Taizhou's Sanmen crab boosts African agricultural development

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-09-09

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In recent years, crab farmers from Sanmen county in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, known as the "Hometown of Blue Crabs in China", have brought crab cultivation technology to Africa, boosting local agricultural development.

Beira, Mozambique, located in southeastern Africa, shares similar latitudes with Zhejiang, boasting superior water quality and natural conditions. In 2019, Ma Xiaolong, a crab farmer from Sanmen, contracted 5,000 mu (333.33 hectares) of farming ponds in Beira with his partners, investing over 20 million yuan ($2.81 million) in construction and infrastructure development.

To further enhance cultivation efficiency, Ma's ponds are experimenting with mixed cultivation of blue crabs and Mozambique prawns this year. Wang Shuming, a technical leader with over 30 years of cultivation experience, has been guiding workers through video calls to address challenges.

Employees at the African farming base expressed deep gratitude towards Chinese people like Ma for teaching them crab farming techniques.

Crab cultivation in Mozambique boasts lower costs and enjoys zero-tariff treatment for exports to China. With the support of the local government in Africa, Sanmen farmers have leased 15,000 mu of ponds in Xai-Xai, Mozambique and signed agreements to return 20 percent of the developed ponds to local farmers for farming, stimulating local employment and economic growth.

Moving forward, Sanmen plans to recruit 200 partners to collectively engage in crab farming overseas, which is expected to create over 500 new local jobs and add 500 million yuan to local incomes.