AgriculturaleducationsowscamaraderiebetweenChinaandEthiopiaByZhengYang
Thisyear,wehavesixChineseinstructorsinourcollege.Theyhavebeenperformingverywell,especiallyinpracticaldemonstrations.Theybringnewtechnologiesandpromotethemnotonlyamongthestudentsbutalsointheneighboringcommunitiesandtrainfarmerstoo.
TamiratTesemaSenbeta,DeanoftheAgarfaAgriculturalTechnicalVocationalandEducationalTrainingCollege,Ethiopia
TamiratTesemaSenbeta,DeanoftheAgarfaAgriculturalTechnicalVocationalandEducationalTraining(ATVET)CollegeinEthiopia,hasseenmanyChineseinstructorscometohiscollegeondeputation,bringingwiththemadvancedagriculturaltechnologyandteachingmethods.
ButthisApril,SenbetawasofferedanopportunitytoseeforhimselfhowtheChineseworkintheirowncountry.
TogetherwithninemoreEthiopianATVETdeansandstateagriculturalofficers,SenbetawasinvitedtoattendatrainingprogramorganizedbytheChineseMinistryofAgriculture.Duringthe12-dayprogram,thevisitorslearnedaboutChineseeducationtheoryandtraveledtoBeijing,theGuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegioninsouthChina,andHunanProvinceintheneighborhoodtolearnaboutChinesecurriculumdesignandcollegemanagement.
“Theprogramdeepenedourinsightsandwillimproveefficienciesinourcolleges,”saidSenbeta,whoalsovisitedseveralagriculturaldemonstrationcenters.
Sofar,70EthiopiandeanshaveattendedsimilartrainingprogramsinChina.HavingthemvisitChinainadditiontosendingChineseteacherstoEthiopiacouldgiveEthiopiaaclearerpictureoftheagriculturaldevelopmentinChinaandtheChinesevocationaleducationsystem,saidWangKaiyuan,oneoftheorganizersfromtheMinistryofAgriculture.
“WehopetheywilltakebacktoEthiopiatheirChineseexperienceandfriendshipaswell,”sheadded.
Buildingunderstanding
InSeptember2015,XuHongzhai,ateacherattheHunanAgriculturalUniversity,receivedaletterfromafar.
“I’msoproudofbeingoneofyourstudents,”thelettersaid.“You’vereturnedtoChina,buttheseedsandtechnologyyoubroughtwillstayinEthiopiaforever.”
ItwasfromanEthiopianstudent.Asanexpertinagriculturalengineering,XuarrivedintheAlageATVETCollegein2013,wheresheservedfortwoyearstogetherwithaChineseteachingteam.Shedesignedamodernagriculturedemonstrationcenterandpromotedwater-savingirrigation,whichmanagedtosaveonethirdofthewaterthatwasbeingusedearlier.
TheagriculturaleducationalpersonnelexchangesbetweenChinaandEthiopiadatebackto2000whenthenEthiopianPrimeMinisterMelesZenawirequestedtheChineseGovernmenttosendagriculturalexpertstoEthiopianvocationalschools.
Thetwocountriessignedanagreementin2001,followingwhichthefirstbatchof10ChineseteachersstartedoutforEthiopia.
Sincethen,thepast15yearshavewitnessed405ChineseteacherslikeXugotoEthiopia,providingguidanceandtrainingtoaround2,100Ethiopianteachers,13,000agriculturaltechniciansand39,000students.Theyhaveintroducedover70advancedagriculturaltechnologies.
InthetechnologicalcooperationbetweenChinaandEthiopia,vocationaleducationplaysauniquerole,saidYeAnping,DirectoroftheDepartmentofInternationalCooperationattheMinistryofAgriculture.
“Asteachers,theywieldgreaterinfluencebecausestudentshaveunlimitedpotential,”Yesaid.
Hebelievesthateducationalpersonnelexchangescanpromoteculturalcommunicationaswell,sincetheteachers-bothEthiopianandChinese-willsharewhattheysawandexperiencedwithmorestudents,whichwillpromotefurtherunderstandingofoneanother’scountriesandmethods.
“Understandingisthebasisoftrust,andtrustisthefoundationforcooperation,”Yesaid.
Avaluablereference
Once,Chinausedtofaceahugechallengeinagriculture.AccordingtoMinistryofAgriculturestatistics,China’swaterresourcesarelessthanonethirdoftheworldaverage.Ithastofeed20percentoftheworld’spopulationwhilehavinglessthan9percentofthearablelandintheworld.
“NocountryintheworldcanhelpChinafeeditspeople,”Yesaid.“Chinahasonlyitselftorelyon,soagriculturaldevelopmenthasbeenamongthetopprioritiesofthegovernment.”
Thedrivingforceforagriculturaldevelopmenthasbeentechnology,Yesaid.Fourdecadesago,technologycontributedaround16percenttoChina’sagriculturalgrowth;lastyear,therateroseto57percent.
SenbetabelievestheChineseexperiencewouldbeanimportantreferenceforEthiopiawhereabout80percentofthepopulationliveonagricultureandagriculturecontributes43percenttothecountry’sGDPgrowth.
“Thisyear,wehavesixChineseinstructorsinourcollege.Theyhavebeenperformingverywell,especiallyinpracticaldemonstrations,”hesaid.“Theybringnewtechnologiesandpromotethemnotonlyamongthestudentsbutalsointheneighboringcommunities,andtrainfarmerstoo.”
OneoftheprioritiesforEthiopia,Yebelieves,istoimproveitsinvestmentenvironment.Infact,manyChineseinvestorshaveshowninterest,hesaid.
“Agriculturalcooperationshouldbesustainable.ItwillbenefitnotonlyAfricabutalsoChina,”hesaid.
Asthebiggestimporterofagriculturalproductsintheworld,Chinaboughtagriculturalproductsworth120billionyuan($18.43billion)in2015.InaspeechtothevisitingEthiopianteam,YegaveadetaileddescriptionofChina’simportstructure,saying:“ThosepopularproductscouldbesignificantareasforfuturetradecooperationbetweenChinaandEthiopiaaswellasotherAfricancountries.”CA