- 2 weeks ago
For 15 years, a Chinese scientist has travelled back and forth between China and Africa, working quietly under the hot sun, testing ideas on dry land, and searching for practical answers to food insecurity.
From the ancient Silk Road to Kenya, this documentary follows a story of persistence, science, and a simple belief: no one should be left behind.
It’s not just about agriculture.
It’s about people.
And the future we share.
From the ancient Silk Road to Kenya, this documentary follows a story of persistence, science, and a simple belief: no one should be left behind.
It’s not just about agriculture.
It’s about people.
And the future we share.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00In September 2025, Lanzhou, rainfall has been more abundant than usual, and the surrounding
00:23lowest hills are covered with a rare layer of greenery. Today, Professor Xiong Yukai from
00:30the College of Ecology began packing his belongings to depart for Kenya. It will be the 38th journey
00:37for him to fly to that distant continent. What makes him so attached to the East African
00:43Plateau, thousands of miles away from China? The story began over two decades ago.
00:53An unforeseen shift occurred in 2011. The East African
01:23Plateau had encountered a once-in-60-year severe drought, triggering a food crisis.
01:41China provided Kenya with two billion Kenyan shillings, 130 million yuan in food aid, and
01:47launched the UN-China Science and Technology Cooperation Program of Water Resource for Africa.
01:53As the project leader, Xiong Yukai led his team on their first visit to rural Kenya. To their
01:59surprise, they discovered that the dryland farming techniques that had alleviated the millennia-old
02:04poverty of the lowest plateau of China, particularly the ridge-furrow plastic mulching technology,
02:10seemed to be tailor-made for the East Africa on the other side of the globe. It appeared
02:14to act as a key to unlock Africa's agricultural challenges. From that moment, he forged an
02:19indelible bond with this land.
02:21From Lan Zhou to Nairobi, a 16-hour flight covering 12,800 kilometers, a journey he has
02:26undertaken for 15 years.
02:44From Lan Zhou to Nairobi, a 16-hour flight covering 12,800 kilometers, a journey he has
02:50undertaken for 15 years.
03:02September marks Kenya's short rainy season, when wildlife herds have already migrated south
03:07to the Serengeti Plains.
03:24We are now at the China Road, the name of Nairobi Expressway. This road is very easy.
03:28Kenya straddles the equator, traversed by the East African Rift Valley, spanning 580,000
03:45square kilometers, comparable to Sichuan province. Its highland terrain endows it with an equatorial
03:51climate that feels perpetually spring-like. Temperatures ranging from 10 to 26 degrees
03:56Celsius throughout the year, harboring agricultural promise. Yet the highly uneven rainfall rhythm has a
04:03hidden crisis here. With only two rainy seasons, the short season ranges from October to December
04:09and the long one from March to June. The prolonged dry season imposes drought-like shackles, stifling
04:16the land's vitality. Here, 80 percent of the population relies on agriculture and livestock,
04:22with tea, coffee and avocados forming the primary economic pillars. Owing to dependence on the whims
04:29of the weather and extensive farming, local food production perpetually hovers around subsistence
04:34levels. More notably, among 56 million population in this country, 70 percent of them are under 30
04:42years old, in which over half are under 25. A nation brimming with youthful potential. Behind this vast
04:50labor force lies an urgent demand for food security, a critical barrier to development that must be
04:55overcome. Nairobi, a city kissed by sunlight, sits atop a plateau at 1,680 meters. The United Nations
05:02Environment Program and UN Habitat have also established their headquarters here. In October 2025,
05:08UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced that by 2026, all functions of UNICEF, UN Women,
05:16and UNFPA would relocate to Nairobi. This city will thus become the fourth location,
05:22following New York, Geneva, and Vienna, to host multiple UN agencies. Historical ties run deep.
05:30Six centuries ago, Zheng He's fleet twice reached Kenya's Malindi and Mombasa,
05:36particularly where the Swahili word for T, chai, bears echoes of the Overland Silk Road.
05:41Today, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway links East Africa's premier port with the capital.
05:59That afternoon, Xiong Yukai traveled to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology,
06:0536 kilometers away. Here is the Kenya's sole comprehensive university specializing in
06:10agricultural technology, a leading engineering agricultural universities across the East Africa.
