"Mom, I want another drink!" "It tastes so good!" In the village of Peyapea in the Province of Morogoro in the East African country of Tanzania, the children who tasted soy milk for the first time said excitedly.
Soy milk is mellow and nutritious, and many Chinese day begins with the morning soy milk with fritters. In Tanzania's Morogoro province, because there is no local tradition of growing soybeans, soy milk has become a completely new thing.
The Tanfang team of the "Small Beans, Big Nutrition" project demonstrated how to make soy milk on the spot. (Courtesy of College of International Development and Global Agriculture, China Agricultural University)
In 2021, the team of Professor Li Xiaoyun of China Agricultural University planned to cooperate with the Morogoro provincial government to carry out the corn planting soybean project called "small beans, big nutrition", and selected 4 demonstration villages and 100 demonstration households for pilot. At the end of January this year, the soybean seeds provided by the project were distributed to the demonstration households in batches, and the planting and management techniques were guided by the project's Tanzania coordinators, village cadres and technical personnel on the spot. Harvest by harvest, and at the end of May and the beginning of June, soybeans gradually enter the harvest season.
Recently, officials from Morogoro Province and the Tanzanian team of the project came to Peyapea Village and Kotet Village to train local villagers to make soybean milk with the Chinese soybean milk machine provided by the agricultural university team. The villagers were curious about the taste of soy milk, and after tasting it, they were full of praise.
Rosalia (right), Assistant Administrative Secretary of Morogoro Province, Tanzania, presents the "Best Soybean Grower of the Year 2022" to the village of Pejapeya. (Courtesy of College of International Development and Global Agriculture, China Agricultural University)
Adam, a villager in The Village of Cottet, told reporters that although the drought in the first half of this year affected the soybean harvest, "soy milk is delicious" and he intends to expand the soybean planting area to 2.5 acres next year.
Nasolo, a villager in Peyapea village, harvested about 400 kilograms of soybeans and said with great anticipation that he would continue to grow soybeans next year.
Speaking of why soybean cultivation is promoted in Tanzania, Li Xiaoyun told Xinhua News Agency that corn is an important daily staple food for the people of Tanzania, although the taste is good, but it lacks nutrients such as tryptophan and lysine necessary for human development. Soybeans are rich in a variety of amino acids and high in protein. Tanzanian farmers themselves have the habit of planting pigeon beans in corn, and replacing pigeon beans with soybeans can effectively improve the nutritional structure of the local diet.
The Tanzanian team and villagers of the "Small Beans, Big Nutrition" project observe the growth of soybeans in the fields of Tanzania. (Courtesy of College of International Development and Global Agriculture, China Agricultural University)
The smooth progress of the "small beans, big nutrition" project depends on the close cooperation between China and Tanzania. Rosalia, assistant administrative secretary of Morogoro Province, said that the Morogoro provincial government will strengthen contacts with the team of the Chinese Agricultural University and give strong support to tanzania-China agricultural cooperation.
Since 2011, the Agricultural University of China has been cooperating with The Province of Morogoro in Tanzania to carry out the "Small Technology, Big Harvest" project with the increase in corn production and income as the core, passing on the "Chinese experience" of increasing the yield of corn dense plants to African farmers. From 2011, when only one village and one household joined, to more than 1,000 households in more than 10 villages, the average maize harvest of participants has more than doubled, local farmers have increased their incomes, and their families' lives and children's education have improved. The "Small Technology, Big Harvest" project has also been selected as the best case of South-South cooperation in the United Nations.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NTU team continued to promote agricultural cooperation projects online, and the ability of the Tanzania project team was also improved, completing all processes from drafting project plans, purchasing and distributing fine fertilizers, organizing training demonstration households, and project tracking and management.
In March 2018, the team of China Agricultural University took a group photo with the Tanzania cooperation team. (Courtesy of College of International Development and Global Agriculture, China Agricultural University)
From "small technology, big harvest" to today's "small beans, big nutrition", corn dense planting yield increase and corn set soybeans are all simple and fruitful practical technologies that Chinese farmers have long applied, and they are also the Chinese experience that Li Xiaoyun's team hopes to share with friends in Tanzania.
Mu Kangguo, who served as assistant administrative secretary of Morogoro Province, told reporters that no scholar from any country has ever worked tirelessly to help a peasant family like a Chinese expert.
Mu Kangguo has been the coordinator of the Tanzania side since 2011 and has maintained cooperation with the Agricultural University after retirement. Today, he is full of confidence in the "Small Beans, Big Nutrition" project. Like Rosalia, he expects more people to benefit.
Planner: Feng Junyang
Producer: Yang Jun, Yan Junyan
Reporter: Liu Youmin, Xie Hao
Editor: Ma Xiaoyan Cheng Heavy Rain
Produced by the International Department of Xinhua News Agency
Produced by Xinhua News Agency's International Communication Integration Platform
Source: Xinhua International Headline WeChat public account