Chinese Government provides grant for Hybrid Rice Demonstration Center Project

Project narrative

During the November 2006 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced eight measures to provide aid to Africa, including the establishment of ten agricultural technology demonstration centers, a dispatch of 100 senior agricultural experts, and training of 1,500 agricultural technological professionals. Then, on January 18, 2007, the Chinese Government and the Government of Madagascar signed letters of exchange for a Hybrid Rice Demonstration Center Project. The Chinese Government provided $2,283,606 of grant funding for the project, according to the Government of Madagascar’s Aid Management Platform (AMP). This project involved the establishment of a hybrid rice development and demonstration center in the village of Andranovaky, the rural commune of Mahitsy, the district of Ambohidratrimo, and the region of Analamanga. The Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture Company were the contractors responsible for implementation. The project officially commenced on November 17, 2007 project and the hybrid rice development and demonstration center was officially inaugurated on June 21, 2008. The center has reportedly grown 34 strains of Chinese hybrid rice, with an average yield per hectare that is two to three times higher than the average output of local rice. By 2018, hybrid rice cultivation in Madagascar had reached 20,000 hectares and a yield of 7 tons per hectare. The average yield for non-hybrid rice is 2 tons per hectare in Madagascar.