06:15In 2015, the China-Africa Joint Research Center, the Chinese government's first overseas
06:21comprehensive scientific research and educational institution, was established here. It has since
06:27become a vital platform for bilateral cooperation in bilateral conservation, ecological conservation,
06:33and modern agricultural demonstration. The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
06:39boasts an expansive campus, with the main site covering approximately four square kilometers.
06:44Beyond teaching buildings and libraries, vast experimental fields dominate the landscape.
06:50Research teams from numerous countries carry out scientific activities here,
06:53yet Xiong Yukai's team from Lanzhou University has maintained the longest presence, a full decade.
07:03The two local agricultural experts have been Professor Xiong's long-standing research partners.
07:11Through their daily field experiments, they have witnessed firsthand the tangible benefits
07:16of plastic mulch technology in Kenya, fostering strong confidence in its application and promotion.
07:21We would want really, Kenyan farmers will be very willing to learn from the Chinese farmers
07:27what transformation happened from where they were 20 years ago up to 2025.
07:34We can learn a lot from Chinese transformation, particularly in agricultural production,
07:40small tools, small farms and intensive production. It is very important that our farmers get to know how
07:47China managed to do that. There are quite a number of limiting factors in agricultural production in Kenya,
07:57but the most critical one is water, because the rainfall sometimes is unreliable,
08:08and so you need to retain much of the moisture that falls into the farm, you know, for crop production.
08:17And so this particular technology, we have found it very good for saving the moisture,
08:28to control, you know, evaporation of the water that comes into the soil.
08:35I think I started learning about it in 2018, 2019, during the visit to Lanzhou,
08:42and for us it is a very simple and applicable technology, and it does not require a lot of
08:49high-cost technology, very cheap, very simple to apply that our farmers can easily adopt.
08:56China has potential to supply finished materials to Kenya, so that collaboration in agriculture is
09:02extremely important in terms that it's going to enhance food security, both in Kenya and in China,
09:09and then there will be technology transfer from both countries, Kenya and China. Kenya has a lot of
09:15open land. Kenya has very good in agricultural climate, so we could try and test materials from
09:23China in Kenya, so agricultural collaboration is extremely important.
09:27Students from Jomo Kenyatta Agricultural Technology Institute have also visited the experimental
09:34base. A field teaching session, led by experts from China's lowest plateau, alongside local professors,
09:40researchers commenced upon this red earth.
09:43Because black plastic sheets can prevent the sunlight, the solar radiation, you know, go through,
09:51okay, improve the soil temperature.
09:54Each time Xiong Yukai visits Kenya, he engages in numerous such exchanges. The audience often includes local officials,
10:02farmers, and primary and secondary school pupils who have heard about the initiative and wish to witness
10:08firsthand the remarkable potential of this Chinese technology. Why is this much-discussed Chinese
10:14agricultural technology so remarkable? The story begins much earlier.
10:26In December 2024, a commemorative gathering was held at Lanzo University. Over 200 domestic and
10:33international ecology experts gathered to honor the memory of Professor Zhao Songling, a renowned ecologist
10:40who pioneered China's plastic mulch technology and founded water-harvesting agriculture 30 years after his passing.
10:51Drought and poverty have long been inseparable companions on this planet.
10:55One-third of the world's landmass lies within arid and semi-arid regions, home to one billion people
11:02living on less than two U.S. dollars a day. The human struggle against hunger is fundamentally a battle
11:08against aridity. In China, arid and semi-arid agricultural zones cover 52 percent of the national
11:15territory. The lowest plateau stands as the most quintessential example. On this land, drought is an
11:23inescapable curse and reign the sole hope. Farming at the mercy of the heavens seems a fate generation of local
11:30peasants have been unable to shake.
11:43As early as 8,000 years ago, the ancestors of Gansu's Dadiwan began collecting rainwater to irrigate their fields.
