country, with close to 100 Chinese experts already working in Mozambique, including some from the renowned Hunan Hybrid Rice Institute.
The construction of canal and irrigation networks is also planned, including a large-scale project connecting Lake Malawi, the continent's second largest, in the neighbouring country, with the rivers and dams of Mozambique.
“In the last two years, the demand for new land has led Beijing to compete aggressively for large land leases in Mozambique, particularly in the most fertile areas, such as in the Zambezi (north) and Limpopo (south) valleys,” he said.
In June 2007, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for around 3,000 Chinese farmers to settle in the provinces of Tete and Zambezi, with the aim of establishing cattle and arable farms throughout the valley.
As for Angola, China’s biggest trade partner in Africa, with its population of 16 million over an area of over 1.24 million square kilometres, it “offers China great opportunities,” says Horta.
These include meat production, but also luxury foodstuffs currently popular in China such as coffee, spices and tropical fruits.
“Chinese agricultural investments were initially concentrated on southern Africa, but they are gradually spreading to other parts of the continent, such as Guinea Bissau in western Africa, where China has recently set up a number of hybrid rice experimentation farms,” says Horta.
Horta adds that at the start of 2007, Chinese businessmen pledged investment of US$60 million in Guinea Bissau’s cashew nut industry, one of the continent’s biggest exporters of cashews.
For the Timorese researcher, Chinese involvement in the agricultural domain could be the basis for a “green revolution on the continent,” providing “the opportunity of a better future to millions of Africans.”
However, he warns that disregard for the environment in carrying out agricultural activities could lead to an exhaustion of resources, if the necessary precautions are not taken.
Educated at the PLA National Defence University (China), Loro Horta has lived for many years in Mozambique, and currently works for several research institutes worldwide.
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(2009-06-09) Chinese interest in African agricultural resources is growing, paving the way for a "green revolution" on the Continent, and Angola and Mozambique are among the chosen few, according to researcher Loro Horta.
