Uganda and China taking action to pursue agricultural modernization

China-Africa agricultural cooperation continues to deliver tangible results, both economically and technically.

A practical example is the growing partnership between China and Uganda, which is making significant contributions to Uganda’s agricultural development.

Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama, Permanent Secretary of Uganda’s Ministry for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, says, for Uganda, the focus is not just on increasing output, but on modernizing production systems. China plays a key role in driving Uganda’s transformation toward modern agriculture.

He sat down with China Africa Talk to discuss what agricultural modernization really means for Africa’s broader economic future.

China Africa Talk: How would you describe the current state of China-Africa cooperation in agriculture? How has it evolved in recent years?

Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama: In terms of agriculture, we have tried to follow China’s example as closely as possible. Today, we receive a lot of expertise from China in rice cultivation, horticulture, intermediate technology, research and development, and innovations in vaccine production. They are helping us transform from a predominantly muscle-bound agricultural economy, using hand tools and being bound by rainfall, to an agricultural system that uses intermediate Chinese technologies.

I would say that the state of China-Uganda cooperation is very good. China-Africa cooperation is extremely good in two ways: Firstly, the sharing of expertise and innovation for mutual advantage. Secondly, more importantly, there is an understanding that mutual benefit does not come from aid, but from trading with each other. There is a lot of trade between China and Africa, and between China and Uganda, in coffee, chilies, wild aquatic species, fisheries, sorghum and rice.

China has helped Africa, and they are even helping us now by providing us with a regenerative rice variety to help us farm sustainably. We are learning from China, which has been farming its land sustainably for years.

China Africa Talk: In your region, what are the most distinctive characteristics of agriculture and food systems? What constructive roles have Chinese companies played in supporting agricultural development?

Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama: Firstly, the main characteristic of agriculture in Uganda and Africa in general is that it is peasant-led. As you know, 60–70% of Africans are involved in subsistence agriculture, which means they produce and consume everything they grow. This has obvious economic advantages, but it also means they have no surplus to contribute to their country’s GDP. The disadvantage of this system is that it is neither resilient nor sustainable. If you have a season of failed rains, for example, you will have a drought, and if you have a drought, you will have a famine. One of the challenges facing Africans is to transform their agricultural and food systems from predominantly peasant-led and nature-based to commercial, so that we can engage in trade. Can you imagine the benefits of free trade in food and other agricultural commodities? We could exchange goods. I know of African countries that are currently suffering due to the war in Ukraine. Yet I believe that Africa has around 40% of the world’s arable land. It is terrible that Africans are suffering when there are areas in Africa, like Uganda, which have a food surplus. I happen to know that some African countries import agricultural products from Brazil. It cannot be cheaper to import from Brazil than from Uganda.

I believe that these shocks can be overcome by transforming this system into a commercial one.

The most important thing is what I call ‘transition technologies’. These helped the peasants to access small-scale technologies such as hand-held tractors, cottage industries and small-scale storage systems. They have also helped by enabling the market to absorb everything produced, so the peasants got money and an incentive to produce and innovate. Back this up with science and technology — China has many agricultural colleges. The Chinese have also provided us with technical expertise and knowledge. They have also provided us with appropriate transitional technologies. In some cases, they have helped us by providing practical assistance. In the case of Uganda, for example, they have helped us with rice and horticulture by setting up value-addition infrastructure and storage facilities. China has supported agricultural development. They have also allowed us to access the market, which creates an incentive to produce.

China Africa Talk: To what extent can agricultural modernization help reduce rural unemployment and promote farmer-centered development across Africa?

Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama: In Africa, between 60% and 70% of the population is involved in agriculture. In Uganda, it’s 70%. The other issue is that 78% of Uganda’s population is under 35. This creates two problems. The first is that you have a huge youth population who are potentially involved in agriculture. This means that they are functionally unemployed.

