Farming in South Africa

By Chen Yong,Song Junchu & He Songtao

In 2015,28-year-old Wang Mingchuan traveled all the way from his hometown Xiaochang,a county in Central C hina’s Hu be i Province t o Johannesburg in South Africa with a dream.He investigated the local market and decided to run a vegetable farm here.Four years later,the vegetables he planted are popular among the folks,and the farm has expanded from a leased plot of 4 hectares to a selfowned 16 hectares of farmland.The agricultural department of the locality organized a group of farmers in the neighborhood to visit his farm and learn from him.

Discovering the Market

Wang’s father used to be a teacher of a primary school in a small town,where Wang learned to plant vegetables from his parents since he was a child.During his childhood,he developed a strong interest in agriculture.

After graduating from China Three Gorges University in 2009,Wang started his career in a Shengzhen-based Hong Kong company,where he came across the idea of agricultural globalization and kindled a dream of running a farm abroad.

In 2015,Wang went to Johannesburg.He found that,despite the fertile land and abundant rainfall in South Africa,few locals planted vegetables or had a farm.The price of vegetables was high and there was a huge market for green vegetables there.Therefore,he decided to open a farm and make it an organic vegetable production base.Wang leased a plot of land of 4 hectares in Johannesburg and built 20 vegetable greenhouses with an investment of 1.5 million yuan.

2015年，28岁的中国湖北省孝昌县的小伙王明川，怀揣梦想来到南非约翰内斯堡。一番考察后，他决定留下来，在这里办农场种蔬菜。4年过去了，他种的蔬菜一直是当地的抢手货，农场从最初租地60 亩发展到买地240 亩。当地农业部门组织各地农场主，到他的农场学习。

发现市场

王明川的父亲是王店镇小学老师，从小跟着父母在学校旁边的菜地种菜，王明川对农业一直很有兴趣。

2009年，王明川从三峡大学毕业后，在深圳一家港资企业上了几年班。其间，他在网络上了解了一些农业国际化的知识。到国外去做农场主，这个梦想在他心里悄然萌芽。

2015年，王明川来到约翰内斯堡。他发现，南非大部分土壤都很肥沃，雨水也比较丰沛，但当地人很少种菜，农场也很少，而绿色蔬菜在南非很有市场，且价格较高。他暗下决心：“我要做一个名副其实的农场主，把这里建设成有机蔬菜生产基地。”经过考察后，王明川在约翰内斯堡租了60 亩地，投入150 万元人民币，建起了20 个简易蔬菜大棚。

开拓荒地

王明川不懂种菜技术，从国内高薪聘请了一位蔬菜技术专家，负责种植各种蔬菜。

就这样，卷心菜、土豆、茄子等第一批蔬菜，带着王明川的憧憬，在南非这片肥沃的土地上开花结果。

王明川说：“南非的蔬菜很少，而我们的蔬菜品种多，又新鲜，当地人很喜欢吃。”蔬菜供不应求。

Farming on the Vacant Land

At the very beginning,Wang Mingchuan wasn’t so professional in planting techniques,so he hired an expert from China to be in charge of all sorts of vegetable planting issues.

With the joint efforts,the first batch of vegetables,including cabbage,potato,and eggplants,grew well and had a good harvest in the fertile land of South Africa.

According to him,“The variety of local vegetables is limited,but we offer a wide range of fresh vegetables,and the locals like them very much.” The demand for the vegetables outgrew his production.

After two years of farming,Wang had better knowledge about the local climates and was more familiar with the farming process,ranging from planting,selling,and the marketing,which greatly boosted his confidence.The 4 hectares of land could not satisfy the ever-growing market demand.Therefore,Wang raised 7.5 million yuan in 2018 and purchased a 16-hectareplot with permanent ownership in Johannesburg to expand his vegetable production base.

This new farm opened in May 2019.It was a deserted land where the grass was taller than an adult.To fix the porous soil and low water holding capacity of the land,he hired workers to dig a deep well for irrigation.

