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人人書 > 雜誌 > Farming Empowerment

Farming Empowerment

時間:2024-10-26 09:27:05

ChineseagriculturalskillshelpenfranchiseZimbabweanfarmers

ByLiuJian

ChinesehorticultureexpertZhouChenggiveslocalfarmersadviceongrowingvegetablesChineseveterinaryexpertLiuHuawasshockedwhenheheardthatadevastatingdiseasehadwipedoutthousandsofZimbabwe’spigpopulation.AfterarrivinginthecountryattheendofOctober2015totakeupapostwiththeZimbabweCentralVeterinaryLaboratory(CVL),LiugottogetherwithhisZimbabweancolleaguestoseewhatcouldbedonetoremedythesituationthathadstruckinMaythatyear.

Africanswinefever(ASF),ahighlycontagioushemorrhagicdiseaseaffectingpigs,sweptacrossfarmsintheMountDarwinareainMashonalandCentralProvinceinnorthZimbabwe.Theoutbreaklastedforalmostsixmonthsandspreadtoninevillagesintheregion.Whenthedusthadsettled,thedeadlydiseasehadinfectedmorethan30,600pigs,killing4,500,andresultinginsignificanteconomiclossforlocalpigfarmers.

Whilemeasuresweretakenonthefarmstostemtheoutbreak,thelackoffundingandinadequatepigbloodsamplingtechniquesmeantathoroughepidemiologicalinvestigationoftheASFoutbreakcouldnotbeconductedintheregion.

Afterconsiderableeffort,inMay,Liuwasabletosecurearound$2,000fundingfromtheChineseagriculturalexpertteaminZimbabwe,whichLiuispartof,andre-launchtheinvestigationproject.

Inordertobebetterpreparedforsuchanoutbreakinthefuture,LiuworkedtogetherwithotherChineseandZimbabweancolleaguestotrainlocalvetsonthebasictechniquesofepidemiologicalinvestigation.Thisincludedhowtotake,storeandtransportpigs’bloodsamples,anduserelevantmobilephoneapplicationstofacilitatetheirwork.

“TheChinesespecialistsexcelatlaboratorywork;theyarealsoverygoodatfieldbloodsamplingandepidemicalinvestigation,”saidReverendMoregoodSpargo,aZimbabweanepidemiologistinchargeoftheASFepidemiologicalinvestigationatthelab.“FutureASFfieldepidemiologicalinvestigationswillbecomeeasierafterourlocalvetshavemasteredtheirbloodsamplingmethods.”

Chineseexpertise

ThisisjustoneofthemanyachievementsLiuhasmadeduringhistimeinZimbabwe.

BeforecomingtoZimbabwe,the34-year-oldspentnineyearsatAnhuiProvincialCenterforAnimalDiseaseControlandPreventionincentralChina.

Liu’steamconsistsofnineotherexpertsexpertisedinveterinarysciences,fishfarming,livestockrearing,horticulture,cropsplantingandfarmmachinery.

ApartfromtheChineseexpertiseandtechnologies,theteamhasalsobroughtalongnewmachines,laboratoryequipment,veterinarymedicinesandchemicalsworthover$130,000,withthesupportoftheChineseGovernment.TheChina-Zimbabweagriculturalcooperationproject,inwhichLiuisaparticipant,beganin2009.Sincethen,35Chineseagriculturalexpertshavesharedmodernagriculturepracticeswithlocalfarmers.LiuandhiscolleaguesarethefourthbatchofexpertsworkinginZimbabweinthe2015-17period.

ApartfromZimbabwe,ChinahasmadeproactiveeffortstohelpmanyotherAfricancountriesimprovetheiragriculturalproductivity.Since2006,China’sMinistryofAgriculturehassentover200memberstomorethan30Africancountriestotrainlocaltechniciansandprovideconsultingservices.

Agriculturalmodernizationisamongthetopprioritiesofthe10majorChina-Africacooperationplansfor2016-18.ChinaplanstocontinuesendingteamsofagriculturalexpertstoprovidevocationaleducationinAfrica,inadditiontoincreasingthenumberofAfricanpersonneltrainedinChina,accordingtotheForumonChina-AfricaCooperationJohannesburgActionPlanannouncedlastDecember.

Teachingeffectively

WhileworkingatCVLinZimbabwe,Liunotedthatapartfromdailywork,expertshavetoteachcollegeinternsmakingexperiments,whichcanbetimeconsuming.Hedecidedtousetechnologytospeeduptheprocess.

“Ifweshootademonstrationvideoontheexperiment,thoseinternscanwatchandlearnthebasictechniques,andtheycanwatchitrepeatedlywhentheyfailtorememberorunderstand,”saidLiu.

InMay,Liushotonedemonstrationvideoonavianinfluenzavirusantibodytest,whichhasbeenwellreceived.ChineseveterinaryexpertLiuHuademonstrateshowtodotheavianinfluenzavirusantibodytest

ChineseveterinaryexpertLiDongshengdemonstrateshowtousethemilkanalyzer“ThismaybethefirstdemonstrationvideoaboutveterinarylaboratoryexperimentinZimbabwe,”saidTshabalalaPriscilla,atechnologistoftheVirologySectionattheCVL.

“ThereusedtobemanyexpertslikeLiuwhotaughtushowtodoexperiments,butnooneshotavideoforusbefore,”saidtechnicianMusasaChiedzoPaulin.“Heisoutstanding.”

Withlimitedresourcesfortraining,videocansavetimeandmoney.“Universityteacherscanalsousevideotodemonstratetostudentshowtodotheexperiment,andthiswillbenefitmorepeople,”Liuadded.

Cooperationprospects

Whilesharingagriculturalknowledgeandtechnologies,theChineseexpertshavealsodonealotofresearchworkontheproblemshamperingZimbabwe’sagriculturaldevelopment,andcontributedtheirideasofsolution.

LiDongsheng,a57-year-oldlivestockexpertandtheleaderoftheChineseexpertteamtoZimbabwe,worksintheLivestockProductionandDevelopmentDivisionunderMinistryofAgriculture,MechanizationandIrrigationDevelopment(MAMID).HebelievestheanimalhusbandryindustryinZimbabwehasgreatpotential.

“Forexample,thecountryneedsabout120millionlitersofmilkayeartomeetdemands,butlastyear’smilkyieldwasonly57millionliters,”hesaid.

Lisaidlocaldairyfarmersmilkbyhand,whichistime-consumingandinefficient.Accordingtohim,theefficiencycanbeincreaseduptoeight-foldiftheystartusingmobilemilkingmachines.Liusaidthe10milkingmachinesdonatedbyChinawillplayamajorroleinthisregard.

The47-year-oldhorticultureexpertZhouChengworksatthePlantProtectionResearchInstituteunderMAMID.Heexplainsthatinrecentyears,Zimbabwehasseenmoreseverecropproblemsduetodroughtandclimatechange.

“IfChinacanhelpZimbabwebetterdevelopitswaterconservancyandirrigationprojects,theagriculturesectorwillhavebiggerpotential,”hetoldChinAfrica.

Horticulturehashighirrigationneeds,butmostofthesmallfamilyfarmsinZimbabwelacktheirrigationequipment,technologyandmanagementexpertise,explainsZhou.Theunstablepowersupplyintheregionisalsohamperingthedevelopmentofanadequateirrigationsystem.

“IsuggestZimbabwemakeuseofitsrichsolarenergyanddevelopasolar-poweredirrigationsystem,”Zhousaid,addingthatChina’swater-savingirrigationequipmentandtechnologycanalsohelpinthisarea.CA

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