Hatching Success

　　A Chinese agriculture expert’s rewarding working experience in Ethiopia

　　Tang Huiyong was no novice when it comes to working on agricultural cooperation projects abroad. But in spite of his experience， he had pangs of anxiety on being selected by the Ministry of Agriculture for a Chinese Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) program in Ethiopia in 2011.

　　“The ATVET is different from the previous projects [I have worked on]. It focuses on education and training， requiring teachers to have not only theoretical and practical knowledge， but also high English communication skills. We have to teach in English，” said the Chinese teacher.

　　The ATVET program was co-launched by the Chinese and Ethiopian governments. In 2000， the then Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi proposed the Chinese Government send agricultural experts to teach in Ethiopian vocational colleges. A year later， the two governments signed the ATVET program agreement and China sent its first group of more than 20 agricultural experts to launch the program.

　　In 2011， Tang was sent to the Agarfa ATVET College in Oromia， Ethiopia’s largest and most populated region， to teach students how to raise chickens. Things didn’t go smoothly at the start.

　　“I was not confident of my English， especially the English terms，” recalled Tang. “In addition， the local teachers and students spoke English with a strong accent， which added to communication difficulties.”

　　To overcome these challenges， Tang burnt the midnight oil determinedly learning the professional English terms he needed. He also made use of every opportunity to chat with the local teachers so as to familiarize himself with the local accent. In just two months， he was communicating freely with his Ethiopian peers. At the same time， he also picked up simple local phrases， using them to spice up his classes.

　　“In my first year， I was honored to be regarded as the most popular Chinese teacher in my college， and I scored the highest among all Chinese teachers in the terminal assessment，” Tang said.

　　Chicken incubation guru

　　The 51-year-old graduated from the Hunan Agricultural University in 1987， majoring in animal husbandry. He spent three years in the Pacific island nation of Micronesia for a South-South cooperation project launched by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization， and represented Micronesia at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

　　At the Agarfa ATVET College， he is credited with artificially incubating the college’s first batch of chickens and has been dubbed the “father of artificially incubated chickens.”

　　“It is really hard work，” Tang said. “It requires high technical proficiency. Any mistake in any link， such as temperature and humidity [miscalculations]， may lead to failure. Earlier， many teachers had tried to incubate chickens but they all failed.”

　　As the power supply in Agarfa is not stable， it is difficult to use electricity to incubate chickens. This led Tang to promote the Chinese traditional water-bed incubation technology. He used charcoal and kerosene to maintain the temperature he wanted， water and wet cloths to control humidity， and old blankets and cotton quilts to keep the eggs warm.

　　“I told myself I must succeed，” Tang recalled his determination. During the 21-day incubation period， he followed strict time and handling procedures， teaching his students and fellow teachers how to operate the incubator.

　　His diligence paid off. Three weeks later， 90 percent of the eggs hatched chickens and his students passed the incubation course with flying colors.

　　In 2012， Tang designed the college’s first water-bed incubator. It can incubate 300 to 500 eggs at a time and meet the demands of local families wanting to raise chickens.

　　The same year， his college formally requested that he stays. Despite the tough work and living conditions， Tang was proud his hard work had been recognized.

　　Brand China

　　Tang says the ATVET program， based on community-level cooperation， can promote agricultural development in Ethiopia and benefit locals. “Made-in-China products， roads constructed by [Chinese companies]， and Chinese teachers are the three China brands in Ethiopia. We must work hard to maintain the China brands，” Tang said.

　　This year， the Chinese teachers and leaders of the college decided to collaborate with the local government， opening another window for the agricultural cooperation program. The Chinese teachers are not only training college teachers and students， but also teaching and promoting Chinese agricultural technologies in rural areas. Supported by the college， they have established projects to demonstrate China’s greenhouse vegetable growing， plastic film mulching for corn， micro-irrigation， and fish farming technologies. Agricultural administration departments of local cities and counties are regularly organizing training sessions for agricultural technicians and farmers by Chinese teachers.

　　In the first term， nearly 800 local agricultural technicians and farmers were trained. “The work was highly appreciated by the local agricultural officials， who told us they were eager to acquire the skills，” Tang said.

　　He has trained nearly 500 local farmers and agricultural technicians in three terms， and donated nearly 700 chickens to local farmers.

　　Power challenge

　　In recognition of the hard work done by Tang and his Chinese colleagues， the college is trying to improve their work and living conditions.

　　“Thanks to the college， we now enjoy special treatment which even the dean doesn’t enjoy，” Tang said.

　　The Agarfa ATVET College is located in a cold mountainous area nearly 500 km from capital Addis Ababa. The community is impoverished with inadequate power supply. Power failures are frequent with outages sometimes lasting for nearly half a month. The college’s small diesel generator can provide electricity only in the administrative area. Lack of power is a challenge when it comes to cooking.

　　“I still remember the first day I came here. I bought some beef and put it in the electric cooker. Suddenly， the power went and there was no electricity for a week. Finally， I had to throw away the beef，” Tang said.

　　To fix the problem， the college constructed a special line from the generator to the Chinese teachers’ dormitory. “It solved our greatest problem，” Tang said.

　　Language is the other major challenge Chinese teachers face in the program. “Chinese teachers should improve their capacities， not only in their profession but also in their language [skills]，” Tang said. “I hope the Ministry of Agriculture will consider language [skill] levels when selecting agricultural experts for the program.”

　　By Ni Yanshuo