Dawn breaks over Midekin Village in Chad’s Hadjer-Lamis Region, where golden rice ears glisten under the sun. On October 4, local farmers marked the annual Harvest Festival—this year with the roar of a new harvester supplied by China’s Agricultural Technical Assistance Mission to Chad (MATACT).
Local officials joined the celebration, watching as a Chinese agricultural expert started the machine, which hummed to life before sweeping steadily through the fields.
Mahamat Ahmad Alhabo, secretary general at the Presidency of Chad, called the moment “a breakthrough” for the country’s food security.
Rice has long been Chad’s staple crop, but low yields forced the government to import hundreds of thousands of tonnes each year. Since MATACT arrived in 2006, Chinese experts have introduced high-quality rice varieties, modern irrigation techniques, and state-of-the-art equipment like rice transplanters and harvesters.
Farmer Baradine Kadre, 27, said this was the first time he’d seen a harvester in action. Watching it sweep through the field felt like magic, he added.
Nearly two decades of collaboration have optimized over 600,000 hectares of rice land, with more than 10 improved varieties tested and three ready for Chad’s national seed catalog. On average, yields of Chinese varieties have surpassed local ones by 35%, adding some 1.2 million tonnes of rice—enough to feed 3 million people for a year.
Oumar Souleymane, 35, said training on seed production, plowing techniques, and fertilizer application has empowered farmers to boost both yields and incomes.
“We’ve learned methods suited to our land and climate,” he explained. “This partnership is changing lives.”
He Qiaosheng, head of MATACT’s eighth expert group, noted that cooperation with Chad is built on equality, mutual benefit, and capacity-building. “China aims to foster genuine partnerships—sharing knowledge and training local talent,” he said.
As the sun sets over Midekin, the fields stand as a testament to what focused collaboration and technology can achieve. For Chad’s young farmers, the future now looks brighter—and more bountiful.
Reference(s):
China-aided agricultural project helps boost Chad's food security
cgtn.com
