Whenshewasyoung,VictoriaSekitolekohadnoideawhatshewoulddowhenshegrewup.Theonethingshewassureof,however,wasthatshewouldnevermarryafarmer.
TheformerUgandanMinisterofAgriculturesharedthisanecdoteattheopeningceremonyofthePovertyReductionandDevelopmentConferenceoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC)inBeijingonAugust14.
Growingupinafarmingfamilywheremoneywasscarce,onevalueyoungSekitolekotookawayfromherupbringingwasthatsheneededtogetasmucheducationaspossibletoescapethepovertyofrurallife.
However,itwasnotuntilsheenteredMakerereUniversitytopursueabachelor鈥檚degreeinagriculturethatsheunderstoodthevalueofagricultureandtheneedfordevelopingthecapacityofthissectortoalleviatepovertyinhercountry.
In2011,asarepresentativeoftheUnitedNationsFoodandAgricultureOrganizationinChina,SekitolekowasinspiredbytheChinesemethodofpovertyreduction.鈥淭oday,undertheframeworkofFOCAC,I鈥檓happytoseeChinaandAfricancountries[have]strengthened[theircooperation]inpovertyrelief,鈥漷heruraldevelopmentprofessionaltoldBeijingReview.
Outofpoverty
AccordingtoJustinYifuLin,CounseloroftheStateCouncilofChinaandformerChiefEconomistoftheWorldBank,whenChina鈥檚reformandopeningupstartedinlate1978,Sub-SaharanAfrica鈥檚GDPpercapitawasmorethanthreetimesthatofChina.Atthattime,84percentofChinesepeoplelivedonlessthan$1.25aday,theinternationalpovertystandard.
However,WorldBankstatisticsshowthatsincethereformandopening-uppolicybegan,Chinahasseenadramaticdecreaseofitsimpoverishedpopulation.Itspovertyratedroppedto1.9percentin2013from88.3percentin1981.
Overthepastfourdecades,some700millionruralresidentsacrossChinahaveshakenofftheyokeofpoverty.In2017,theper-capitayearlydisposableincomeofruralresidentsinpoverty-strickenareasreached9,377yuan($1,359),anincreaseofmorethan50percentover2013,accordingtoLiuYongfu,headoftheStateCouncilLeadingGroupOfficeofPovertyAlleviationandDevelopment.
Chinesepeoplehavederivedgreatbenefitsfromthecountry鈥檚economicgrowthduetostronggovernmentsupport,theactivepromotionofindustrializationandurbanization,aswellasanemphasisoninfrastructureconstructioninpovertystrickenareas.
InDecember2015,ChinesePresidentXiJinpingannouncedapovertyreductionprogramasoneofthe10majorChinaAfricacooperationplansatthe2015FOCACJohannesburgSummitinSouthAfrica.XipointedoutthatChina鈥檚experienceinpovertyalleviationcouldbeusedtohelpAfricancountriescompletetheirpovertyreductiontarget.
Inrecentyears,ChinahasmadegreateffortsinsharingitspovertyalleviationexperiencewithAfricancountriesinareassuchasagriculture,technologyandskill,andinfrastructureconstruction.
Agriculturesector
AsSekitolekorealized,inmanyAfricancountries,developingagricultureandincreasingfarmers鈥檌ncomearevitaltopovertyreduction.
AccordingtoJosefaLeonelCorreiaSacko,CommissionerofRuralEconomyandAgricultureoftheAfricanUnionCommission,Africahasabout600millionhectaresofuncultivatedarableland,roughly65percentoftheworld鈥檚total.However,manyAfricancountriesareamongthemostaffectedgloballybyfoodinsecurityandlowagriculturalproductivity.
TransformingtheagriculturalsystemsinAfricademandstheneedtoempowerpoorfarmerswithtechnology,improvetheiraccesstoagriculturalknowledgeandprovidethemaccesstomarkets,accordingtoexperts.
