Experts steer farmers towards prosperity Andrew, a farmer in Zvimba, attends to his chicks recently

On November 18, 2018, a group of 10 leading agricultural experts from China arrived in Zimbabwe with a mandate from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Each specialising in animal husbandry, aquaculture, veterinary, agronomy, horticulture, agricultural machinery and irrigation respectively, the experts are here to provide agricultural technical training and counselling, assist with research and experiments, and implement demonstration projects.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they have overstayed their appointment. But the experts did not let their longing for family reunions stand in the way of their duty here. They continued to work hard to help local farmers improve their lives.

The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the livelihood of ordinary Zimbabweans. Starting from March 30, 2020, Zimbabwe has been put under different levels of lockdowns. Many businesses have been closed, unemployment has grown and ordinary people are suffering. Undeterred by the challenges, the Chinese experts devoted themselves wholeheartedly to their work.

They introduced advanced and effective techniques to lift improve crop and livestock production and worked out solutions to problems facing Zimbabwean farmers, which had a real impact on the local community.

On January 17, 2021, Andrew, a model farmer in Chirimanyemba, Zvimba district in Mashonaland West, beamed with joy because his 423 chickens passed 30 days on that day. The little chicks were very active and robust, each weighing up to 500-600 grammes.

It was not easy for the chicks to come out, due to a lack of artificial incubation equipment in Zimbabwe’s rural areas. Although the Chinese government donated microcomputer automatic incubators and hatcheries, errant power supply and absence of running water has kept them idle. After field research, the Chinese experts helped local farmers install solar panel systems to power the equipment.

The poultry expert helped to install combination powers such as solar energy, generators and municipal electricity, and an automatic water supply and moisture control system.

On November 28, 2020, the first batch of 712 qualified eggs hatched. On December 18, 531 native chicks came out of their shells, marking the success of incubation tests. The successful experiment proved that Zimbabwe was able to carry out large scale artificial incubation operations even without municipal electricity and automatic water supply.

After hatching a large number of chicks, how do you raise them well? First of all, how do we heat and light the brooding room without electricity? The right temperature and light are necessary for rearing chicks.

The Chinese experts built fireplaces connected by cement pipes. This system can maintain a temperature of above 350C and prevent smoking in the brooding room. At the same time, solar charging lamps are used to light the brood room up at night.

This created favourable conditions for raising the chicks. Andrew was confident he could earn US$800 if the chickens were raised successfully. The success of incubation and brooding experiments conducted by the Chinese expert group have solved two major bottlenecks in Zimbabwe’s chicken-raising sector, creating great potential for chicken farming in Zimbabwe’s rural areas where electricity and tap water are not readily available.

It also opened up a new way to Zimbabwean to get rid of poverty and lead a better life. The ongoing pandemic will not stop China’s assistance to and friendship with Zimbabweans. Agriculture experts group from China in Zim.

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