STORY: Chinese expert dedicated to husbandry development in Mauritania
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 18, 2025
DATELINE: Jan. 29, 2025
LENGTH: 00:03:41
LOCATION: Nouakchott
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT/TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. aerial views of Mauritania
2. various of the demonstration center
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG HONG'EN, Director of the animal husbandry technology demonstration center in Mauritania

STORYLINE:

Chinese husbandry expert Zhang Hong'en has worked in Mauritania for almost 12 years.

A demonstration center was established in 2017 to provide technical guidance on dairy farming, forage production, and forage processing in Mauritania. Zhang has been the center's director since then.

Animal husbandry is one of the pillar industries in Mauritania located on the southern edge of Africa's Sahara Desert.

In 2024, Zhang packed a suitcase of grass seedlings from Ningxia, traveled thousands of miles to Mauritania, and planted them in soil.

In just 50 days, the magic grass grew to more than an adult height, with each cutting seedling divided into a dozen tillers. Three months later, the plants reached 4 meters high, providing abundant fodder for local livestock.
   
Dubbed "the grass of happiness" by many countries, the giant Juncao from China is a high-yield feed crop with the potential to diversify the diets of livestock.

Now the center's plantation area of Juncao has reached 2 hectares and is expected to expand to 10 hectares in 2025.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG HONG'EN, Director of the animal husbandry technology demonstration center in Mauritania
"In 2017, the Chinese government approved the three-year technical cooperation project with Mauritania. Many agricultural and husbandry experts were sent from northwest China's Ningxia. We conducted planting experiments on 32 forage crops.
Our primary goal is to alleviate the pressure on the environment by introducing grass cultivation and cattle farming through this China-aid project, exploring a model that we call 'grass-livestock integration' to support local livestock farming while protecting the ecosystem.
Our second task is to assist with breed improvement. We have so far introduced 85 breeding bulls, making significant contributions to breed improvement.
I hope the demonstration center will continue to improve every year and contribute to the success of China-Africa cooperation."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nouakchott.
(XHTV)