Lessons from China

He said the group identified poor soil fertility and high land degradation as the prime challenges for Africa's grain production, coupled with threats including limited access to irrigation, a lack of credit access, underdeveloped rural infrastructure, locust invasions, and political instability.

Jiao Xiaoqiang, an associate professor at the CAU who is also a coordinator with the STB project, said the project also sought to present to the students key lessons from China's experience in agricultural development－the resource-environment costs of food production are very large with land expansion and overuse of chemical fertilizers.

The effective approach to move agriculture toward sustainable intensification in Africa is to increase grain yield per unit of land area rather than expansion of agricultural land, he said.

Africa has 64 percent of the global arable land but produces less than 10 percent of its food locally due to inherently low soil nutrient concentrations, he added.

"With climatic conditions that are suitable for crop growth, Africa has great potential for increased food production. Empowering smallholder farmers to increase grain yields in Africa is the only way to increase food production and achieve food self-sufficiency on the continent," he said.

The Sino-Africa Science and Technology Backyard is only part of broader steps launched by China to help Africa train its talent on agricultural production. Since 2012, 7,456 African trainees have received agricultural training in China, said a white book released by the State Council Information Office last year.

Through projects such as sending Chinese agricultural experts to Africa, more than 50,000 Africans have been trained and 23 agricultural demonstration centers have been built, the white book said.

In moving forward poverty alleviation and agricultural development in Africa, President Xi Jinping announced last year the nation is set to establish a number of China-Africa joint centers for modern agricultural technology exchange, demonstration and training in China. The nation will send 500 agricultural experts and undertake poverty reduction and poverty alleviation projects.

Jiang said it would require more coordinated efforts from different nations, businesses and international organizations to help Africa attain food security in the future. "It would require a step-by-step process, and the sharing of experience and technological expertise and training of talent is a key procedure," he said.

He added the project will continue to offer more scholarships to African students to serve as an "innovation hub" for solutions to food security in the continent.

Solomon Yokamo said the experience in China has inspired him to launch a similar STB project in his home country of Ethiopia to serve as the bridge between scientists and smallholder farmers to increase agricultural yield.

"Knowledge is power, but without action, it is meaningless," Solomon said, adding he is determined to share the knowledge and skills he acquired from the project with the farm and science community in his homeland.