11:51By the pre-Chin period, ridge cultivation techniques had taken shape, with intensive farming becoming a
11:56deep-rooted foundation of Chinese agricultural civilization. In the late 1980s, Professor Zhao
12:03Songling experimented with laying polyethylene mulch in farmland at Tangjibao. At that time,
12:09plastic film was a rarity, and some mocked him as a mad old man. Yet this seemingly reckless act
12:15marked a historic step forward. During the severe drought from 1993 to 1995, plastic mulched fields
12:23demonstrated astonishingly stable and high yields, shocking the nation. Gansu, which had previously
12:30required 1 billion gin of grain transfers from the state year after year, now ranks among China's top
12:3610 grain exporting provinces. Plastic mulch has become the winning strategy for transforming the arid and
12:42barren Les Plateaux, hailed as a single sheet that settles the heavens. Following in the footsteps of Professor
12:49Zhao Songling, Professor Li Fengmin of Lanzhou University's second generation of researchers,
12:55refined the plastic mulch technique, collaborating with Yang Qifeng, director of Gansu's Agricultural
13:01Technology Extension Station, to refine and demonstrate the technology, successfully developing the full-film
13:08double ridge furrow sewing technique. This innovation addresses the effective utilization of natural
13:14precipitation. It proves effective in arid and semi-arid regions below 2,300 meters elevation,
13:21with annual rainfall under 600 millimeters. Even minimal precipitation of 5 millimeters can be
13:27channeled by the film into furrows, delivering precise irrigation to crop roots. This marks a shift from
13:32passive to active drought resistance. This innovation has elevated maize's suitable cultivation altitude
13:39by nearly 500 meters, expanding high-yield crop cultivation areas. Today, plastic mulch has become
13:47indispensable for most crops across China. In 2008, this technology yielded one-fifth of the province's
13:54grain output from just 7.2 percent of its arable land. The ridge furrow plastic mulching technique
14:01played a pivotal role in China's battle against poverty.
14:03Xiongyu Kai's team, pioneers of third-generation plastic mulch technology, has now taken up the baton.
14:13They are extending this dryland farming technique to more water-scarce regions, boosting grain yields
14:18and production. This time, their sites are set further afield, dedicated to forging agricultural
14:24partnerships with belt and road partner nations. Thus began a 15-year exchange between a Chinese team and an
14:32African nation.
14:45The vision of exporting and agricultural technology honed over two decades in China to benefit another
14:51continent was admirable, yet the path proved far from smooth. In 2011, when Xiongyu Kai first arrived in
14:58Kenya with his team at the experimental field they had secured after considerable effort,
15:03the sight before them was profoundly shocking.
15:05The study of China is beaten through the sea-wantation land.
15:07He etc. He wanted to become a
15:09spearhead from the sea-wantation land where he had brought to him.
15:12The sea-wantation land was destroyed once in the sea-wantation,
15:14that was a compound of the sea-wantation land between the sea-wantation land,
15:16the sea-wantation land and the sea-wantation land was destroyed by the sea-wantation land.
15:19He said he could only do a great job for us.
15:24Then we would have a smile,
15:26and I would have to do the work with my students.
15:30We would have to do the work again,
15:33and we would have to do it again,
15:35and we would have to do it again,
15:37and we would have to do it again.
15:39And we would have to do it again.
15:43Once the barren slope was leveled into farmland
15:46and all preparations were complete,
15:48we laid the plastic mulch film we'd brought from China
15:51across the experimental field.
15:53As everyone eagerly anticipated its effectiveness,
15:55we unexpectedly faced another setback.
16:18In this photograph taken at the Katamani Experimental Site in 2012,
16:23So we can use the materials of the soil to improve its strength, especially with the
16:29surface of the soil.
16:30So we can use the new soil to use in the Middle East.
16:40In this photograph taken at the Katamani Experimental Site in 2012, fields cultivated
16:45using traditional local methods yielded almost nothing, while maize grown under ridge furrow
16:51mulching showed vigorous growth and high yields.
16:56In August 2012, encouraging results emerged.
16:59At the end of maize's first growth cycle at the Katamani trial site, plants grown using
17:03ridge furrow mulching exceeded two meters in height with plump ears.
17:07In contrast, maize cultivated using indigenous traditional methods reached only about one meter.
17:21So we can use the water flow to 50% to 50% of the water flow.
17:38This stark contrast has drawn widespread attention.
18:00Following the trial, nearly 20,000 people visited the experimental site to observe and learn.
18:05Yet, the adaptation of Chinese technology to local conditions in Africa has only just begun.
18:11Across the vast expanse of Africa, the most primitive farming methods persist,
18:16relying on the whims of the weather with widespread cultivation yielding meager returns.
18:22Kenya's nationwide plastic ban presented a fresh challenge for the team,
18:26promoting ridge furrow plastic mulching and recovery techniques while safeguarding the environment.
