Agricultural cooperation was one of the main topics at the recently held 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Helping Africa achieve general food security by 2030 was highlighted at the summit. 

It was also proposed that China work with African countries to formulate and implement a program of action to promote China-Africa cooperation on agricultural modernization. It is evident therefore how important agricultural development is to the future of Africa. 

Such importance becomes even more salient when we look at the trajectory of Africa's population growth. In the most recently released report Goalkeepers: The Stories Behind the Data 2018 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill and Melinda warned that "one of the obstacles the continent faces is rapid population growth. Africa as a whole is projected to nearly double in size by 2050, which means that even if the percentage of poor people on the continent is cut in half, the number of poor people stays the same." The United Nations estimates that by 2050, 86 percent of the world's population living in extreme poverty will be concentrated in the Sub-Saharan region.

The solution to this pressing yet often neglected challenge isn't in hitting certain population targets. Instead, agriculture has proven to be one of the more promising strategies. By improving agricultural productivity, we increase smallholder farmers' income, boost consumption, create jobs and drive local economic growth.

China's agricultural experience is particularly relevant to Africa, where agricultural development has been primarily driven by smallholder farmers moving from lower to higher levels of productivity. China has a proven track record in elevating its agricultural productivity and turning it into a driving force for economic development. Such experience can be invaluable to many African countries.

Over the past years, Chinese Agricultural University has been carrying out a pilot program in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania, with the goal to scale up China's labour-intensive approach to maize growing in the region. This, coupled with the adoption of locally sourced quality seeds, have helped double or in some cases, triple the region's maize yield. This in turn has led to increased income for farmers and job opportunities in local communities. It also lays the foundation for the creation of a more robust industry value chain for maize production and processing in the longer term.