Twenty-five Africans from 11 countries already are working in Taiwan fields as part of a six-month seminar in the cultivation of rice and upland crops, farm demonstration and agricultural management.
This undertaking follows the dispatch of Chinese rice-growing demonstration teams to the Republic of Liberia and the United Kingdom of Libya.
Similar programs are under study, not only for Africa, but for other areas as well.
The six-month Taiwan program is called the Seminar on Agricultural Techniques for Africans. It is administered by the Sino-African Technical Cooperation Committee, a Chinese government agency specially created for the purpose.
Their Taiwan hats ready, trainees leave for the field (File photo)
The seminar opened on April 20 with a ceremony at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. For the first 10 days, the young agriculturists received orientation. On May 2, they broke up into two groups. One group is studying rice cultivation at the Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station in central Taiwan. The other is at Tainan to learn upland crop cultivation at Tainan District Agricultural Improvement Station.
From September 2 to October 7, the Africans will tour Taiwan to see the agricultural extension program and observe farmers' associations, irrigation facilities and soil conservation.
They will return to Taipei October 8 for a few days of discussion and evaluation, then return to their homes.
Each trainee receives an allowance of NT$200 (US$5) a day from the Chinese government.
High Rice Yield
All agreed they were especially interested in growing rice and upland crops, and learning about agricultural extension.
China is competent to help in all three. Its experience in rice growing is as old as recorded history, and the per hectare yield on Taiwan is one of the world's highest.
Day off, and visitors see the sights and take in movie (File photo)
Taiwan's upland crops include sweet potatoes, soybeans, tobacco, peanuts, jute, corn and sugar cane. These crops do not require too much water, and Africans will find the cultivation methods useful at home, where irrigation is often a problem. Agricultural extension is well advanced in free China and includes such activities as soil improvement and encouragement of various farmer organizations.
Trainees say they already have learned a great deal.
Otman Mahmud Yusef Yusef Tuwiby and Asher Mohamed Ali El-Atri, both officials of the Libyan Ministry of Agriculture, said China has much to teach them about increasing rice production. The latter also is deeply interested in the farm extension program.
From Niger come Abdoulaye Yaya and Ibrahim Tanko, both agricultural advisors, who will specialize in upland crops farming and agricultural extension, respectively. Peanuts are the main crop in Niger.
Senegal also grows quantities of peanuts but has to import rice, flour and sugar. Its trainees are Djibril Cisse and Alassane Magath Seydi, who want to learn more about rice and upland crop cultivation, as well as agricultural extension. Seydi is chief of the Center of Rural Expansion at Oussouye.
Dahomey sent four farm technicians, the largest group. Sognon des Ahomakpon Germain is specializing in upland crops, extension work, Kotto Sylvestre Bienvenue in extension work, Kiffouly Latif Maxime in rice and Yaovi Mensah Joseph in extension.
Togo Needs Rice
Togo's three students will concentrate on rice paddies. They are Kouassi Win fried Semedo, Kondi Pierre Nikabou and Nassoma N'Djambara.
Kouassi Kouadio from the Ivory Coast said his country needs technicians. He and Domande Siriki are most interested in extension training.
Sidi Haiballa Ould Elybaba, from Mauritania, also will specialize in extension.
From the Malagasy Republic, Mparany Frederic Raharison and Zamaniposotra came to study rice, upland crops and extension. More than 90 per cent of Malagasy's people are farmers. President and Madame Philibert Tsiranana visited Taiwan in April.
Jean Boungou and Dominique Taranko from the Congo (Brazzaville) are devoting major attention to rice, because their country hopes to expand its paddies. More than three-fourths of their countrymen are farmers.
From the Congo (Leopoldville), Abroise Tshibangu, Leon Mokumoli and Gustave Kabali give maximum attention to upland crops and extension.
Fun, Adventure
The two trainees of the Central African Republic, Messrs. Ouagbia and Yagara, were late arrivals.
China's guests from Africa already have had fun and adventure, and have found out the excitement of cultural difference.
One of the Niger technicians "discovered" Chinese young womanhood and observed that he wanted to marry from among those who were so "gentle, intelligent and beautiful."
A Togo trainee adjusted to the food slowly and was in a hospital briefly. Now he is fine and has become a devotee of Chinese food.
All said they were impressed by the friendliness and hospitality of the Chinese people—and all agreed that having come here to learn, they were not disappointed.
Language has been the principal barrier. Aside from the two Libyans, who speak English, all are French-speaking, and French is not a language that is common to the farmers of Taiwan. However, signs, a few words and two-sided goodwill are establishing a surprisingly effective means of communication.
In opening the seminar, Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Chi-tseng observed that strong economies are essential to the continued freedom and independence of the new African nations. China's objective, he added, is to help provide the technical assistance necessary to agricultural development.
