BISSAU, May 5 (Xinhua) -- In the rice fields of CAMPOSSA, a women's producers' association in eastern Guinea-Bissau, the gains from better irrigation and improved farming methods are showing up in both harvests and household incomes.
The association, based in Bafata about 150 km east of the capital Bissau, now produces around 220 tonnes of rice a year after receiving technical training and material support from the Chinese agricultural mission working in the country, according to its president, Djato Sanha Cande.
"We are the first association in Guinea-Bissau to achieve better irrigation in rice production thanks to cooperation with the Chinese mission," Cande told Xinhua.
For many members of the cooperative, higher output means more than fuller granaries. Part of the rice is consumed at home, while the rest helps families cover basic expenses, including their children's school fees, she said.
The progress reflects the work of the 12th Chinese Agricultural Technical Assistance Mission to Guinea-Bissau, a team of nine specialists operating in several parts of the West African country, including Bafata in the east, Bissora in the north and Buba in the south.
According to Zheng Junjie, head of the mission, Chinese experts have helped raise rice yields from 4.7 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes per hectare in relevant areas through improved varieties and better cultivation practices.
The rice varieties promoted by the mission, and approved by Guinea-Bissau's National Institute for Agricultural Research, now account for about 43 percent of the country's total rice production, Zheng said.
Beyond seed promotion, the team has also worked on repairing and maintaining agricultural machinery, training local technicians, and introducing production techniques suited to local conditions.
"Our work is not limited to varieties," Zheng said. "It also includes machinery repair, technical training and support for local farmers in production."
The mission has also donated seeds to communities in Bafata following a fire in the region, and has supported rice husking as well as the supply of fertilizers, machines and seeds.
Rice is a staple food in Guinea-Bissau, where agriculture remains the main source of livelihood for much of the population. In Bafata, with its broad stretches of arable land, many farmers still rely on small-scale production and continue to face shortages of machinery, agricultural inputs and irrigation equipment.
Cande said those constraints remain a major challenge despite recent progress.
"We still need more support in working materials, especially motor pumps, power tillers and rice-husking machines," she said, adding that rising fuel prices on the international market have further increased production costs.
Braima Djamanca, a member of the association, said the lack of machinery remains one of the main bottlenecks.
"The difficulties with machines are enormous. We have only one rice-cutting machine for the association," he said. "Tractors are the priority -- at least three -- and we also need motor pumps."
The Chinese mission says it has so far trained 15,000 farmers, while demonstration activities under its field-school program have reached another 20,000.
Its support has extended beyond agronomy. In February, technicians from the mission repaired a damaged irrigation system at Carantaba Farm in northeastern Guinea-Bissau, an important site for improved seed production. With no original spare parts available locally, they restored the generator, transmission and pipeline on site, allowing irrigation water to return to the rice paddies at a critical stage of growth.
According to Zheng, that kind of hands-on work reflects the mission's broader approach in Guinea-Bissau: combining immediate technical assistance with longer-term capacity building.
"The goal is not only to help increase production, but also to pass on methods and skills," he said.
China has sent agricultural technical teams to Guinea-Bissau since 1998, when the first mission arrived in Bafata. The current team is the 12th to serve in the country.
Zheng said the mission's work has received recognition from the Guinea-Bissau government, though the team continues to operate under difficult conditions, including shortages of electricity and safe drinking water in some areas.
Still, for farmers in Bafata, the impact is already visible in the fields.
In a region where producers continue to struggle with limited machinery, rising fuel costs and weak infrastructure, local growers say the Chinese mission has become a sustained source of technical and material support, helping turn higher yields into more stable livelihoods.
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