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人人书 > 杂志 > WAGING WAR ON POVERTY

WAGING WAR ON POVERTY

时间:2024-10-20 11:51:45

ChinaandAfricaexchangeexperiencesonpovertyreliefundertheFOCACframework

Whenshewasyoung,VictoriaSekitolekohadnoideawhatshewoulddowhenshegrewup.Theonethingshewassureof,however,wasthatshewouldnevermarryafarmer.

TheformerUgandanMinisterofAgriculturesharedthisanecdoteattheopeningceremonyofthePovertyReductionandDevelopmentConferenceoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC)inBeijingonAugust14.

Growingupinafarmingfamilywheremoneywasscarce,onevalueyoungSekitolekotookawayfromherupbringingwasthatsheneededtogetasmucheducationaspossibletoescapethepovertyofrurallife.

However,itwasnotuntilsheenteredMakerereUniversitytopursueabachelor鈥檚degreeinagriculturethatsheunderstoodthevalueofagricultureandtheneedfordevelopingthecapacityofthissectortoalleviatepovertyinhercountry.

In2011,asarepresentativeoftheUnitedNationsFoodandAgricultureOrganizationinChina,SekitolekowasinspiredbytheChinesemethodofpovertyreduction.鈥淭oday,undertheframeworkofFOCAC,I鈥檓happytoseeChinaandAfricancountries[have]strengthened[theircooperation]inpovertyrelief,鈥漷heruraldevelopmentprofessionaltoldBeijingReview.

Outofpoverty

AccordingtoJustinYifuLin,CounseloroftheStateCouncilofChinaandformerChiefEconomistoftheWorldBank,whenChina鈥檚reformandopeningupstartedinlate1978,Sub-SaharanAfrica鈥檚GDPpercapitawasmorethanthreetimesthatofChina.Atthattime,84percentofChinesepeoplelivedonlessthan$1.25aday,theinternationalpovertystandard.

However,WorldBankstatisticsshowthatsincethereformandopening-uppolicybegan,Chinahasseenadramaticdecreaseofitsimpoverishedpopulation.Itspovertyratedroppedto1.9percentin2013from88.3percentin1981.

Overthepastfourdecades,some700millionruralresidentsacrossChinahaveshakenofftheyokeofpoverty.In2017,theper-capitayearlydisposableincomeofruralresidentsinpoverty-strickenareasreached9,377yuan($1,359),anincreaseofmorethan50percentover2013,accordingtoLiuYongfu,headoftheStateCouncilLeadingGroupOfficeofPovertyAlleviationandDevelopment.

Chinesepeoplehavederivedgreatbenefitsfromthecountry鈥檚economicgrowthduetostronggovernmentsupport,theactivepromotionofindustrializationandurbanization,aswellasanemphasisoninfrastructureconstructioninpovertystrickenareas.

InDecember2015,ChinesePresidentXiJinpingannouncedapovertyreductionprogramasoneofthe10majorChinaAfricacooperationplansatthe2015FOCACJohannesburgSummitinSouthAfrica.XipointedoutthatChina鈥檚experienceinpovertyalleviationcouldbeusedtohelpAfricancountriescompletetheirpovertyreductiontarget.

Inrecentyears,ChinahasmadegreateffortsinsharingitspovertyalleviationexperiencewithAfricancountriesinareassuchasagriculture,technologyandskill,andinfrastructureconstruction.

Agriculturesector

AsSekitolekorealized,inmanyAfricancountries,developingagricultureandincreasingfarmers鈥檌ncomearevitaltopovertyreduction.

AccordingtoJosefaLeonelCorreiaSacko,CommissionerofRuralEconomyandAgricultureoftheAfricanUnionCommission,Africahasabout600millionhectaresofuncultivatedarableland,roughly65percentoftheworld鈥檚total.However,manyAfricancountriesareamongthemostaffectedgloballybyfoodinsecurityandlowagriculturalproductivity.