18:31No one can do all the patches.
18:34From the原來的濃溝地紋覆蓋技術,
18:37we became濃溝地紋覆蓋與回收技術.
18:41In the future, the dry patches will be used to be natural-waste
18:46and is secure to make its waste andはいい.
18:48That's how the water is out of the waste and waste.
18:53As early as the 1960s and 1970s, agricultural experts from Japan, South Korea, and Germany conducted research on drought-resistant techniques here, but the high costs proved prohibitive for local farmers.
19:23東非高原呢,其实上呢,它是不需要全覆盖的,就是我们只要盖条模,在这个弩上盖地模就可以了,沟里再不需要盖了,第二个呢,它也不需要全层覆盖,它盖两个月就可以了,就达到什么呢,在地化了,所以呢,就能够解决的雨水资源的时空的协调利用。
19:46東非高原呢,突然的肥力啊,要特别是有机碳的含量啊,这些关键指标是要选注高于黄头高原的黄棉土。所以这边的产量呢,要比黄头高原呢,要至少要高出百分之二十以上。
20:02While the concept of localizing technology may seem straightforward, its implementation presents considerable challenges.
20:09Over the past 15 years, Langeo University has dispatched five batches comprising 25 postgraduate students and seven faculty members to Kenya to conduct in-depth research on localizing this technology.
20:21His name is Simon Naguru, a professor of soil science and water conservation at the University of Eastern Kenya,
20:43and Xiong Yukai's earliest collaborator in Kenya.
20:45This is his farm in Machakos County, serving as one of the demonstration sites for Chinese plastic mulch technology in Kenyan rural areas.
20:55The villagers here are all Kamba people, with women predominantly engaged in agricultural cultivation.
21:02Crops primarily consist of maize, mangoes, and pigeon peas.
21:06Today, Professor Simon Naguru has invited villagers participating in a United Nations project for women in developing countries
21:21to engage in on-site exchanges with Professor Xiong Yukai.
21:25You are also known for women in Japan.
21:28Tell them, are you Hz.
21:29Ok, these are the ones that were the ones that were mounted in Japan.
21:31But, we have seen you now, yourself with us.
21:34I was exactly the ones that were in Japan.
21:36I was in the same place, on TV, and at the same time, I was like, oh!
21:41We are seeing them do karatel, and karatel.
21:46Thank you, Dr. Samenguru, I want to make a demonstration of how to use plastic sheets, okay?
22:09The first is the soil treatment.
22:13We need to make this farrow, okay?
22:16Or the reeds, okay?
22:18This reeds, and this farrow, and this farrow, okay?
22:23So there's a distance between two farrows, okay?
22:26He said this was used as a common name.
22:31It's called Budima and a common name.
22:35He used to use oxygen.
22:40He said this was used as a common name.
22:43They asked us how to buy this land.
22:47Please wait patiently.
22:51We'll provide Dr. Samenguru much more plastic sheets.
23:02In the future, we'll establish the factory to produce a lot of new plastic sheets.
23:12And give you a good price.
23:14So $1 in food.
23:19Get $100 income.
23:26At this moment, Mandarin, English, Swahili, and Kamba intertwine as barriers of nationality, ethnicity, and culture dissolve in pursuit of this shared goal.
23:41Professor Naguru, who has visited China on multiple occasions, is confident about the promotion of this technology in Kenya.
23:56Our research shows that this technology is profitable.
24:00The other thing with this technology is the probability of getting grain yield or biomass.
24:06We get rain, but people plant all the time.
24:10One season, in fact, one to three seasons is when they get out of 10.
24:17That's when they get a crop.
24:19The other, they don't get anything.
24:21And these people will tell you, rain comes, it falls too much, but there's too much heat or the water goes.
24:30Once it goes, soil is left with no water.
24:34And people cannot harvest.
24:36But if we use this technology, we increase by over 70% probability of getting yield, some yield.
24:45And if we do this, it will be good because people here, if you go around, you find a lot of people farming large areas.
24:53When I went to China, I saw people farming small areas and getting a lot of food.
24:58That is something that needs to be done here in Kenya.
25:02Because instead of putting a lot of effort, farming very big areas, farm a small area, get big yield.
25:10Farmers who have already used Chinese plastic mulch are highly satisfied with their harvests.
