CCTV News: Madagascar is located in the southwest corner of the Indian Ocean, across the sea from the African continent. In the past, rice cultivation here has always been "dependent on the sky", and due to the lack of high-quality rice seeds and mature rice cultivation technology, Madagascar needs to import rice from abroad every year. The arrival of Chinese experts has brought hope to local farmers to increase production and income.
In March, verdant rice ears grow in the wind in the vast rice fields. In just over a month, this high-yield demonstration field of Chinese hybrid rice, located near Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, will usher in a bumper harvest in the new year.
In 2007, China and Madagascar began technical cooperation on hybrid rice. In 2019, the China-FAO-Madagascar South-South Cooperation Project was launched, covering the entire industrial chain of hybrid rice from breeding to sales. Up to now, the cumulative promotion area of Chinese hybrid rice in Madagascar has reached more than 50,000 hectares, and the average yield per hectare can reach about 7.5 tons, which is 2-3 times the local average yield. Madagascar became the African country with the largest area and the highest yield of hybrid rice.
By growing Chinese hybrid rice, Madagascar farmer Tina not only feeds her family, but also sells excess rice. With an increasing income, she built a new house and was looking forward to her future life.
Someone once calculated that Madagascar's annual rice shortfall was about 700,000 tons. Based on an average yield of 7.5 tonnes of hybrid rice, planting about 100,000 hectares of hybrid rice in Madagascar could help Madagascar achieve food self-sufficiency. It is planned that in the next three to five years, Madagascar will fully promote the cultivation of hybrid rice in 23 regions of the country.
Since 1979, China has researched and popularized hybrid rice technology in nearly 70 countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the South Pacific, and has trained more than 14,000 professionals in more than 80 developing countries. Today, China's hybrid rice has been promoted and planted in dozens of countries and regions around the world, contributing to global food security.
Source: CCTV