Chinese seeds and standards underpin rice harvest in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is strengthening local food production through agricultural cooperation with China, with improved rice varieties and locally adapted cultivation standards supporting a harvest averaging 8,374 kilograms per hectare at a demonstration farm this year.

The benefits are reaching vulnerable households. In August, the Niefang demonstration farm donated 3,000 kg of rice processed from the harvest to the local foundation to support low-income families and disadvantaged groups.

Diosdado Obiang Mbomio, first deputy minister of agriculture of Equatorial Guinea, said rice grown with Chinese assistance had won local recognition for its quality and stable yields. He described the harvest and donation as evidence of the two countries' longstanding friendship and practical cooperation.

Underpinning those results is an effort by the State Administration for Market Regulation to connect agricultural expertise with standards that local producers can apply. Through the second phase of China's agricultural technical assistance project for Equatorial Guinea, the administration has drawn on Jiangxi province's strengths in rice varieties and farming technology to support their adoption overseas.

The work illustrates the country's "soft connectivity" goals in agricultural rules and standards under the Belt and Road Initiative, with technical cooperation extending from selecting suitable seeds to establishing consistent cultivation and yield assessment practices.

Adapting those practices to local conditions has required years of experimentation. Following successful rice cultivation trials in 2018, the Chinese team — with guidance from experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences — continued screening varieties and refining planting methods to suit the country's climate, soil, and water conditions.

The trials helped shape three association standards tailored to Equatorial Guinea, covering manual rice transplanting, dry-seeded rice cultivation under moist conditions, and ratoon rice cultivation during the dry season.

To help put the methods into wider use, Chinese experts have provided technical training and on-site guidance totaling nearly 3,000 participant attendances. Planting demonstrations and regular agricultural extension support are also helping local workers apply standardized methods to rice and other crops, building the skills needed to sustain production beyond a single harvest, the SAMR said.