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tamirat tesema senbeta， Dean of the agarfa Agricultural Technical Vocational and Educational Training （ATVET） College in Ethiopia， has seen many Chinese instructors come to his college on deputation， bringing with them advanced agricultural technology and teaching methods.
But this April， Senbeta was offered an opportunity to see for himself how the Chinese work in their own country.
Together with nine more Ethiopian ATVET deans and state agricultural officers， Senbeta was invited to attend a training program organized by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. During the 12-day program， the visitors learned about Chinese education theory and traveled to Beijing， the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China， and Hunan Province in the neighborhood to learn about Chinese curriculum design and college management.
“The program deepened our insights and will improve efficiencies in our colleges，” said Senbeta， who also visited several agricultural demonstration centers.
So far， 70 Ethiopian deans have attended similar training programs in China. Having them visit China in addition to sending Chinese teachers to Ethiopia could give Ethiopia a clearer picture of the agricultural development in China and the Chinese vocational education system， said Wang Kaiyuan， one of the organizers from the Ministry of Agriculture.
“We hope they will take back to Ethiopia their Chinese experience and friendship as well，” she added.
Building understanding
In September 2015， Xu Hongzhai， a teacher at the Hunan Agricultural University， received a letter from afar.
“I’m so proud of being one of your students，” the letter said. “You’ve returned to China， but the seeds and technology you brought will stay in Ethiopia forever.”It was from an Ethiopian student. As an expert in agricultural engineering， Xu arrived in the Alage ATVET College in 2013， where she served for two years together with a Chinese teaching team. She designed a modern agriculture demonstration center and promoted water-saving irrigation， which managed to save one third of the water that was being used earlier.
The agricultural educational personnel exchanges between China and Ethiopia date back to 2000 when then Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi requested the Chinese Government to send agricultural experts to Ethiopian vocational schools.
The two countries signed an agreement in 2001， following which the first batch of 10 Chinese teachers started out for Ethiopia. Since then， the past 15 years have witnessed 405 Chinese teachers like Xu go to Ethiopia， providing guidance and training to around 2，100 Ethiopian teachers， 13，000 agricultural technicians and 39，000 students. They have introduced over 70 advanced agricultural technologies.
In the technological cooperation between China and Ethiopia， vocational education plays a unique role， said Ye Anping， Director of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture.
“As teachers， they wield greater influence because students have unlimited potential，” Ye said.
He believes that educational personnel exchanges can promote cultural communication as well， since the teachers - both Ethiopian and Chinese - will share what they saw and experienced with more students， which will promote further understanding of one another’s countries and methods.
“Understanding is the basis of trust， and trust is the foundation for cooperation，” Ye said.
A valuable reference
Once， China used to face a huge challenge in agriculture. According to Ministry of Agriculture statistics，China’s water resources are less than one third of the world average. It has to feed 20 percent of the world’s population while having less than 9 percent of the arable land in the world.
“No country in the world can help China feed its people，” Ye said. “China has only itself to rely on， so agricultural development has been among the top priorities of the government.”
The driving force for agricultural development has been technology， Ye said. Four decades ago， technology contributed around 16 percent to China’s agricultural growth； last year， the rate rose to 57 percent.
Senbeta believes the Chinese experience would be an important reference for Ethiopia where about 80 percent of the population live on agriculture and agriculture contributes 43 percent to the country’s GDP growth.
“This year， we have six Chinese instructors in our college. They have been performing very well， especially in practical demonstrations，” he said. “They bring new technologies and promote them not only among the students but also in the neighboring communities， and train farmers too.”
One of the priorities for Ethiopia， Ye believes， is to improve its investment environment. In fact， many Chinese investors have shown interest， he said.
“Agricultural cooperation should be sustainable. It will benefit not only Africa but also China，” he said.
As the biggest importer of agricultural products in the world， China bought agricultural products worth 120 billion yuan （$18.43 billion） in 2015. In a speech to the visiting Ethiopian team， Ye gave a detailed description of China’s import structure， saying： “Those popular products could be significant areas for future trade cooperation between China and Ethiopia as well as other African countries.”
