On April 28, 2021, a video meeting on delivery of donated sugarcane harvesters was held between Hunan and Barbados. And a MoU of agricultural cooperation was signed. 

Wu Lan, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, attends and addresses the meeting. (Photo/He Wei, Hunan Daily)

Hunan and Barbados held a video meeting on delivery of donated sugarcane harvesters, and reached a MoU of agricultural cooperation, on April 28, 2021. The leaders and officers present at the meeting included: Wu Lan, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee; Indar Weir, minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Barbados; Peter Phillips, minister in the Ministry of Transport Works and Maintenance of Barbados; Yan Xiusheng, Chinese ambassador to Barbados; Hallam Henry, Barbados ambassador designate to China; and, Winston Best, chairperson of the Barbados Agricultural Management Company Limited (BAMC).

Wu Lan mentioned that, Hunan is an agricultural powerhouse in China. The hybrid rice technologies developed by academician Yuan Longping and his team lead the world. The agricultural machinery manufacturing capacity is in the front rank in China, with the Zoomlion Agricultural Machinery as the leader. Hunan is forging ahead to build a domestic highland of seed industrial innovation and intelligent agricultural machinery industrial chain development. Barbados is an important partner of China. Hunan and Barbados have maintained close contacts in recent years, and achieved significant progress in agricultural, cultural, and tourism cooperation. During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak last year, Hunan and Barbados people stood together and support each other. The MoU will surely bring bilateral cooperation to higher level. She expected for further exchanges and cooperation in agriculture, economy and trade, culture, education, and tourism between the two sides.

Minister Indar Weir thanked Hunan province for its donations. He said that, sugarcane is a main crop in Barbados, and is crucial for its economic and social development. The sugar harvesters donated by China will help increase harvesting efficiency, promote sugar industrial development, and boost agricultural technical improvement and economic transformation. He hoped, based on this MoU, to strengthen agricultural cooperation with Hunan, and promote agricultural product trade.

The Zoomlion Agricultural Machinery inked a sugar harvester donation agreement with Barbados in late 2020. Currently the donated harvesters worth more than 1 million CNY have arrived in Barbados.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday.cn