TransformingtheagriculturalsystemsinAfricademandstheneedtoempowerpoorfarmerswithtechnology,improvetheiraccesstoagriculturalknowledgeandprovidethemaccesstomarkets,accordingtoexperts.

TheprioritiesinagriculturalcooperationbetweenChinaandAfricancountrieswerethereforeestablishedduringtheJohannesburgSummit.Thisincludedcarryingoutagriculturaldemonstrationprojects,transferringtechnologiesandcooperatingwithAfricancountriestoincreaseproductivity.Leadersreaffirmedtheircommitmenttocollaborationintheagriculturalsectoratthisyear鈥檚BeijingSummit.

Fordecades,China鈥檚MinistryofAgriculturehasbeendispatchingChineseagriculturalexpertsandteacherstoAfricancountriestoprovidehelpinagriculturaldevelopment.Forexample,inOctober2015,a10-membermissionwassenttoZimbabwetoimplementthesecondbilateralagriculturalcooperationprogram.TheexpertsconductedthefirstexperimentonhybridricecultivationinZimbabwe鈥檚history.Thesixricevarietiestestedyieldedmorethan10tonsperhectare,settinganewrecordforthecountry.

Personneltraining

Enjoyingademographicdividend,Africawillbehometo200millionyoungpeopleagedbetween15and24by2025,takingup20percentofthetotalpopulationofthecontinent,accordingtodatareleasedbytheUnitedNations.However,thelackofskillsisstilloneofthethreemajorbottlenecksinAfrica鈥檚development,withthetwinchallengesofbackwardinfrastructurefacilitiesandshortageoffunding.

In2017,JackMa,ExecutiveChairmanofAlibabaGroup,amultinationaltechnologyconglomerate,saidAlibabawouldworkwithseveralAfricanuniversitiesincollaborationwithgovernmentstodeveloptrainingprogramsone-commerce,theInternet,BigDataandcloudcomputing.鈥淭heobjectiveistotrainasmanyyoungpeopleaspossibleacrossAfrica,鈥漵aidMa.

Moreover,ChineseenterprisesareplayingabiggerroleinhelpingAfricancountries鈥檆apacitybuilding.Forexample,inChineseshoemakerHuajianGroup鈥檚Ethiopiafactory,3,800ofits4,000employeesarelocals.Withgoodtraining,workerscanskillfullycompletethefullshoemakingprocessofleathercutting,bonding,sewingandmodelingandproducemorethan8,000pairsofshoesdaily.Apartfromlearningadvancedshoemakingskills,someofthemweresenttoChinatolearntheChineselanguageandmanagementskills.

鈥淐apacitybuildingcouldmakeacontributiontoimprovingthelocalworkforcequality,helpingpromoteEthiopia鈥檚economicdevelopment,鈥漵aidZhangYunqi,GeneralManagerofHuajianInternationalLightIndustryCity(Ethiopia).

Nextmove

AccordingtoLiu,Chinaisstillfacingtheheavytaskoflifting30millionpeopleoutofpoverty,andAfrica鈥檚povertyreductiontaskiseventougher.EliminatingpovertyforsustainabledevelopmentisasharedgoalandhistorictaskofbothChineseandAfricanpeoples.

LiusuggestedatthePovertyReductionandDevelopmentConferencethatinthefollowingyears,ChinaandAfricashouldstrengthentheiranti-povertycooperationinthreeaspectsundertheframeworkofFOCAC.First,thetwosidesshouldfurthercommunicationtosharetheirexperiencesofpovertyalleviationandworktogethertoconductresearchinthefield.Second,ChinashouldcontinueitshelpintrainingpovertyreliefworkersfromAfricaaccordingtotheneedsofAfricancountries.Finally,pilotprojectsshouldbejointlylaunchedasexamplesofortechnicalsupportforpovertyreliefefforts.

AgriculturalexpertsfromChinaandAlgeriahaveaconversationonsaline-alkalilandtreatmentonMarch23,2014,inRelizaneProvince,AlgeriaXINHUACopyeditedbyFranciscoLittleandRebecaToledoCommentsto
   

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