TheprioritiesinagriculturalcooperationbetweenChinaandAfricancountrieswerethereforeestablishedduringtheJohannesburgSummit.Thisincludedcarryingoutagriculturaldemonstrationprojects,transferringtechnologiesandcooperatingwithAfricancountriestoincreaseproductivity.Leadersreaffirmedtheircommitmenttocollaborationintheagriculturalsectoratthisyear鈥檚BeijingSummit.
Fordecades,China鈥檚MinistryofAgriculturehasbeendispatchingChineseagriculturalexpertsandteacherstoAfricancountriestoprovidehelpinagriculturaldevelopment.Forexample,inOctober2015,a10-membermissionwassenttoZimbabwetoimplementthesecondbilateralagriculturalcooperationprogram.TheexpertsconductedthefirstexperimentonhybridricecultivationinZimbabwe鈥檚history.Thesixricevarietiestestedyieldedmorethan10tonsperhectare,settinganewrecordforthecountry.
Personneltraining
Enjoyingademographicdividend,Africawillbehometo200millionyoungpeopleagedbetween15and24by2025,takingup20percentofthetotalpopulationofthecontinent,accordingtodatareleasedbytheUnitedNations.However,thelackofskillsisstilloneofthethreemajorbottlenecksinAfrica鈥檚development,withthetwinchallengesofbackwardinfrastructurefacilitiesandshortageoffunding.
In2017,JackMa,ExecutiveChairmanofAlibabaGroup,amultinationaltechnologyconglomerate,saidAlibabawouldworkwithseveralAfricanuniversitiesincollaborationwithgovernmentstodeveloptrainingprogramsone-commerce,theInternet,BigDataandcloudcomputing.鈥淭heobjectiveistotrainasmanyyoungpeopleaspossibleacrossAfrica,鈥漵aidMa.
Moreover,ChineseenterprisesareplayingabiggerroleinhelpingAfricancountries鈥檆apacitybuilding.Forexample,inChineseshoemakerHuajianGroup鈥檚Ethiopiafactory,3,800ofits4,000employeesarelocals.Withgoodtraining,workerscanskillfullycompletethefullshoemakingprocessofleathercutting,bonding,sewingandmodelingandproducemorethan8,000pairsofshoesdaily.Apartfromlearningadvancedshoemakingskills,someofthemweresenttoChinatolearntheChineselanguageandmanagementskills.
鈥淐apacitybuildingcouldmakeacontributiontoimprovingthelocalworkforcequality,helpingpromoteEthiopia鈥檚economicdevelopment,鈥漵aidZhangYunqi,GeneralManagerofHuajianInternationalLightIndustryCity(Ethiopia).
Nextmove
AccordingtoLiu,Chinaisstillfacingtheheavytaskoflifting30millionpeopleoutofpoverty,andAfrica鈥檚povertyreductiontaskiseventougher.EliminatingpovertyforsustainabledevelopmentisasharedgoalandhistorictaskofbothChineseandAfricanpeoples.
LiusuggestedatthePovertyReductionandDevelopmentConferencethatinthefollowingyears,ChinaandAfricashouldstrengthentheiranti-povertycooperationinthreeaspectsundertheframeworkofFOCAC.First,thetwosidesshouldfurthercommunicationtosharetheirexperiencesofpovertyalleviationandworktogethertoconductresearchinthefield.Second,ChinashouldcontinueitshelpintrainingpovertyreliefworkersfromAfricaaccordingtotheneedsofAfricancountries.Finally,pilotprojectsshouldbejointlylaunchedasexamplesofortechnicalsupportforpovertyreliefefforts.
AgriculturalexpertsfromChinaandAlgeriahaveaconversationonsaline-alkalilandtreatmentonMarch23,2014,inRelizaneProvince,AlgeriaXINHUACopyeditedbyFranciscoLittleandRebecaToledoCommentsto