On march 15th, xinhua society, colombo, in anura dapura, the central city of sri lanka, agrotechnical demonstration abesingha has been troubled: the growth of mango trees in the family is encouraging, but the production is unstable and the thinly fallen mangoes are disproportionately disproportionate to the blistering branches。
On 21 february, in anuradapura, sri lanka, liu yang (right) expert of the chinese academy of tropical agriculture directed sri lankan colleagues to produce pineapples. Xinhua news agency
The nokiyegamo region of abesingha is one of the main mango-producing areas of anuradapura. The locals and mangoes, though long, are not able to understand the mango temper. One year of thinness, sometimes early and sometimes late harvests, are difficult to ensure. Local farmers can only guarantee production by expanding the scale of their cultivation, and stability and harvests are their thirst and dream。
In may 2023, china, fao and sri lanka launched a south-south cooperation project. Several chinese agrotechnical experts found abesingha and, after examining local tropical fruit cultivation, decided to open a pilot field. Local gonodisanayaka hears that foreign experts are here to help grow mangoes, and wonders, "did i grow mangoes for so many years
At first, disanayaka thought that the chinese expert's approach was a bit “dumb”. It takes a lot of effort to lay out a whole system of hydrofertilizers before planting, and to trim the mango trees during the season. Looking at the short, “breathing” fruit tree, disanayaka felt that the harvest would be worse than her own。
This was a mango test field filmed on 20 february in the nokiyegamer area of sri lanka. Xinhua news agency
However, with the harvest season, disanayaka was surprised to find that chinese experts had grown mangoes that were not only high in production and good in quality, but also concentrated in maturity and were more efficient in harvesting. In contrast, mangoes, which use chinese agricultural technology, are clearly the best. Abesingha led disanayaka to the chinese expert: “what is this? Can you spread it here?"
"mango trees are not as tall as they can be, too high to be able to concentrate on the care" "to trim the branches so as not to grab sunlight and nutrients and ensure the quality of the fruit" the experience of chinese experts, such as how to apply fertilizer with precision, how to focus on flowers and how to combat pests and diseases, has left abesingha with a number of long-standing difficulties。
There are many similar test fields in sri lanka. Since the start of the project, chinese experts have carried out various tropical fruit-growing experiments in sri lanka, including mangoes, pineapple and bananas, combining chinese agricultural skills and experience with the actual local conditions in sri lanka, which have been passed on to local agro-technologists, thereby reaching thousands of families in sri lanka。
The expert of the chinese academy of tropical agriculture, liu yang, said that in two years in sri lanka he had witnessed a process from suspicion to conviction and from strangers to trust among local farmers. China's test field has become a famous nearby “model field”。
“agricultural tools, fertilizers, pesticides are not enough, and chinese experts have taught us simple and practical techniques, such as cutting branches and bagging fruit, which can significantly improve production and quality without too much additional cost.” abesingha says. With the application of chinese technology, local mango production has increased by more than 40 per cent, and the rate of positive fruit will increase significantly。
This was taken on 17 february at the project laboratory in horana, sri lanka, where pineapple saplings were taken. Xinhua news agency
In addition to planting and harvesting, the government has offered professional guidance in the post-harvest processing chain, particularly in increasing the value added of agricultural products. At the sri lankan national institute for the post-fructery management of fruits, liu yuang made carefully harvested pineapples and mangos into pineapples and mango drys, and invited sri lankan colleagues to evaluate the taste, colour, etc. And then adjust the process based on feedback. Researcher aluwihare and his colleagues learned not only the craftsmanship but also the chinese word “good”. Aluwihare said she could not wait to see these fresh and delicious snacks on the market in sri lanka, bringing more income to the local farmers。
At the end of february this year, the cooperation project successfully passed the fao acceptance and inspection。
“i was impressed by the professionalism, professionalism and spirit of cooperation of chinese experts.” munasingha, an officer of the fao office in sri lanka, said that “china's technical experience has been a powerful contributor to tropical fruit cultivation in sri lanka for the benefit of many fruit farmers”
“in this project, you see the potential for agricultural cooperation in china.” the chairman of the chinese team of experts on the project, sun tsang, looks forward to further cooperation between the two countries in the future。
