China-Nigeria Ties: Chinese-bred rice seeds to ease grain shortage in Nigeria

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02:16

As Africa's most populous country, Nigeria is reported to consume nearly 6 million tons of rice per year, and half of that is imported. Chinese agriculture experts in Nigeria are trying to make a difference. CGTN's He Weiwei has more.

The dry season is coming to an end in Abuja - the capital of Nigeria. It's now time for the rice harvest. The man doing much of the local planting is not a farmer, but a Chinese agriculture expert, professor Xu Yuanfang. He's been working in Nigeria for nearly 15 years, on cultivating better homegrown seeds.

HE WEIWEI ABUJA, NIGERIA "Rice is one of Nigeria's major crops, but rice shortages have plagued the country for years. Chinese agricultural experts have managed to cultivate a new type of rice that guarantees more productivity."

The rice is named "GAWAL", after Prof. Xu's company. Experts say its productivity is at least 20% higher than ordinary rice grown in Nigeria.

XU YUANFANG, AGRICULTURE RESEARCHER GREEN AGRICULTURE WEST AFRICA LTD. (GAWAL) "We started our experiment in 2008. We selected over 500 types of seeds, and after 9 years of cultivation, we finally bred this new type and registered it in the country's National Agricultural Seed Council.

The rice on these fields is not for food. It will be sent to a "seed factory" to breed more seeds of the same kind, which can be mostly sold to Nigerian farmers.

OJO PHILIP OLUSEGUN, DIRECTOR GENERAL NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SEEDS COUNCIL IN NIGERIA "GAWAL is doing it right. Therefore we're ready to continue to support GAWAL to ensure that farmers are provided with good quality seeds."

Nigeria is implementing a three-year Economic Growth and Recovery Plan which will finish in 2020. Agriculture and food security are the plan's top priorities. HWW, CGTN, Abuja, in Nigeria.