Chinese Government sends agricultural experts to help Central African Republic cultivate mushrooms

Project narrative

The Juncao Technology Project in the Central African Republic (CAR) is a Chinese-led agricultural initiative to foster sustainable agriculture and economic development. In May 2021, Chinese experts led by Chen Kehua arrived in the CAR and began working with the CAR's Institute for Agricultural Research (ICRA) to promote Juncao production As of March 8, 2024, the project has conducted 27 Juncao training sessions, engaging 1,256 trainees; established 5 cooperatives for growing edible and medicinal mushrooms with Juncao grass and 4 cooperatives for growing livestock feed with Juncao grass; developed 10 demonstration bases for Juncao production and 1,200 Juncao technology demonstration households. This cooperative model spreads technology through community involvement and ensures that income generation and increased food production are shared among members. The project has directly and indirectly planted over 150 hectares of Juncao grass The primary goals of the Juncao technology project are to improve food security, create jobs, and generate income for rural communities. "The Juncao project has been successful in the Central African Republic, and we will continue to strengthen the promotion of Juncao to provide a new way to solve the local food shortage," Chen said. This is not the first time the CAR has partnered with China to develop Juncao technology. In March 2019, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University sent a team of six experts from the National Engineering Research Center of Juncao Technology to conduct training seminars on Juncao cultivation (Record ID#56091) and donate Juncao technology to local farmers in the CAR (Record ID#86758).