25:15They're a big yield.
25:17They are a big yield.
25:22They're a big yield.
25:27A grown-up, it's the only way they can start itself.
25:29It's a big yield.
25:33They understand why they are low.
25:38They areavais times when they are 30.
25:40The meat because of the size.
25:43We don't have to eat it, but we don't have to eat it because we don't have to eat it.
25:50In the past, when we launched this technology,
25:56when the farmers saw such a high production,
26:00they were able to eat food, and they were able to eat food,
26:04it was very strange.
26:06So when people saw their hope, they were very happy.
26:10Addressing the Kenyan farmer's need for affordable plastic mulch
26:14is also a key objective of Xiang Yukai's mission.
26:17He has already reached a preliminary agreement with the University of Eastern Kenya
26:20to establish a production facility.
26:22The University of Eastern Kenya also serves as one of the trial sites
26:26for Lanzhou University's ridge-furrow plastic mulch coverage and recovery technology.
26:31Spanning 40 square kilometers, equivalent to over 5,000 football pitches,
26:36it ranks as Africa's second largest university by area.
26:39Transforming arid lands into oases, changing lives,
26:45embodies the aspirations and steadfast commitment of its faculty and students.
26:49The University of Eastern Kenya expressed interest
26:52in jointly establishing Africa's first agricultural film production enterprise.
26:57Today, two Chinese agricultural film and machinery manufacturers presented their production technologies,
27:11equipment, and raw materials to experts and professors via video conference.
27:16local production and local recycling are now within reach,
27:29heralding the imminent arrival of low-cost African agricultural film tailored to local conditions.
27:35The University of Eastern Kenya
27:37are very eager and eager to promote this technology.
27:38The University of Eastern Kenya
27:39are very eager and eager to promote this technology.
27:44So this is the biggest movement.
27:48We all think this is an important thing.
27:50It is a very important thing.
27:51It is a very meaningful thing.
27:54We want to invest in the forest system.
27:56搞大面积的农户培训,搞地摩产品,生产与回收,
28:03特别是产摩的回收和重新加工利用.
28:07那这些健全的产业链如果一旦形成的话,
28:11我相信肯尼亚人民乃至推广到东非高原,
28:15只是整个非洲干旱半干旱地区,
28:18我想这也是一个前无古人后无来者的重要进展。
28:24Wang Yang and Li Xianpeng, postgraduate students from Lanzo University,
28:29而是一部分的维护, sent to Kenya for experimental demonstrations.
28:33今天, they will join local students Alex and Sylvia
28:36继续学生地区, to conduct field surveys and soil sampling
28:38地区培训业,Nakuru.
28:41Situated on the edge of the East African Rift Valley with views overlooking Lake Nkuru,
28:48Ingabor County offers breath-taking scenery.
28:51Local farmer Alan Yagon had never used plastic mulch before,
29:05还没有听过过的技术,
29:05只听过过的技术,
29:07这种境运性性的工程是一种新的技巧,
29:19用途中,在我们的地方,
29:20在我们的地方,
29:22We are using the traditional methods of farming to plant maize.
29:27Given the opportunity to use a plastic film munching, it will increase our crop production by 30%
29:36and we will be appreciated to introduce in our area and in this Nakoro county.
29:46Pointing to a patch of lush vegetation, locals explain this is called Chinese grass.
29:51It was introduced from China, which substitutes grass for wood and resolves the conflict between fungi and forests.
29:58This technology has now spread to 106 countries and regions worldwide.
30:21We can balance its temperature, but we can increase its range from 30% to 40%
30:25And we can add its appearance in its Ecovime and Ecuador, which can increase its quality.
30:29Then we can improve it, so we can ensure its energy is higher.
30:33I did not know that this here was a plant and production.
30:37Yeah, and this green leaves is ruined.
30:42If we use our soil-based methods, it will increase the soil temperature.
30:47It will reduce the
30:48虫害
30:49虫害
30:50虫害的发生率
30:51虫害
30:52虫害的发生率
30:53大概
30:53地的30%
30:55整体来看这个地区的土壤质量还是很高的
30:59很高的
31:00对
31:00虫害的
31:01虫害的发生率
31:03虫害的发生率
31:04虫害的发生率
31:05虫害的发生率
31:06虫害的发生率
31:07虫害的发生率
31:08虫害的发生率
31:09虫害的发生率
31:10虫害的发生率
31:11虫害的发生率
31:12Today, Mei Fujian will collaborate with Kenyan students to systematically analyze
31:16the physico-chemical properties of this soil sample from Nakuru
31:23through particle size analysis and organic matter content determination.