But this April， Senbeta was offered an opportunity to see for himself how the Chinese work in their own country.
Together with nine more Ethiopian ATVET deans and state agricultural officers， Senbeta was invited to attend a training program organized by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. During the 12-day program， the visitors learned about Chinese education theory and traveled to Beijing， the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China， and Hunan Province in the neighborhood to learn about Chinese curriculum design and college management.
“The program deepened our insights and will improve efficiencies in our colleges，” said Senbeta， who also visited several agricultural demonstration centers.
So far， 70 Ethiopian deans have attended similar training programs in China. Having them visit China in addition to sending Chinese teachers to Ethiopia could give Ethiopia a clearer picture of the agricultural development in China and the Chinese vocational education system， said Wang Kaiyuan， one of the organizers from the Ministry of Agriculture.
“We hope they will take back to Ethiopia their Chinese experience and friendship as well，” she added.
Building understanding
In September 2015， Xu Hongzhai， a teacher at the Hunan Agricultural University， received a letter from afar.
“I’m so proud of being one of your students，” the letter said. “You’ve returned to China， but the seeds and technology you brought will stay in Ethiopia forever.”It was from an Ethiopian student. As an expert in agricultural engineering， Xu arrived in the Alage ATVET College in 2013， where she served for two years together with a Chinese teaching team. She designed a modern agriculture demonstration center and promoted water-saving irrigation， which managed to save one third of the water that was being used earlier.
The agricultural educational personnel exchanges between China and Ethiopia date back to 2000 when then Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi requested the Chinese Government to send agricultural experts to Ethiopian vocational schools.
The two countries signed an agreement in 2001， following which the first batch of 10 Chinese teachers started out for Ethiopia. Since then， the past 15 years have witnessed 405 Chinese teachers like Xu go to Ethiopia， providing guidance and training to around 2，100 Ethiopian teachers， 13，000 agricultural technicians and 39，000 students. They have introduced over 70 advanced agricultural technologies.
In the technological cooperation between China and Ethiopia， vocational education plays a unique role， said Ye Anping， Director of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture.
“As teachers， they wield greater influence because students have unlimited potential，” Ye said.
He believes that educational personnel exchanges can promote cultural communication as well， since the teachers - both Ethiopian and Chinese - will share what they saw and experienced with more students， which will promote further understanding of one another’s countries and methods.
“Understanding is the basis of trust， and trust is the foundation for cooperation，” Ye said.
A valuable reference
Once， China used to face a huge challenge in agriculture. According to Ministry of Agriculture statistics，China’s water resources are less than one third of the world average. It has to feed 20 percent of the world’s population while having less than 9 percent of the arable land in the world.
“No country in the world can help China feed its people，” Ye said. “China has only itself to rely on， so agricultural development has been among the top priorities of the government.”
The driving force for agricultural development has been technology， Ye said. Four decades ago， technology contributed around 16 percent to China’s agricultural growth； last year， the rate rose to 57 percent.
Senbeta believes the Chinese experience would be an important reference for Ethiopia where about 80 percent of the population live on agriculture and agriculture contributes 43 percent to the country’s GDP growth.
“This year， we have six Chinese instructors in our college. They have been performing very well， especially in practical demonstrations，” he said. “They bring new technologies and promote them not only among the students but also in the neighboring communities， and train farmers too.”
One of the priorities for Ethiopia， Ye believes， is to improve its investment environment. In fact， many Chinese investors have shown interest， he said.
“Agricultural cooperation should be sustainable. It will benefit not only Africa but also China，” he said.
As the biggest importer of agricultural products in the world， China bought agricultural products worth 120 billion yuan （$18.43 billion） in 2015. In a speech to the visiting Ethiopian team， Ye gave a detailed description of China’s import structure， saying： “Those popular products could be significant areas for future trade cooperation between China and Ethiopia as well as other African countries.”