Published 27/05/2025 10:05
The Suriname Agricultural Technical Cooperation Center is about an hour and a half from the capital, Paramaribo. When reporters arrived, the project’s first phase head and vegetable cultivation specialist, Liu Dejun, was in a nearby experimental field with his team of Chinese experts and local farmers, checking the growth of plantations.
Seeing the fruits and vegetables carefully cultivated by the blooming and fruiting team, Liu Dejun was pleased.
Just over two years ago, when the Chinese agricultural expert team arrived at Suriname, they found a very low land use rate. Most local farmers depended on the traditional experience, believing that after launching the seeds to the ground, the rest would depend on luck.
They lacked their knowledge and technology of modern cultivation, which made agricultural production unstable. In 2022, with the beginning of the technical assistance project of the Suriname Agricultural Technical Cooperation Center, the Chinese team established specialized areas in vegetables, edible mushrooms, agricultural machinery, among others, and began experiments to introduce species and practical training according to local conditions.
New varieties and techniques were introduced, such as the combined cultivation of corn and soy, formed model families with some agriculture base, and offered technical guidance and support with agricultural inputs.
Sharina grew up on a farm where her family has always cultivated peanuts, sweet potatoes and fruits like banana. “When I learned that a team of agricultural experts from China had arrived, I went to see with a friend. On the first visit to the Agricultural Cooperation Center, I was impressed – the peppers cultivated by the experts were full of fruit, while ours were very scarce. From there, I began to learn from Chinese experts.”
“We train farmers and apprentices in identifying and green control of pests and diseases, accurate fertilization, sowing and germination, water saving irrigation, high performance cultivation, variety selection, among others, with practical application in the field, which increased the technical level and efficiency of agricultural production,” explained Liu Dejun.
With Chinese experts, Sharina learned many techniques, such as using chicken manure and fermented cow as fertilizer; It is not always necessary to apply pesticides when seedlings get sick – sometimes natural methods work better. Apprentices and experts have created a group of messages on social networks, where they can ask for help at any time. “I share what I learned from my family and started to plant vegetables I had never grown before,” said Sharina, excitedly. “I love the sensation of the harvest. Seeing the earth repaying fills the heart with joy.”
Like Sharina, many training participants took technical knowledge back to their communities and taught other farmers, expanding the impact of the cooperation project. Linda, an employee of the district office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing of Suriname, said: “As you visit the fields, we clearly feel that Chinese training brought technologies and concepts that we had never seen – before we thought that the larger the fruit tree, the better, but now we know that the pruning and the proper management ensures better and better fruits”.
Currently, farms guided by the Chinese team already total more than 100 hectares. More than 200 technical visits were made and trained about 350 apprentices. They come from all over Suriname – some take buses daily, traveling up to 3 hours round trip, just to lose their chance to learn from Chinese experts.
“Our goal is for Suriname to actually reach self -sufficiency and sustainable development in agriculture,” said Liu Jingguo, a specialist in the team’s fruits and vegetables. “We hope that when we leave, farmers here will be able to apply the techniques and experiences alone, cultivating confidence.”
“Three years ago, the place where the cooperation center was an abandoned land; now it is green and productive,” said Wang Chuanrui, deputy of the Parliament of Suriname.
“Chinese experts have not only brought modern technologies such as irrigation with integrated fertilizers and nutritional diagnosis, but also gradually changed the perception of the Surinames people about agriculture. More and more farmers are learning scientific methods of cultivation and local agricultural quality and local agricultural quality. organic fruits and vegetables and reach the international market. ”
Jia Jinyi, China’s Embassy Economic and Commercial Counselor in Suriname, said the Suriname Agricultural Technical Cooperation Center is the first agricultural assistance project since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
With remarkable results in the introduction of techniques, seeds, infrastructure and talent formation, 32 varieties of crops have already been promoted, benefiting over 6,500 farmers and launching the foundations for the local sustainable agricultural development capacity.
Source: vermelho.org.br
