My grandmother often cautioned that an empty bag cannot stand up when I attempted to do homework/studies without fortification.
On days requiring physical strength or endurance, the adage changed to ‘an army marches on its stomach.’ In everyday context, this statement infers individuals or groups must be well-fed to carry out their various societal functions. In 2022, at the annual Central Rural Work Conference in Beijing, Xi Jinping emphasised that a “country must first strengthen agriculture to make itself strong, and only when agriculture is strong can the country be strong.”
Inside the greenhouses of Yangling Fig Industry Development Company. Photo: SLCT
Yangling, in Shaanxi Province, is an innovative agricultural city with 4,000 years of Chinese farming civilisation. In May, we toured Yangling Smart Agriculture Demonstration Park, which promotes agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions, using agricultural science and technological innovation toward national food security. The park hosts the Yangling Fig Industry Development Company Ltd., and also the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Modern Agricultural Exchange Centre, an agricultural free trade zone. Products from various countries were on display at the Centre, and we were invited to encourage companies from our home states to exhibit products with the Exchange Centre, with potential reach into other markets.
Intelligent Greenhouse at Yangling Smart Agriculture Demonstration Park. Photo: SLCT
In the Intelligent Greenhouse, we were introduced to projects by Yangling Vocational & Technical College and Northwest A&F University, ranging from compact fruit-picking equipment and irrigation systems controlled from a cellphone, to produce like melons and apples, and agro-products like ready-to-eat packaged beef products, manufactured by university raised cattle. We saw the value of trade cooperation, agricultural technology, science and education in reducing poverty and enhancing food security.
Grains at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Modern Agricultural Exchange Centre. Photo: SLCT
Apart from the Yangling visits, I have seen similar approaches in Pinggu District, an ecological conservation district and one of Beijing’s main agricultural bases, where innovative agricultural science and technology merge to support food security, and scientific research advances low-carbon, efficient operations. Beijing Jingwa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Centre, the Jingwa demonstration parks, the Beijing WOD Chen-Long Biotechnology Co. and its 3 sister poultry companies all utilised innovative technology as did Nanying Doctor Farm, a self-sufficient farm using greenhouses, technology and natural growth methods, including bee pollination, to produce excellent soilless cultivated strawberries.
Farm to table beef products at Yangling Smart Agriculture Demonstration Park. Photo: SLCT
In the 2023 Transformational Budget Speech of Grenada’s Government, Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security were listed under Pillar 2 Economic Transformation. The finance minister declared, “Improving Grenada’s food security has never been more urgent” and cited global disruptions to production and cost of food and food supply chains. The comprehensive Food Security Enhancement Project proposes integrating agriculture, health, and education, providing direct and indirect support to farmers and fisherfolk, reducing Grenada’s dependence on food imports, combating praedial larceny, and supporting sustainable agricultural practices.
Mountain honey at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Modern Agricultural Exchange Centre. Photo: SLCT
In 1886, Grenada’s Botanical Gardens was a research facility to improve the cultivation of medicinal, ornamental and economically beneficial plants, essentially a demonstration park. The gardens, renamed in 2017 as the Sir Eric Matthew Gairy Botanical Gardens, sadly just house the Ministerial Complex and the Ministry of Education, in a detritus of plant life, against the background of Grenada’s reputation as the holder of 16 gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Visitors anticipating a permanent showing of Grenada’s horticulture at the ‘Botanic Gardens’ in the country’s capital parish, are always disappointed. Revamping the gardens would be a way to encourage forays into new approaches to growing and preserving traditional and introduced food, medicinal and ornamental crops. Establishing a seed bank and one or more demonstration parks that showcase innovative agricultural and agro-processing practices would greatly complement the Ministry of Agriculture’s propagation stations, the China-Grenada Agricultural Demonstration Centre at La Sagesse, and the various spice farms and plantations.
China storefront at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Modern Agricultural Exchange Centre. Photo: SLCT
To paraphrase Xi: “The key to agricultural development is modernisation, and the key to agricultural modernisation is technological advancement.” Combining Grenada’s Food Security Enhancement Project with an adaptation of China’s approach using innovative agricultural science, technology and education is key to strengthening Grenada and providing sustenance to the ‘armies’ that support our major economic driver, Tourism.