“MyteachertoldmethatEthiopiaisthe‘RoofofAfrica,’withamoderatetemperature,abundantrainfallandahumidclimate.Ethiopiaisthe‘watertower’ofthecontinent,withitscountlesslakes,”hesaid.
BorninnorthChina’sHebeiProvince,Liisnow47yearsoldandachiefagronomist.In2012,heappliedtotakepartinaChina-Ethiopiaagriculturalcooperationproject,andwasfinallyabletosetfootinthecountryhehadsooftendreamedofinhisyouth.
Sixyearslater,heisstillinEthiopia,whereheworkstospreadnewcorncultivationtechniquesatAgarfaAgriculturalTechnicalVocationalEducationandTraining(ATVET)College.Havinghadspentfouryearsinthecountryfrom2012to2014andfrom2016to2018,Lihasobservedthatdespitetherichnaturalresources,localagricultureremainsunderdevelopedinthecountry.
“Asanagriculturaltechnician,IhavetheresponsibilitytodowhatIcantoservethecountry,”LitoldChinAfrica.
Actingasachangeagent
CornisastapleinAfrica.InEthiopia,however,cornfarmingisfacingaweather-relatedchallenge:Thecountryhastworainyseasonseachyear,fromApriltoMaywith200-300mmofrainfallandfromJulytoSeptemberwith600-700mmofrainfall.Traditionally,cornisgrowninJulyandharvestedinOctober,becausetherainfallfromApriltoMayisinsufficienttogerminatethiscrop.It,therefore,liesdormantinthefirsthalfoftheyear.
Tosolvethisproblemandincreasecornyields,ListudiedthemethodsusedinthedryprovincesofwestChina.AftersolicitingadvicefromMohamedYesuf,DirectoroftheMelkassaAgriculturalResearchCenterofEthiopia,andLealemTilahun,whoheadsupcornresearchatthecenter,Liputforwardtheideaofcoveringcornfieldswithgeomembranes,thuspreservingrainwaterandensuringthattheplantshavesufficientmoisture.
Usingthistechnique,itisnowpossibletogrowcorninFebruaryandharvestinJune,yielding50,000earsofcornperhectare,withavaluethatcanreachupto300,000birr($11,000).Meanwhile,cornyieldsforseedplantscanonlyfetch30,000to50,000birr($1,100to$1,800).Moreover,withthistechnique,itisnowpossibletoharvesttwiceayear,whichgreatlyincreasedtheincomeoffarmers.
LiGuofengindiscussionwithhisstudentsinthefield
LiGuofengdemonstratestheuseofgeomembranes
LiGuofengandhisstudentsassesscornproductionInApril2017,AkeleMollale,VicePresidentofAgarfaATVETCollege,visitedthedemonstrationareaandwasamazedbytheresults.“Thislow-costChinesetechniquetosavewateroffershugeopportunitiesinthedryregionsofEthiopia,”hesaid,askingChineseexpertstopopularizeitfirstinthesurroundingcommunities.Thisyear,thetechniquecontinuestobetestedonotherplants,suchassweetcorn,waxycornandChinesemillet.
TelilaBekeleisamongthemoststudiousofLi’sstudents.Helivesinasmallvillagemorethan200kmfromthecollege.Hisfamilyofsevenliveswithinmodestmeans,astheironlyincomedependsonhisfather’sworkinthefieldsandhisbrothersherdingcattle.Toimprovetheirlivelihood,Ligavethefamilyseeds,geomembranesandfertilizer,inadditiontotraininghisfathertogrowcornusinggeomembranesoveranareaof1,500squaremeters.Eventhoughpartofthecornfieldwasdestroyedbywildanimals,theystillmanagedtosellmorethan40,000birr($1,500)ofcornlastyear.Telila’sfathernowplanstobuyatelevisionthisyearandamotorcyclethefollowingyear.
“Teachingthemhowtouseapracticalandeffectivetechniqueismuchbetterthangivingthemmoneyandfooddirectly.Thatis,itisbettertoteachpeoplehowtofishthantogivethemfish,”saidLi.
Earningtrust
DuringhisfirstterminEthiopiafrom2012to2014,Liwasfacingathornyproblem:mealybugs,soft-bodiedpestswhichfeastoncottonplants,wereeverywhere.Becauseofthisparasite,Ethiopia’scottonfieldswerereducedby60,000hectaresin2013.InChina,mealybugshaveonlybeenfoundinpartsofsouthChina’sGuangdongProvince,butnoeffectivecountermeasureswereavailabletodealwiththem.Afterconductingresearchincottonproductionareas,Lihadanideatotacklethisscourge.
Lipresentedaproposaltowell-knownEthiopiancottonexpertMiessoHembaattheWererAgriculturalStudiesCenteronhowtoaddressthemealybugscourge.HembaexperimentedwithLi’splanandthetests’resultsexceededtheirexpectations.LiwassubsequentlyinvitedtotakepartinaseminaronthistopicheldinAddisAbabaonJune7,2013,organizedbytheUNFoodandAgricultureOrganization(UNFAO).
“UNFAOinvitedmetosubmitanacademicreport,whichshowsthattheytrustinChineseexpertsandconfirmtheimageofChinaasagreatresponsiblecountry.Itwastheexperiencethatimpressedmethemost,”saidLi.
“InfrastructureconditionsarerelativelypoorinEthiopia.Forexample,electricityandwatersuppliesaswellasaccesstoInternetareunstable.Furthermore,Ethiopiansspeakmanydifferentlanguages,whichisabigobstaclewhenprovidingtechnicaltraining.However,ourEthiopianfriendstrustedusandhelpedusovercomeallthesedifficulties,”saidLi.
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