The prices of materials are quite high in South Africa—for example,steel bars cost more than double the price of the same ones in China.To reduce costs,he ordered 1.5 million yuan of galvanized steel from China,and shipped them in six containers to Johannesburg in June of 2019 to build a 21-meter wide greenhouse.He hired 45 workers to help him plant vegetables while building the greenhouse.

Strengthening Sino-African Friendship

The new greenhouse attracted huge attention.Local agricultural department again organized farm owners to visit his farm and learn from him.“It’s well known that Chinese are good at growing vegetables.A lot of farm owners in the locality came to learn advanced techniques from them.”Wang Mingchuan was not the only Chinese national to begin a farm in Africa.Li Weichong and Li Weijin are two brothers from Nantong City,Jiangsu Province.They run the Xinyuan Farm in Johannesburg.In 2011,a local farmer named Sifeso came to the Embassy of China in South Africa and expressed his idea of learning farming from Chinese farmers.The Embassy officer recommended the Li brothers to him.

The Li brothers patiently taught Sifeso planting techniques and gave him a lot of seeds before he left their farm.Afterwards,they even paid a visit to Sifeso’s farm and provided on-site support there.With their help,Sifeso had a good harvest that year and his eggplants sold out very quickly.Later,the Ministry of Home Affairs of South Africa heard about it and sent a letter of gratitude to the Embassy of China in South Africa.The story was reported on People’s Daily,an official newspaper of the CPC,and was widely circulated among the Chinese in South Africa.

Although Wang Mingchuan has encountered a lot of difficulties in his business,he is still hopeful for the future.“I will keep working and learning by summarizing my experiences and combining the best practices of China and Africa.I will become a modern farmer.”

(Translation:Li Li)

经过两年种植实践，王明川掌握了南非的气候条件，也摸清了蔬菜从种植到销售中间的各个环节和市场规律，更加胸有成竹了。先租下的60 亩地已经无法满足市场旺盛的需求。2018年，王明川筹款750 万元，在约翰内斯堡购买了240 亩永久产权的土地，扩大蔬菜生产基地。

2019年5月，蔬菜基地动工。这片土地一片荒芜，野草比人还高。南非的土地，土质疏松，存不住水，为了灌溉，他花钱打了一口深水井。

在南非，物价奇高，钢筋型材价格是国内的2 倍多。2019年6月份，王明川从国内订购了150 万元的大棚镀锌钢材，用6 个集装箱发到约翰内斯堡，建起了跨度21米的蔬菜大棚。他招聘了45 名工人，让技术人员带着他们边建设边种植。

加深友谊

王明川的冬暖式大棚建起来后，在当地引起了轰动，当地农业部门还组织各个农场主，到王明川的农场观摩学习。“这在当地很常见。中国人善于种菜，技术先进，经常有其他农场主来学习。”

而王明川也很乐于跟当地人分享自己的经验。“我们很明白，大家发展蔬菜事业，都是为了改善民生，能帮忙的就帮忙。我们和周边的邻居处得很融洽。”

像王明川一样在非洲种菜的不在少数。江苏南通的李卫冲、李卫锦兄弟也在约翰内斯堡经营了一个鑫源农场。2011年，南非一位叫斯费索的农民来到中国驻南非大使馆，提出向中国菜农学习种菜的请求，使馆便向他推荐了李氏兄弟。

斯费索来到他们农场，兄弟俩给他耐心传授各种农业技术。斯费索临走时，兄弟俩还送给他不少蔬菜种子。后来，兄弟俩还特意到斯费索的农场进行现场指导。在兄弟俩的帮助下，斯费索的农场获得了好收成，种出的茄子很抢手。南非内政部知道此事后，给中国驻南非大使馆发来感谢信。这件事还上过人民日报，在南非的华人圈子里广为流传。

虽然经历诸多困难，王明川仍然怀揣梦想。“我会一如既往地实干、学习、创造、总结，并且将非洲与国内最先进的农场经验相结合，让自己成为现代农场主。”