A Gambian farmer visiting China has hailed the assistance provided by Chinese agricultural experts in helping to modernize farming practices in his country, boosting incomes and employment.
The fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) was held from June 13 to 15 in central China's Hunan Province. As a witness to the longstanding agricultural cooperation between China and Africa, Gambian farmer Musa Dabo visited Changsha City to attend the event, hoping to learn more about Chinese agricultural technology and modernization practices.
China-Africa agricultural cooperation continues to deepen, and a number of Chinese agricultural aid projects have taken root and advanced across Africa.
In Gambia, Chinese agricultural experts introduced specialized equipment such as rice transplanters and harvesters, while providing comprehensive technical guidance covering every stage of rice cultivation—from seed selection, seedling cultivation, and transplanting to harvesting.
Over the past five years, Chinese hybrid rice has taken root and flourished in Gambia.
Dabo's farm, in particular, has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving into the country's first fully mechanized farm. His rice cultivation area has expanded from just three hectares to over 100 hectares, turning previous losses into steady profits.
"Before their intervention, there were no machineries. I didn't understand the technology well. But they came in, helped me, they were right with me inside the mud, trained me on the new technologies and helped me to get the new machines. And now because of that, I can say me and a lot more Gambians are doing rice production," said Dabo.
According to the Chinese organizers of the program, the success story in the West African country is six years in the making.
"We had initially dispatched five experts to Gambia in 2019. The second phase of the project began in 2022, and we now have a total of seven experts providing technical assistance in hybrid rice and vegetable farming. Witnessing the advantages of Chinese agricultural technology firsthand, Dabo has actively engaged with our team, frequently exchanging knowledge on hybrid rice cultivation techniques," said Weng Yong, vice dean of the Longping High-Tech International Training Academy.
Doba said that the assistance has had a significant impact on youth employment in Gambia. Over the past two years, Doba has recruited numerous university graduates from local schools. Their ambitious goal is to attract 10,000 young people to join the agricultural sector.
As he continues to promote the farm equipment services in Gambia, Doba's team now provides mechanized services for over 2,000 hectares of farmland for neighboring farmers.
During peak seasons, these farmers are flooded with more orders than they can handle. Thanks to mechanized farming, however, they no longer have to endure backbreaking manual labor, and their incomes have significantly increased.
"There has been a very significant change because, one, their hard work has now reduced, and number two, I would say probably a 30 to 40 percent increase in the income," said Dabo.
During his visit to Changsha, Dabo also paid tribute to Yuan Longping, the globally renowned Chinese agronomist known for developing the first hybrid rice strains. He solemnly placed a bag of rice and an oil painting from his farm at the tomb of the academician.
This bag of rice carried profound significance - it was harvested from Gambian soil where Yuan's team had personally guided Dabo through every step of cultivation.
Gambian farmer witnesses life-changing agricultural cooperation between China, Africa
Gambian farmer witnesses life-changing agricultural cooperation between China, Africa
