China’s development experience and technological advances are an important model for Africa to achieve its agricultural modernization goals, a senior official of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) said.
Dejene Tezera, Director of UNIDO’s Agriculture and Infrastructure Development Division, said China can contribute to Africa’s sustainable development efforts with its know-how, technology and resources in agriculture, industry, energy, capacity building and digitalization. Tezera said the China-Africa-UNIDO Center of Excellence, established in November 2024 in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, is a concrete platform to serve the continent’s sustainable development. He stressed that the center plays an important role in promoting industrialization, modernizing agriculture and developing skills. Stating that Africa faces fundamental development challenges such as low industrialization rate, lack of agricultural productivity and shortage of qualified human resources, Tezera said that the continent has great potential with its vast uncultivated agricultural lands, abundant water resources and a young population that can be easily educated. Noting that coordinated efforts are needed to accelerate agricultural modernization in Africa, Tezera said the center of excellence is a concrete example of South-South cooperation. China contributed knowledge and resources, Ethiopia provided the infrastructure and implementation environment, while UNIDO provided technical assistance and coordination.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202504/07/WS67f3291fa3104d9fd381dd74.html
