Two years ago, several agricultural experts from the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) travelled to China and selected seven types of water-saving and drought-resistant (WDR) rice seeds from the gene centres in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui and other places to bring back to Botswana.
After more than two years of unremitting comparison and cultivation by the agricultural experts from China and Botswana, the trial planting has finally been successful. The rice seeds from China have produced golden grains in the land of Botswana.
At the first WDR Rice Harvest Ceremony in Botswana held on 27 June 2022, Botswana Vice President Slumber Tsogwane walked into the experimental field to harvest the rice and share the joy.
Tsogwane said that the success of the trial planting is of great importance in helping Botswana to improve food production, reduce reliance on imports and ensure food security.
On social media, many local people clicked “like” below the post of the successful trial of China’s WDR rice in Botswana. They thanked the researchers for their hard work and said that they expect the Chinese rice to be cultivated in more places in Botswana soon. Botswana and some other African media have widely reported the good news. The phrase “Chinese rice” was trending in Botswana that day.
The successful trial of Chinese rice is a gratifying result of the friendly cooperation between China and Botswana. In a broader sense, it is also the epitome of China-Africa friendship.
