Central Chinese province Hunan to play big role in helping boost African farming and industrial gains

China's central Hunan province is moving to invest millions of dollars to boost agricultural and industrial modernisation in Africa.

Chinese companies, mostly from Hunan, will build industrial estates, train more people in Africa and supply agricultural machinery and quality seeds to improve Africa's food production, part of which will be exported to China, according to a plan revealed at the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Africa (Kenya) 2024 in the capital Nairobi on Friday.

It is the first time the expo has been held outside its permanent base in Hunan.

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Hunan vice-governor Cao Zhiqiang led a delegation of provincial government officials and representatives of hundreds of companies - including construction and agriculture equipment makers Sany Heavy Industry and Zoomlion, and Hunan-based rice growing and research company Yuan Longping Agricultural High-Tech.

Yuan Longping's namesake was an agronomist who pioneered hybrid rice technology that has since been used in dozens of African countries, including Madagascar and Burundi, to improve rice yields.

Dozens of cooperation deals worth US$295 million were signed at the trade show, including projects relating to a Kenya-China economic and trade incubator park and a Kenyan agricultural products warehouse as well as a Tanzanian sunflower oil processing plant.

Li Hui, director of the external exchange and cooperation department Hunan's agriculture and rural affairs department, said that because of its centuries of expertise, the province was well positioned to help Africa ramp up food production.

"Hunan will work hand in hand with African countries to further increase cooperation in the agricultural field, deepen practical cooperation in agriculture, and achieve win-win development," Li said at a side event focused on cooperating in agricultural development.

Further, Hunan's rice output, pigs, rapeseed, vegetables, tea, freshwater products, citrus and Chinese medicinal materials rank among the top in China, "providing a wealth of high-quality agricultural products for domestic and foreign markets", according to Li.

She said Hunan was approved by China's State Council, the country's cabinet, as a pilot zone for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, which would make Hunan important "for China-Africa cooperation in inland areas".

According to observers, China chose Hunan to be a new frontier for China-Africa trade, partly because many of China's competitive industries are based there - such as major agritech, manufacturing equipment and construction industry companies.

And many of these companies have a presence in, and long-running strategy for, African markets, which Lauren Johnston, associate professor at the University of Sydney's China Studies Centre, called the "Hunan model".

She said the Hunan model specifically focused on agriculture, heavy industry equipment and transport - such as electric cars and trains - areas in which the province was a leader within China and growth industries in many African countries.

"The Hunan model sought to support more efficient trade. New trade passageways by rail, river, air and ocean are being forged to better connect Hunan with African countries, especially trade hubs," Johnston said last year.

Furthermore, the model is Beijing's strategy to help landlocked provinces such as Hunan develop economically. Compared to coastal powerhouse regions such as Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Hunan has historically had few international trade links.

A coffee exhibitor shows coffee products during the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Nairobi on May 9. The event in Kenya attracted a high-level delegation from Hunan province. Photo: Xinhua alt=A coffee exhibitor shows coffee products during the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Nairobi on May 9. The event in Kenya attracted a high-level delegation from Hunan province. Photo: Xinhua>

Li said Hunan had "strong agricultural scientific research strength and leads the industry" and added that Hunan was where the father of hybrid rice, Yuan Longping, and 10 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering were born.

Hunan had undertaken agricultural cooperation projects between China and Africa, held 177 China-Africa agricultural technology training sessions and trained nearly 10,000 technical workers from 50 African countries, Li said.

At the same time, she said Hunan promoted the successful trial planting of hybrid rice in 17 African countries, including Kenya, and had achieved commercial production, helping African countries improve their own ability to independently guarantee food security on the continent.

In the industrial chain, there are 33 agricultural products trading partners between Hunan and Africa, and the trade volume continues to grow.

Li and other leaders witnessed the signing of another set of deals with a contract value of US$43.24 million, mostly in agriculture, including a deal to buy avocados from Kenya. Zoomlion and Egerton University in Kenya signed a deal to create agricultural mechanisation courses to help increase the number of skilled workers in the continent.

Sun Changjun, Zoomlion vice-president and general counsel, said Africa had a lot of potential as a market for its agricultural machinery and construction equipment. He said about 10 per cent of Africa's farms used tractors that were mostly imported from outside the continent.

Sun said Zoomlion had sold thousands of tractors in Africa since it established its operations there in 2011, with branches across the continent.

Chinese companies from Hunan also signed deals that would see the import of tea and flowers from Kenya and sesame seeds from Nigeria.

China has recently positioned agriculture as a key area of cooperation with Africa, which will help Beijing diversify its food sources and boost imports from the continent.

On the sidelines of the Brics summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled plans to build more manufacturing plants in Africa, ramp up food production and equip thousands of Africans with vocational skills as part of supporting the continent's agricultural modernisation.

The China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo was unveiled in 2018 during the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, where Xi announced the creation of the expo and its permanent home in Hunan.

The Nairobi event is part of the "Into Africa Series" for the first time and is "an important measure to promote the in-depth development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation", according to Li.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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