31:28This work will establish a data foundation for future experimental promotion of plastic
31:32mulch technology in this region.
31:36Wesley, age 33, was the first student recruited by Xiong Yu Kai in Kenya.
31:40This young man who developed an interest in agricultural technology from a young age.
31:46After completing his undergraduate studies, he became Xiong Yu Kai's postgraduate student.
31:51Now, having earned his doctorate, he is an associate professor at Jomo Kenyatta
31:55Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
31:58Jomo Kenyatta University of China
32:00Jomo Kenyatta University of fünf
32:04If you were all in the country, I was looking at high school
32:07私是第一次的研究室
32:09中国的农村
32:10In the country, I saw a lot of money
32:12从那边发生,发生率
32:14发生率
32:15发生率
32:15We hope to use this technology to solve the safety of the plants, and make the lives of farmers better.
32:31Currently, Professor Shang Yukai's research group includes 11 Kenyan students who, like Wesley in his time, are studying China's dry land farming techniques.
32:41Six students have already completed their studies and returned home.
32:44Jointly training international students and agricultural technicians while disseminating farming techniques has become routine for Shang Yukai's team.
32:53He admitted the first international student to pursue a degree at Lanzhou University.
32:59To date, 44 students from Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, and other nations have studied here,
33:06returning home with technical expertise to become a ambassador for Shanghai along the Belt and Road.
33:13The campus glowed with vibrant autumn hues as the Silk Road Melodies, Beauty at Lanzhou University,
33:202025 International Culture Festival unfolded as scheduled.
33:24International students from 40 nations shared tales of their homelands through song, dance, and cuisine.
33:31This gathering fostered not only knowledge exchange, but also forged bridges of friendship among young scholars.
33:37Kenyan student Summa and her classmates meticulously prepared traditional dishes, kachimbari, pilau, and chapati.
33:46Mianpian, a staple noodle dish in northwest China, was prepared by Wang Yang and Li Xianpeng, students who seldom cook at home, in their modest rented accommodation far from Africa.
33:59Not long ago, they even recreated Jiangshui, a traditional northwest Chinese drink renowned for its cooling properties.
34:07This was likely the first bowl of Jiangshui ever made on the African continent.
34:11Their social media posts garnered enthusiastic praise from classmates.
34:16This cornmeal-based dish, known as ugali, is a traditional staple in East and Southern African nations, typically served with meat stews or vegetables.
34:27Beloved by locals, ugali is regarded as a cultural emblem of Kenyan cuisine.
34:33In China's northwest, a similar dish made from cornmeal mixed with water is called sanfan.
34:39The difference lies in texture. One is porridge-like, the other forms into lumps.
34:45Two agricultural cultures separated by vast distances have converged through cornmeal.
34:50The peoples of these two nations have been brought together by a single technology.
34:55The sea-like research project can be preserved by an ongoing organization,
34:58the
35:06We have to use the
35:11the
35:14plants
35:15To
35:19And
35:19The
35:22project
35:23We're
35:24I have two years in Kenya,
35:26I experienced four of these experiments.
35:28This experiment made me understand that
35:32the research is like a farmer,
35:34to enter the fields,
35:37so you can find the problem of the research.
35:40In other words,
35:41I found that in the United States
35:44there is a more broad space.
35:46I want to thank the professor
35:49for giving me this advice,
35:51I learned a lot from my ilk.
35:54I learned a lot from how I learned food.
36:01I learned a lot from my time.
36:06I learned the type of food.
36:15Xitogo, Leanda Township.
36:18Shuzhong County lies over 30 kilometers from Lanzo city center.
36:22This region epitomizes the gullied terrain of the Loess Plateau, experiencing drought
36:27nine years out of ten, with annual precipitation barely reaching 300 millimeters.
36:34Since the 1990s, Lanzo University has conducted trials here to promote plastic mulch technology.
36:41Today, Professor Xiong Yu Kai brought newly enrolled students to observe firsthand how
36:47a field has sustained mulch use over many years.