Our research in the Ministry of Agriculture has shown that it takes four strong men seven days to cultivate one acre of land using a hand hoe. This means that these four men are functionally unemployed, spending a lot of time doing nothing, as they could be using this time to innovate and do other things. This means that these people will be condemned to perpetual poverty. The only way to avoid this is to modernize agriculture. The purpose of modernizing the way you do things is to transform society. If we continue using the current methods, we will condemn our people to perpetual poverty. The most important thing now is to make sure that we adopt modern technologies.

There is also another very important issue: climate change. Because of climate change, weather is now more unpredictable. You may plant and fail to harvest anything, so you need two things. One is the ability to till the land quickly, and the other is irrigation and water, so that if the weather fails, you can provide water. Of course, we also need fertilizers because we have been tilling the same piece of land for a long time. This is how agricultural modernization can help reduce rural unemployment. Most people are involved in agriculture, so if you modernize agriculture, you reduce the number of people working in agriculture, increase the number of people who can innovate and do other things, add value and increase the number of people who can trade and do other things.

The last point is that the science of economics dictates that, as long as you produce using low technology, you are going to be limited to producing low-value products, which are primary products. In other words, you are going to produce maize grain, not flour; chili seeds, not powder. The science says that the more primary products you produce, the less the price if you don’t have what we call elastic demand.

China Africa Talk: China’s agriculture sector has undergone remarkable modernization in recent decades. What key lessons can African countries learn from China’s experience in transforming its agriculture?

Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama: There are many, but I think I’ll group them into four. The first is understanding the problem. The second lesson is not to try to jump farther than your legs can carry you. Don’t try to transition to what I call transitional technology. Don’t go from the handheld to a very sophisticated tractor, because handheld tractors are actually the same as using an ox and a plow. Thirdly, be clear about where you want to go.

In the case of China, they always say, ‘This is such-and-such with Chinese characteristics.’ They always say, ‘This is such and such with Chinese characteristics’, and I like that statement. They have a market economy with Chinese characteristics. So, even African countries must learn to create development based on concrete conditions within Africa, based on our culture, history, understanding and sovereign destiny. And finally, agriculture is good for feeding people. China’s experience is to be able to leverage this understanding to create a system that solves the issue of food security while commercializing. So we produce food, but we also need to make money out of agriculture.

China Africa Talk: How can digital technology further transform the agricultural sector and increase productivity and resilience?

Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama: Let me talk about Uganda. Specifically, 78% of our people are below the age of 35. Now, the vast majority of these people have gone to school. As you know, today’s society of young people is digital: the digital economy, computers and mobile phones. We are in the new age of information. This means two things. One, young people are no longer interested in going to the fields with a hoe to till the soil when they don’t know if it’s going to rain tomorrow. Two, young people are no longer willing to go to the fields to till the soil and produce crops for which there might be no market. So, at least to that extent, young people need digitalization to help them predict weather and soil conditions. This will help them predict crop performance and production, but it will also help them make market decisions based on algorithms that predict prices.

On the other hand, young people want to be able to access information from all over the world so they can find the best prices without having to put their goods on a ship before knowing where to sell them.

Digital technology will transform the agricultural sector by helping us to be more predictive about agricultural conditions and market conditions, and by helping us to make the best decisions. It will help transform the agricultural sector by making us more predictive about agricultural conditions, helping us prepare for market conditions and enabling us to make the best decisions. It will also help us by encouraging young people to return to agriculture. However, young people don’t want to use manual labor, so technology is necessary.

We need to ensure young people are engaged in agriculture to drive innovation and leverage resources. The population is increasing, but land is not an elastic commodity. We don’t expect the land to remain the same unless we conquer other countries. The population is large and resources are finite, so we need to improve productivity. Young people are the most amenable to change and innovation, so we should allow young voices into the production system. This is the best way to ensure a better future for young people.

China Africa Talk is a weekly podcast with CGTN Radio.