Rice, an important food crop in the world, feeds more than half of the world's population. Africa has a long history of planting rice, but it has been suffering from a low yield, with key bottlenecks, such as a shortage of new rice varieties and planting expertise.

To solve the problem, China has sent rice scientists to the tropical continent, hoping to bring new prospects to China-Africa cooperation in agriculture and poverty alleviation.

Chinese hybrid rice expert Hu Yuefang arrived in Madagascar in 2008 and has been devoted to studying localized hybrid rice varieties and helping the local people increase their rice yields.

The 65-year-old is still working at the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center's Africa sub-center in Madagascan town Mahitsy, about 8,500 kilometers away from his hometown of Yiyang in central China's Hunan Province.

With an area of about 600,000 square kilometers, the African island experiences four kinds of climate, featuring four types of terrains: tropical rainforest, tropical savanna, tropical plateau and a semi-arid zone. Hu and his team have traveled to almost every rice-growing area on the island to find the best-adapted varieties.

In 2010, Hu and his team selected three hybrid rice varieties capable of achieving high yields in areas with different altitudes, which received technical validation from Madagascar's Ministry of Agriculture.

"The yield per hectare of these three hybrid rice varieties is three to four times higher than that of traditional Malagasy rice," said Hu.

Madagascar has been cooperating with China in developing hybrid rice since 2007. Currently, the cumulative area of Chinese hybrid rice cultivation in the country has exceeded 50,000 hectares, with an average yield of around 7.5 tonnes per hectare.

In Africa, Madagascar has the largest area of hybrid rice cultivation and the highest yield, and it is also the first African country to realize the whole industrial chain of hybrid rice breeding, seed production, planting, processing and sales.

In Madagascar, the pattern of Chinese hybrid rice is printed on its 20,000 ariary banknote, the largest denomination in the country. It shows the gratitude of the country's government and people who have taken a major step toward food self-sufficiency by planting hybrid rice.

Talent training

Heading to the "heart of Africa," Burundi faced a similar rice cultivation challenge though the East African country boasts favorable conditions for rice production. Farming is the main industry of the landlocked country, making rice an important ingredient in a typical Burundian meal.

Since 2009, China has sent 45 senior experts in five batches under bilateral technical cooperation programs to cultivate new rice varieties in Burundi. The Chinese experts selected and introduced eight rice seed varieties suitable to the local environment. Now, poor yields or the threat of total crop failure caused by rice plague in mountainous areas has become a thing of the past.

Yang Huade, chief of the Chinese team of farming experts at the Gihanga research center, received the good harvest award the, "Cup of the Ambassador of China to Burundi 2022," from the Burundian President last May.

Yang said the hybrid rice yield currently ranges between nine and 10 tonnes per hectare, more than triple that of 2015 when he arrived in Burundi.

According to Yang, some 49 students trained by the research center supervise over 1,500 farmers who received training in rice growing as well.

He added that the research center also trained agronomists for the Burundian environment, agriculture and livestock ministry.

New opportunities ahead

In recent years, Chinese cooperation in rice cultivation has been rolled out in more African countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, and Mozambique. The crop has become a token of friendship and cooperation between China and Africa.

Cultivated rice is mainly planted in sub-Saharan Africa, where it helps fight famine in the region.

One in five Africans, about 278 million people, were facing hunger in 2021, according to data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It says the situation has worsened due to climate change, regional conflicts and the fluctuating international food market.

In Africa, a significant portion of the population still relies on agriculture for a living. As a global leader in hybrid rice research, China is making positive contributions to Africa's agricultural development. As the cooperation between China and Africa goes deeper, both sides are exploring new areas for trade.

The third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held from Thursday to Sunday in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, on the theme of "common development for a shared future."

Fifty African countries and eight international organizations have signed up for the expo. More than 300 African companies will participate. It is expected that new cooperation agreements will be reached during the event, injecting new vitality into China-Africa cooperation.