For two years, Evrard Ndayikeje had no job after graduating from university. But things changed in 2016 when he joined China’s hybrid rice planting demonstration program.
Speaking fluent English, the smart and studious young Burundian man impressed Chinese experts at their initial meeting. He was then hired as their assistant and was taught how to grow Chinese hybrid rice.
“They changed my life in a short time,” Ndayikeje said. “Before I met the Chinese experts in 2016, I didn’t have work for two years after graduating from university, and I grew traditional rice on my family’s land, but didn’t have much production and didn’t have money.”
The East African country Burundi is known as the “heart of Africa” with a tropical climate and abundant rainfall. Its natural conditions are favorable to rice production, but Burundians have suffered from food shortages due to low rice yields.
Source : China Daily