36:49I have conducted a seminar, you know, this type of observations, you know, the conclusions
36:56have been found from the functional law of the moors.
37:01I have gained a lot learning farming technologies in China through Professor, Professor Xiong.
37:08He is the one who has taught us about the plastic field mulching, the ridge and farrow irrigation
37:13system and so many other technologies that if I take this back at home, it will really
37:19help the farmers back at home and it will help our country, Kenya.
37:24Liu Ditai was among the first farmers to experiment with plastic mulch.
37:28Having just finished his farm work, he enthusiastically shared this year's corn yield with Professor
37:32Xiong.
37:33Ma, from Davina…
37:34E.
37:34T Ba Ho, veramente, K-8
37:35Na, Ura.
37:36To the fact that this
37:54In the 90s, it was in the 70s.
38:02We were born in the 90s.
38:05At that time, the country didn't cut the paper.
38:11They didn't cut the paper, but they didn't cut the paper.
38:13They didn't cut the paper.
38:16If the country didn't cut the paper, they didn't cut the paper.
38:24They didn't cut the paper.
38:28Plastic mulch has become an essential item
38:31for the cultivation of the vast majority of crops.
38:34With the assistance of Xiong Yukai's team and local agricultural technicians,
38:39the technology for reusing plastic mulch has also begun to be promoted.
38:43Some mulch films can be used two to three times for different crops.
38:47Under government guidance, a plastic mulch recovery system has been established.
38:51Through the use of thicker, high-strength mulch films and biodegradable mulch films,
38:56coupled with methods such as trade-in schemes and points-based rewards,
39:01the recovery rate of old mulch has reached over 85%.
39:05In 2024, the area of plastic mulch used in Gansu Province reached 32 million mu.
39:11Reducing plastic mulch usage while maintaining yields is the current research focus of Xiong Yukai's team.
39:18As he puts it, our predecessors laid down the mulch.
39:22Our task is to figure out how to take it up again while ensuring stable and increased production.
39:28Among the 17 goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
39:35The first is the eradication of poverty, followed by the elimination of hunger.
39:40These two objectives represent the most unifying priorities, transcending cultural and ideological divides.
39:46China's contributions to these goals have garnered broad support from UN member states.
39:52In June 2023, at the invitation of the United Nations Environment Program,
39:57Professor Xiong Yukai delivered a thematic presentation.
40:01In February 2025, the Pakistan Academy of Sciences extended congratulations
40:06upon Professor Xiong Yukai's unanimous election as a foreign member.
40:11This marks the first time an ecology professor from Lanzhou University has received this honor.
40:17From East Africa to South Asia, China's plastic mulch technology is assisting more nations in tackling drought challenges.
40:24The Chinese people have made a lot of contributions in this country, in all the sectors of the economy.
40:32In construction, all the engineering components, in all areas including the agriculture.
40:40So it has been a very beneficial collaboration between the two countries.
40:45And I'm sure the Chinese, many Chinese working in Kenya, in many areas of the economy,
40:52many Kenyans studying in China, in many universities in China, and learning a lot of technologies
40:59so now we can transform things in this country. So it is very beneficial collaboration.
41:05This year marks the 15th year that Xiong Yukai's team has been promoting ridge furrow plastic
41:13mulching and recovery technology in Kenya. According to estimates, if this technology is
41:18successfully implemented, only one-third of the arable land would be required to produce sufficient food
41:24to feed Kenya's entire population. If rolled out nationwide, it could even transform Kenya from a
41:30famine-stricken nation into a food-exporting country. Today, a set of technical standards tailored for the
41:38East African Plateau has been finalized. Further innovations, simpler to operate, more affordable,
41:44environmentally friendly and energy efficient, remain under continuous development. The establishment of
41:50the China-Kenya Dryland Agricultural Technology Demonstration Park brings the dream of solving Africa's
41:56food security challenges through Chinese technology. To address Africa's food security challenges
42:02is no longer a distant prospect.
42:04The financial του建設 on the network of modern things included in the world.
42:10The technology that enables all humans to Venice to Sweden.
42:11The data that is the first place to do its space with all humans to France.
42:17We started to keep work with the design of the UNSD, so that we are not working with a lot of people.
42:22We wanted to help the UNSDGs, so that the UNSDK would be easy for all the UNSDGs.
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