New donors and emerging countries in agriculture in the ACP countries

Is there a Chinese cooperation model in

the agriculture sector in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Jean-Jacques GABAS, CIRADBrussels Briefings, ACP Secretariat, 27 October 2015

I. Research methodology. Main resultsII. Agricultural demonstration centres: a

cooperation model? III. Implications for cooperation policy

I. Research methodology. Main resultsConstructing analyses and drawing political

conclusions based on establishing the facts.Partners:

1) Creation of a database of more than 250 projects and programmes actually implemented by Chinese public and private actors in West and Southern Africa in the agricultural sector2) A series of monographs: South Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Togo3) An analysis of the foreign trade of the emerging countries with Africa south of the Sahara4) A synthesis of all work

a) Strong growth in total trade…

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

50000000

100000000

150000000

200000000

250000000

Development of trade with SSA

ArgentineBrésilChineIndeCorée du SudAfrique du SudUE - 27Etats-Unis

- Focusing on a few countries: South Africa, Angola, Nigeriaa few products: petroleum, mining

- Little focus on agricultural products: agriculture accounts for just 9% of its exports to SSA, and 4% of its imports from SSA.

-Chinese exports: processed cotton (46%), tomatoes (7%), wood (6%), tractors (6%), fish (5%), green tea (5%). -Chinese imports: wood (32%), raw cotton (19%), tobacco leaves (14%), sesame seeds (14%) and wool (5%).

- Just 2.6% of China's agricultural imports come from Sub-Saharan Africa.

-Europe remains the largest trading partner with SSA in the agricultural sector, far ahead of China

What about tomorrow?? What trends are emerging in the current economic and financial crisis in China?

b) Some general lessons learned from the database and field surveys

-More projects in West Africa than in Southern Africa

-Both private and public actors

-25 demonstration centres, more than 10 of which are active

- Low level of land acquisition compared with North American, European, national and Gulf state investors

Gabas J.J. 2014, Is China making a land grab in Africa?, Revue Futuribles. Available at:

https://www.futuribles.com/en/base/document/is-china-making-a-land-grab-in-africa/

-Sub-sectors: rice, cotton, horticulture, viticulture, livestock, fish-farming. Involvement in the cassava sector. Important activity in the rubber and cocoa sectors.

-Food production primarily for domestic markets in Africa.

- Triangular cooperation is mainly constructed with multilateral donors: FAO, IFAD, World Bank

c) Aid to agricultural sector hard to measure but fairly modest...

-According to the second White Paper of July 2014, US $7.7 billion of Chinese aid was allocated to Africa in 2010-2012, or 52% of China's total aid. Quite far behind the ODA of DAC/OECD countries.- two main sectors: . infrastructure, 45%. social services, 28%

. agricultural sector receives just 2% of Chinese aid to Africa…

d) Strong growth in the exchange of ideas and knowledge with Chinese researchers,

policymakers etc. close contacts, porosityNumerous think tanks, internationally recognised

scientific publications

II. Agricultural demonstration centres: a cooperation model?

-The 25 centres: state of progress-Model-Lessons learned

-Model

Example: the Centre for the Application of Agricultural Techniques in Cameroon – CATAC (Nanga Eboko)

Period Activities

2009-2011 Construction of CATAC. No trials.

DONATIONS from MOFCOM

2011-2014 First tests, no awareness-raising, no training

Contract between MOFCOM and the company Shanxi Overseas Investment. Arrival of experts

2015-2017 Experiments continued and training launched

Financing in the form of DONATIONS. Cost of training shared with MINADER

2018-2023 Experimentation, awareness-raising

CATAC must be financially self-sufficient

After 2023 CATAC handed over to the Cameroonian authorities

Pronounced link between

-Donations from MOFCOM-Passed on by provincial companies

-which will create commercial opportunities (inputs, selected seeds)

Some early lessons:

- Model that plans for the cessation of aid-'Green revolution' approach to agricultural development- Experimentation stage on fairly small areas of land: a

few dozen hectares, more in Togo or Mozambique- Little dialogue or scientific cooperation with national

and regional agricultural research centres- Does the role of these centres go beyond their primary

function?

III. What are the implications for cooperation policy?

- We must promote and pursue exchanges between Chinese, African and European researchers- There is a need to monitor the cooperation policies of the emerging countries, and their investment and trade with the ACP countries in general. Significant and rapid changes.

-Dialogue at global governance level on development funding exists within the forums of the United Nations, OECD, etc.

- …which is not found in the ACP countries.

-Conditions of trust need to be created between the ACP states, bilateral and multilateral donors and emerging donors: far too

many preconceptions on all sides….

Gabas J.J. Tang X., Chinese agricultural cooperation in sub-Saharan Africa. Challenging preconceptions. Perspective No. 26, CIRAD, 2014 : http://www.cirad.fr/en/news/all-news-items/articles/2014/ca-vient-de-sortir/perspective-no.-26-chinese-agricultural-cooperation-in-sub-saharan-africa

- consider meetings, seminars at which each party can talk about its approach, its knowledge of development issues, the ACP states' development policies, cooperation policies etc. before the moment for triangular cooperation comes.- the international agenda has been favourable to the resumption of financing in the agricultural sector since the 2008 food crisis. The current momentum should be continued, and the conditions for dialogue between the emerging countries and the ACP states should be created.

Thank you for your time