Two-Year Program
Makeshift level used by Chinese farmers now working in Liberia (File photo)
The pioneer chapter in Sino-Africa cooperation was written by the 15 young Chinese farmers who arrived in Liberia last November to establish a demonstration rice-cultivation area and try other crops.
Starting in the Gbedin area, the Chinese will work with Liberians for two years—not so much as "advisors" but rather as fellow farmers.
Tang Wu, first Chinese ambassador to Liberia, hit upon the idea of a demonstration farm after he arrived in Monrovia three years ago. He was struck by the similarity between Taiwan and Liberian climate and farming conditions. He also found that Liberia was importing 30,000 tons of rice a year.
At the ambassador's request, the Chinese government sent an agricultural mission to Liberia. Members decided it was possible to grow rice in Liberia and estimated that two per cent of the land was satisfactory for paddy-field.
After further study and negotiation, the demonstration project was accepted. Fourteen farmers were chosen in an island-wide competition. All are graduates of an agricultural school, have at least three years of field experience and a basic knowledge of English.
As the leader, Chow Mai, graduate of the National Central University in Nanking, was chosen. Chow operates a 12-acre farm at Yangmingshan, a northern suburb of Taipei. He was a member of the second agricultural mission to Liberia in the summer of 1961.
The group started work at Gbedin, about 190 miles from the capital of Monrovia, last December 4.
The land was a swampy area where an American experimental group previously had planted rice with some success. However, the Americans used tractors and other farm machinery not available to Liberian farmers and the experiment was discontinued. The 500 acres soon were reclaimed by wilderness.
Rice Climate
Liberian woman, children pose with smiling Chinese farmers (File photo)
Chinese farmers had to start from scratch. They cleaned up their living quarters, then cleared three plots with three hoes and two shovels. A caterpillar left by the Americans broke down on the first day. The Chinese worked with their hands until a German tractor arrived a week later. It appeared that rice birds and ground hogs might be the most formidable foes.
There were also encouraging signs. The temperature at Gbedin, 850 feet above sea level, averages 70 degrees F. in the morning, rises to about 85 degrees at 2 in the afternoon and returns to 70 again by 9 p.m. The sun is in the sky for 12 hours a day. Dew occurs soon after the sun sets. The climate was ad judged excellent for rice.
The team decided to begin by reclaiming 20 hectares. Fourteen farmers were divided into three groups: one for rice, the second for vegetables and the third for sundry crops.
Next came diversion of a nearby creek to irrigate the paddies. After two failures, the Chinese farmers succeeded in building a dam in the seventh week after their arrival. Several have written of their excitement as they watched the water flowing into the fields.
After a three-hour downpour in mid-March, the rice group started transplanting seedlings in 3.3 hectares of paddy. Seedlings of native varieties had grown well, although no fertilizers were applied. Chiang Ching-po, who keeps a log book for the team, wrote they were waiting for rainfall in April to transplant seedlings of another local variety. A Taiwan Ponlai variety also will go into the fields.
Chinese join Libyans in digging vital drainage ditch (File photo)
To combat difficulties caused by too little or too much water, team members have spent most of their time digging drainage ditches and irrigation canals. Even their calloused hands have blistered. During the eight-hour work day in tropical heat, each man drinks two gallons of water.
The 20 hectares soon will be expanded to 50 hectares and may subsequently reach 100. After modern agricultural techniques have been adopted to Liberian conditions and suitable crops selected, Liberian officials will visit the farm to see the results. Liberian farmers then will take up residence in the area for a period of instruction.
Finally, the pilot program may be extended to other similar lands to reduce Liberia's dependence on imported foodstuffs.
The Libya team of eight left Taipei for Tripoli on February 27. It is composed of a rice expert, a soil and fertilizer expert, and six farmers. Team leader is Hsia Yu-jen, the soil technician. Farmers were chosen in a competition.
Narrow Valley
Rice will be planted during a two-year program in the Wadi Chati valley of Fezzan province, which is to the south of Tripoli. The valley is 80 miles long, averages half a mile wide and supports about 20,000 people, a fourth of them nomads. The climate is Saharan, the soil saline. People are concentrated in the villages, where there is water.
The Chinese farmers crossed the Sahara by plane as far as Sebha, the capital of Fezzan. After losing their way in the desert three times, they reached Brak to start work.
Their immediate objective is to reclaim 0.3 hectares of land at Wadi Irruz for paddy rice experimentation and 3.5 hectares of land at Tanmia Garden in Brak for both paddy rice and upland rice experimentation. Upland rice does not require flooded paddies and may be suitable for arid Fezzan.
Wadi Irruz was selected because the water-holding capacity of the soil is very great. Paddy rice will be tried if irrigation water can be obtained from Abulham spring.
