By+ZHANG+GAIPING

THE fluttering red， five-starred Chinese national flag guided us to the China-aided Agrotechnology Demonstration Center in Sémé， 20 or more km east of Cotonou， Benins largest city. It stands within a gray-tiled， white-walled Chinese garden-style compound.

“Over the past several years， groups of Chinese agricultural experts and management staff have come to Benin to cooperate with locals in crop cultivation and breeding， animal husbandry and poultry， so speeding up Benins agricultural development and contributing to the countrys poverty reduction drive，” general manager of the center Huang Jianping said.

Africas First China-aided Agrotechnology Demonstration Center

The center， the first China has established in Africa， opened in September 2010. The following October， China National Agricultural Development Group Co.， Ltd. （CNADC） took over its operations and began to send groups of agricultural experts and administrative staff there. Over the last four years， the center has fulfilled its demonstration function by promoting and popularizing modern agricultural cultivation and animal husbandry technologies.

Benin， located in the coastal region of West Africa around the Gulf of Guinea， is one of the worlds least developed countries. Although basically self-sufficient in food supply， its agriculture and animal husbandry lag far behind world standards， so necessitating animal product imports.

Huang explained that， based on Benins special conditions and local farming seasons， the center has given agrotechnology training and carried out experiments and demonstrations. Maize is one of the local staple crops， but yields are meager and of poor quality. Chinese experts now instruct local farmers in high-yield hybrid maize cultivation techniques. Benins domestic livestock and poultry industry is mainly free range. As this does not meet local demands， the country needs to import from Europe and neighboring countries. However， the Chinese agricultural center has introduced fine varieties of livestock from France and China and carried out demonstrations with laying hens and hog breeding experiments. As local farmerscultivation of cassava， another of Benins staple crops， does not extend beyond planting and harvesting. The centers Chinese agrotechnicians visit local farmers to show them cassava cultivation and pest control techniques.

Welcomed by Local Farmersendprint

Huang showed us around the centers 54-ha. agricultural cultivation display and teaching area which， he told the reporter， formerly consisted of desertified soil. To make it arable the center brought in and mixed with it fertile soil， and also installed a sprinkling irrigation system. A dozen selected vegetables from China and Benin have since been planted there. They include beans， cucumber， chili， wax gourd， eggplant， Chinese cabbage， radish， and water spinach. The center has experimentally planted 10 varieties of maize from China and eight from Benin. It has also sponsored 21 training sessions involving 1，300 local farmers， 50 percent more than specified in the bilateral cooperation agreement. Local farmers have now basically mastered fundamental agricultural techniques.

“We carried out eight training sessions in local farmers maize fields rather than at the center. Our agrotechnicians showed farmers the main steps of maize cultivation， namely soil preparation， sowing， thinning out young plants， topdressing， watering， and chemical spraying， in order to achieve high yields，” Huang said， adding， “Local farmers have welcomed and praised this on-the-spot teaching， and have sent us bananas， mangos and chickens to show their gratitude.”

A local farmer told the reporter， “As in the past we knew nothing about agrotechnology we couldnt figure out why high corn stalks didnt bear grain， and why there were no kernels after months of cultivation. Since planting seeds from China and using Chinese methods， all the maize yields in our village have increased. The China-aided agrotechnical demonstration center has brought us a better life.”

Benins President Boni Yayi and local officials have also expressed full affirmation and praise for the China-Benin cooperation project. In his speech at the centers completion ceremony President Boni Yayi commended China for establishing the demonstration center in Benin. He said that it would benefit local farmers by helping them master modern cultivation techniques and so improve grain output. Benins Minister of Agriculture， Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Issa Azizou has since paid multiple visits to the center. He acknowledges its role in promoting local agricultural development and improving local farmersincome， guaranteeing food security， and achieving sustainable development of food production.

Independent Management– A New Cooperation Stage

The agricultural demonstration center in Benin has now entered a new cooperation stage of independent management. It entails commercial operations to achieve sustainable development that take into account economic gains as well as their social function.endprint

The center has undertaken a succession of commercial projects， including breeding chicken and pig farming. It plans to promote poultry farming whereby local farmers can rear broiler chickens and laying hens， and provide the necessary vaccines and technical services. There are also moves afoot to start feed processing and encourage local farmers cultivation of forage corn. A breeding chicken incubation plant， with an investment of RMB 2 million， is now under construction.

With regard to the centers future development in Benin， Huang spoke of the centers proposed expansion to the countrys northern regions. It will this year extend to Bohicon， and provide training in planting maize， cotton， and cassava seedlings， as well as pest control and dealing with plant disease. The center will also provide instruction in the processing of agriculture products， so increasing the added value of local farmers primary products and hence their income.

The introduction of agricultural machinery to Benin is another main item on the centers agenda， according to Huang， a move that will open the local market to Chinese agricultural machinery manufacturers. Technological demonstrations at the center will boost development of Benins related agro industry， and at the same time promote Chinas cultivation techniques and agrotechnical mechanization.

China has over the past several decades been committed to improving the agricultural production capacity of other developing countries. It has established agricultural demonstration centers and dispatched experts to provide consultations， carry out technical cooperation， and offer agrotechnology and management trainings. As at the end of 2012， China had helped developing countries establish 270 agricultural programs and dispatched thousands of Chinese agrotechnicians and experts to promote agricultural development in these countries. Significant results have been achieved.endprint