Beyond Agriculture: Strategies for Achieving Sustainable Development in China-Africa Agricultural Projects Date：2025/03/12
Agriculture is an important guarantee for national food security and economic development. In most African countries, agriculture remains a mainstay of their national economies. Nevertheless, agricultural investments are marked by extended cycles and high risks. Moreover, Africa's agricultural infrastructure is still underdeveloped with low resilience to risks. How to achieve self-sufficiency and healthy development of projects has always been a focus in China-Africa agricultural cooperation.
In recent years, the China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) has worked with partners in pilot programs in the agricultural sector to explore sustainable development paths for African agriculture. These endeavors have increased food supply of the host countries and income of local farmers. By building more resilient agricultural value chains, CADFund has supported the stable progress of agricultural modernization in Africa.
PART 01: Development in Depth and Width
The Wanbao Mozambique Agricultural Park, jointly invested by CADFund and the China-Portuguese Speaking Countries Cooperation and Development Fund (CPDFund), is an integrated industrial park in Mozambique that encompasses grain prodution, processing, storage, and sales. It’s China's largest investment in grain agricultural park in Africa and is among the initial 13 key projects within the framework of China-Mozambique Cooperation in Production Capacity. Situated in Xai-Xai of Gaza Province, the park covers an area of 20,000 hectares, with plans to develop 200,000 mu (13,333 hectares) of arable land. The project has played a pivotal role in addressing local food shortages. The former president of Mozambique commended this initiative and personally named the locally produced rice brand as "Good Taste".
In response to challenges such as dependence on weather conditions, lengthy production cycles, susceptibility to natural disasters, and narrow profit margins, the project adopted a "company-plus-smallholders" model. This approach addresses difficulties in infrastructure, financing, and agricultural service faced by local farmers while transferring Chinese rice cultivation techniques to help local farmers to increase production and income. Consequently, the yield has increased significantly from 1.5 -2 tons per hectare to 5-7 tons.
The project is currently engaged in integrating upstream and downstream industries and diversifying operations by expanding seed business, promoting year-round cultivation (during both the rainy and dry seasons), and developing high-value downstream activities such as liquor production. These steps are intended to enhance both the profitability and social impact of the project.
PART 02: Poverty Reduction and Rural Prosperity through Specialty Crops
Tanzania, renowned as the "Sisal Kingdom", produces sisal fibers that are extensively utilized in the construction, maritime, and aerospace industries. In 2010, the China National Agricultural Development Group and CADFund jointly established the China-Africa Agricultural Investment Co., Ltd. (CAAI) to engage in the cultivation and processing of sisal in Tanzania. It remains the sole Chinese state-owned enterprise involved in sisal farming in Africa. Transforming overgrown, snake-infested bushland into a prosperous sisal production base, the farm has achieved consistent profitability. By 2024, it had cultivated more than 3,000 hectares of sisal, with a yield exceeding 20,000 tons.
As a labor-intensive industry, sisal production requires a sizable workforce for land clearance, cultivation, harvesting and processing. The farm has employed over 10,000 local workers, each of whom supports 4-6 family members, thereby increasing household income and regional trade. A local villager remarked, "Thanks to the farm, our lives are improving. Previously, women here could only perform domestic cooking. Now, they earn as much as men."
To address the lack of healthcare facilities in the remote area, the farm constructed a general hospital, staffed it with healthcare professionals, and stocked it with medical supplies. As the only NSSF/NHIF designated hospital in Rudeva, it has provided medical services to employees, their families, and nearby residents totaling more than 100,000 visits. Although this has increased operating costs of the company, it has saved employees’ time in seeking healthcare, lowered labor costs, and garnered public goodwill.
CAAI also collaborated with China Agricultural University to establish Africa's first Village-Level Poverty Reduction Learning Center, which was recorded in Poverty Alleviation: China’s Experience and Contribution released by the State Council of China.
PART 03: Technology-Driven Smart Agriculture
Technological innovation serves as a key impetus for agricultural modernization and a cornerstone of China-Africa collaboration. Through deepening cooperation in agricultural technological innovation, technology transfer, and capacity building, China and Africa are infusing new impetus into the sustainable development of African agriculture.
In the realm of agricultural machinery, the China YTO Group Corporation Limited and CADFund jointly founded the China-Africa Heavy Industry Investment Co., Ltd. (CAHII), a platform dedicated to promoting agricultural mechanization in Africa. Tailoring solutions to the needs of African farmers, CAHII launched its Series E tractors, which are durable, easy to maintain, and cost-effective. These tractors, coupled with comprehensive mechanized farming solutions for plowing, sowing and harvesting, have gained rapid popularity. To better engage with local farmers, CAHII has worked with partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, and Tunisia to build a spare parts supply and after-sales service system to provide technical support, spare parts supply and emergency response services to local and neighboring countries. Its reliable products and services have gained the trust of African customers and contributed to the modernization of local agricultural machinery.
In the domain of digital agriculture, CADFund capitalizes on its role as a business intermediary to introduce advanced Chinese digital agricultural technologies and equipment abroad, to empower agricultural development in Africa with digital technology. For example, we supported the China Geo-Engineering Corporation Ghana in deploying Chinese agricultural drones at its Harvest Farm for efficient spray application. This has reduced labor costs, increased productivity, and minimized chemical use, achieving a balance between economic and environmental benefits.
Through drone operator training, local farmers could perform operational tasks on their own and passed the Ghana Civil Authority exam to drone pilot certificate. This project was featured in the "China-Africa Digital Development Case Studies (2024)" released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Looking Ahead
CADFUND will continue to be focused on the implementation of the "Six Modernizations" and "Ten Partnership Initiatives" outlined at the latest Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Adhering to the principles of long-termism and mutual benefit, we will collaborate with enterprises to advance the transformation and upgrading of African agriculture, supporting poverty reduction and modernization of agriculture in African countries..