In the first year, per hectare yield of paddy rice is expected to reach 4,400 to 5,500 pounds and upland rice a yield of 2,200 to 3,300 pounds. In Taiwan, where two crops are grown a year, the yield per crop averages 5,600 pounds per hectare.
The quantity of water to be made available in the valley is estimated at 3,000 liters a second. This would irrigate some 2,000 hectares.
Saline Soil
Soil is another problem confronting the Chinese team. Salt has to be removed by leaching and organic matter increased by planting green manure before the rice or by adding compost or farm manure.
Sino-Libyan technical cooperation was first discussed by Abdel Salam El-Mehdewi, former executive director of the Development Council of Libya, with Chinese officials at Taipei in December of 1960. Several Chinese subsequently went to Libya, and a study mission recommended the Chati valley project. A technical cooperation agreement was signed in Tripoli February 26.
The Libyan government undertook land clearing and preparation, provision of water and construction of irrigation and drainage systems.
The Chinese team has houses furnished with water, electricity, furniture, bedding, stoves, refrigerators and utensils. Farm implements, tools, bicycles and one vehicle also are provided.
Fertilizers and pesticides come from Libya, but Taiwan is supplying the rice seed.
The African cooperation undertakings have focused attention on Taiwan's agriculture, which ranks as one of the world's most highly developed.
China's island province has problems which most African countries will not face for many years to come. The Malagasy Republic, for example, has only 5,170,000 people in an area of 228,000 square miles, or half of Taiwan's population in an area 16 times as large. Taiwan's intensive farming will not be required in most parts of Africa.
Farms of Taiwan are among the world's smallest. Its 770,000 farm households have only 869,000 hectares of land. The rest of the island—about two-thirds of the more than 13,000 square miles—is ruggedly mountainous.
In 1945, when Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China at the end of World War II, rice production was 603,000 tons, or less than half of the 1.4 million tons achieved early in the war. Since then, Taiwan has succeeded in producing two million tons of rice a year, an increase of 43 per cent over the peak Japanese effort.
Multiple Cropping
Pan Chang-loo (right), friend enjoy car's desert breakdown (File photo)
Techniques include multiple cropping, extensive and well-organized irrigation, wide use of chemical fertilizers and active farmers' organizations. Successful land reform laid a firm base for success.
Irrigation facilities still are being expanded. A multi-purpose dam now under construction at Shih men, south of Taipei, will irrigate an additional 57,260 hectares and increase rice production by 72,000 metric tons a year.
Another dam at Tachien, primarily a hydroelectric project, will provide water for paddies in the Tachia River valley of central Taiwan.
The Provincial Government is drilling 400 deep wells in central and southern Taiwan.
More than 500 species of plants and a dozen species of animals have been introduced from abroad in recent years. Sturdier and faster Murrah water buffaloes have been brought from India via the Philippines. Ponlai rice from Japan and NCO 310 sugar cane from South Africa have outpaced former varieties.
Hogs have been improved through crossing with foreign breeds, chiefly Berkshires. The first-generation hybrid produced better meat and grew faster. Goal is four million head a year, sufficient for domestic consumption and US$10 million a year in export earnings.
High-Yield Corn
A program to develop a high-yield, drought-resistant, adaptable variety of corn has been under way since 1953. The new variety, Taiwan No.5, has yielded 75 per cent more than previous types and the maturity period has been shortened by two to three weeks.
4H Club judge displays prize-winning entry in peanut crop (File photo)
An extension service for farm youths was organized in 1955 and reaches every corner of the island. More than 77,000 boys and girls are organized into 6,100 4H clubs.
Farmers' Associations have a membership of 783,000 in 340 units. They store and thresh rice, barter crops for fertilizer, accept savings, loan money, collect taxes and insure livestock.
Farmers are eating and dressing better and living in new or remodeled houses. Their real income has increased by 26 per cent since 1950.
Land reform was carried out in three stages. In 1949, a rent reduction program cut rentals from 55-60 per cent to 37.5 per cent of the annual yield of the main crop. Public land was sold to tenant farmers in 1951. Finally, the "Land-to-the-Tiller" Act was passed in 1953 and carried out in less than two years.
Limited Holdings
In the last stage, holdings of landlords were limited to seven acres of rice land. The government bought up land in excess of the limit and resold it to tenant farmers for 20 equal installments payable over a period of 10 years. Landowners were compensated by the government.
A total of 121,394 tenant farmers bought the land they tilled and 468,701 families became landowners through purchase of public land.
With ample land, the African countries are less interested in land reform than in increased production. However, several Latin American nations have been studying the Chinese example.
Out of Taiwan's agricultural "miracle," the Chinese government hopes to provide both the inspiration and the technical assistance to help Africa and other areas. Repayment will come in the form of a stronger free world and the widening of Chinese experience for the vast undertakings that await the liberation of the Chinese mainland.