China’s southwestern province a forerunner in agricultural cooperation between China and ASEAN

When the first China-ASEAN Expo was held in Nanning， capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region， in 2004， China and Laos began to seek agricultural cooperation. A China-Laos cooperative agricultural experimental base was established in Laos， and in 2010， at the 13th ASEAN-China Summit， China and ASEAN countries proposed jointly building 20 test stations for various crops. In 2012， China and Laos signed an agreement on agricultural cooperation， vowing to establish the China-Laos cooperative test station for special varieties of crops.

In 2013， China’s and Laos’ respective ministries of agriculture designated Guangxi Agricultural Vocational College and the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute of Laos as the specific entities to establish a crop testing station in Vientiane， Laos’ capital. The station， which has since been completed， covers an area of 40 hectares， divided into an orchard， a vegetable area， a rice and corn area and a resort area.

Results Achieved

During the early stages of the test station’s construction， its head Wei Xianheng traveled back and forth between Guangxi and Vientiane to coordinate the construction process. Four technicians from Guangxi are stationed at the test station.

Qin Zhihe， deputy head of the test station， said that missing his wife and children and enduring the hot weather have made working in Vientiane difficult， but he still decided to stay. He worked as a public servant in Guangxi before he came to Vientiane as the deputy head of the test station in March 2014. For the past three years， Qin and his colleagues have planted hundreds of experimental crop varieties.

Pan Wenhu， a test station expert， used to work as a technician in Guangxi and was the first in Guangxi to develop the technique of out-of-season hydroponic cantaloupe. Pan was invited to the test station to work on cantaloupe cultivation and his first pilot planting in Laos was also successful.

“In the past， Laos didn’t produce cantaloupe and doesn’t have relevant planting technology，” Pan said. “The success of this trial planting proves that Laos’ climate and soil is suitable for cantaloupe cultivation. We will use the ‘company-base-farmer’ model to gradually expand the cultivated area with an aim at developing Laos’ cantaloupe industry further and then promoting it to other Southeast Asian countries.”

Pan’s cantaloupes appeared robust upon harvesting. Starting in 2014， the test station has held the annual Vientiane Cantaloupe Festival， and the success of cantaloupe trial planting is a testament of “you reap what you sow”.

“We work in accordance with the standards of modern agriculture to comprehensively upgrade the test station through installation of integrated water and a fertilizer system for sprinkling and trickle irrigation，” Wei added. More than 300 experimental crops have been planted at the station so far.

Upgraded Agricultural Cooperation

The test station is just one example of Guangxi’s work in ASEAN. In Cambodia， a China-Cambodia crop testing station has begun operating. In Vietnam， using the China-Vietnam demonstration research and promotion base for agricultural comprehensive technology as a platform， Guangxi has carried out the cultivation of hybrid rice combinations， melon and vegetable varieties， among which 17 rice combinations have been deemed suitable for planting in central and northern Vietnam， in addition to 16 varieties of vegetables. In Brunei， companies from Guangxi have conducted the China-Brunei pilot project of rice research and development cooperation， and have also built the Brunei Mingming agricultural industrial park. Both projects have achieved success. Some 10 rice varieties were planted experimentally as part of these two projects in Brunei， and their average dry grain yield was 6.86 tons per hectare， much higher than ordinary yields in Brunei.

According to the Guangxi Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau （GEEIQB）， during the first six months of 2017， Guangxi exported five batches of seeds with a combined weight of 173 tons， worth a total of US$780，000. These exported seeds include hybrid rice， radish and leaf mustard， mostly exported to Vietnam.

“As Guangxi and some ASEAN countries are closely linked geographically， they share similar climate characteristics， so Guangxi’s multiple hybrid rice seeds are suitable to plant in ASEAN countries and achieve high crop yields，” explained one GEEIQB official.

Agricultural cooperation between Guangxi and ASEAN is being upgraded. Personnel training and promotion of various crops have both improved， as have cross-border animal and plant disease prevention and control cooperation and cross-border technical exchanges. For example， carrying out high-yielding cultivation experiments on selected rice varieties and exploring a new model of crop rotation on paddy fields and dry land have brought early success. In addition， a household biogas project that aims to solve energy problems in rural areas was also widely promoted in ASEAN countries such as Cambodia.

The year 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN. Wang Lei， secretary general of China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat， said that the 14th China-ASEAN Expo will provide more exhibition space for agricultural trade and investment projects， modern agriculture demonstration zones and cold-chain logistics in an effort to facilitate deepened agricultural cooperation between China and ASEAN.