Apple production in Quzhou county

I visited one of the STB villages to learn in practice about the production of apples in China. We were led by Prof. Zhang Hongyan and Prof. Jiang Rongfeng. They explained to us that this region was generally not specific for apple production. However, because farmers who grow other crops such as maize want to increase income, they set aside land for producing apples. This move has seen farmers improve in their livelihoods since the apples started bearing fruits. In the orchard, activities such as manuring for nutrient addition, mulching to improve water conservation, pruning, and trimming to manage plant density are done. Below the apple trees, one can see plastics that are used to reflect light. This technique helps to increases sugars in the apples. The fruits themselves are bagged in plastic pockets to protect them from insects and dust.

Chinese farmers use simple tractors, planters, and other innovative tools to make the working very easy for them. My other greatest pleasure was seeing the use of drone technology to film real-time farming events and also spraying chemical pesticides. In other parts, the drones are used for sowing trees in mountainous areas that would not be accessible by humans.

In my view, the Science and Technology Backyard model is a very big strategy that Africa can adopt to improve food security. The desire is still up to this day for me to go back to the village and spend time with the Chinese farmers. They are loving people, with a lot of wisdom and experience. They are hardworking, focused, and very time conscious.

Above all, I will never forget that they treated us with a lot of respect and they were also willing to learn from us. We exchanged a lot of things, such as stories and moments, and I learned a lot about cultural differences. In every experience I got from the county I would also want to acknowledge the student-teacher relationship of mine that improved as I stayed at Quzhou Experimental Station. We had experts like Professor Rongfeng, Professor Hongyan, and Professor Xiaoqiang. Several other professors would occasionally come to the station and share their expertise with us and return to Beijing. Quzhou will always be at my heart because it was the first place for me to do an online presentation and hold classes online. I will never forget this great experience in my lifetime. In conclusion, my experience in China has offered me several opportunities I shall cherish as I explore the world.