China grants 20 million RMB for Phase I of Juncao Project in Lesotho (Linked to Record ID#55680, #55681, #55682)

Project narrative

In October 2006, Chinese and Basotho government officials signed an exchange of letters for phase I of the Juncao Technical Demonstration Cooperation Project in Lesotho (援莱索托菌草技术合作项目第一期). In 2007, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations stated that the project cost was 20 million RMB. Experts from Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University (FAFU) carried out phase I between 2007 and 2009. China also carried out phase II (#55681), phase III (#55681), and phase IV (#55682). It is unclear if this initial inter-governmental exchange of letters from 2006 is for all four phases or if there are follow-up agreements for each phase. AidData only found evidence of another agreement signed in 2012 for phase III. "Jun" (菌) means fungus and "cao" (草) means grass. Juncao, invented in 1986 by a Chinese scientist, refers to the practice of using herb plants to cultivate edible fungi. Since the project's initial signing in October 2006, Chinese experts from FAFU have been developing the Zhonglai Juncao Technology Demonstration Base in Maseru and training local Basotho the agricultural techniques to grow and the entrepreneurial skills to sell. During the 1st Chinese technical team's stay, they trained 763 local farmers and 14 Basotho officials. Lesotho's agricultural industry cannot adequately feed the population yet small-scale farming is common. Instead of heavily relying in food imports, Juncao could be a cheap, nutritious alternative for Basotho to feed their families and communities.