China and Zimbabwe had a great year working together on farming in 2024. They traded more. China also helped Zimbabwe's farmers learn new skills.
Farming is a big deal in Zimbabwe. It helps feed over half the people there. It gives factories supplies to make things. Farmers also sell a lot of what they grow to other countries.
The two countries made a deal in September. Zimbabwe can now sell avocados to China, which happened when Zimbabwe's president visited China.
Rodwell Choto grows avocados in Zimbabwe and is getting ready to sell more to China. "Selling to China will give us more money," he said. It will help our economy. And it will make our lives better."
Zimbabwe plans to grow a record amount of avocados in 2024. By 2030, it wants to have almost three times as much land for avocados as it does now.
In 2022, China said Zimbabwe could also sell its citrus fruits. The first batch went in 2023.
"This lets African farming join the world food supply chain," said Christopher Mutsvangwa. He is a leader in Zimbabwe's ruling party.
Zimbabwe also sold a lot more tobacco to China in 2024. Tobacco is important for making money in Zimbabwe, and it is Africa's top tobacco grower. In the first nine months of 2024, Zimbabwe sold 38.3% more tobacco to China than the year before, worth $790 million.
Overall, Zimbabwe and China traded $3 billion in goods during that time, up 25.6% from 2023.
However, a bad drought in 2024 severely damaged Zimbabwe's farms. China helped by starting a project to drill 300 wells in four states.
"The wells will give safe water to people who need it," said Daniel Garwe, a Zimbabwe minister. "They will also help during the drought. And they will give water to animals that really need it."
China is also teaching Zimbabwe's farm experts new skills. They are going to classes in China and learning how to improve farming.
Jotamu Dondofema went to one of these classes in China this year. He works for Zimbabwe's farm ministry.
"The classes have already helped a lot," Dondofema said. "Many people learned useful things. We have better technology now. We are using more clean energy. And we can share what we know better. This helps Zimbabwe's experts get better jobs. It also gets people to use greener ways of farming."
Farming is a big deal in Zimbabwe. It helps feed over half the people there. It gives factories supplies to make things. Farmers also sell a lot of what they grow to other countries.
The two countries made a deal in September. Zimbabwe can now sell avocados to China, which happened when Zimbabwe's president visited China.
Rodwell Choto grows avocados in Zimbabwe and is getting ready to sell more to China. "Selling to China will give us more money," he said. It will help our economy. And it will make our lives better."
Zimbabwe plans to grow a record amount of avocados in 2024. By 2030, it wants to have almost three times as much land for avocados as it does now.
In 2022, China said Zimbabwe could also sell its citrus fruits. The first batch went in 2023.
"This lets African farming join the world food supply chain," said Christopher Mutsvangwa. He is a leader in Zimbabwe's ruling party.
Zimbabwe also sold a lot more tobacco to China in 2024. Tobacco is important for making money in Zimbabwe, and it is Africa's top tobacco grower. In the first nine months of 2024, Zimbabwe sold 38.3% more tobacco to China than the year before, worth $790 million.
Overall, Zimbabwe and China traded $3 billion in goods during that time, up 25.6% from 2023.
However, a bad drought in 2024 severely damaged Zimbabwe's farms. China helped by starting a project to drill 300 wells in four states.
"The wells will give safe water to people who need it," said Daniel Garwe, a Zimbabwe minister. "They will also help during the drought. And they will give water to animals that really need it."
China is also teaching Zimbabwe's farm experts new skills. They are going to classes in China and learning how to improve farming.
Jotamu Dondofema went to one of these classes in China this year. He works for Zimbabwe's farm ministry.
"The classes have already helped a lot," Dondofema said. "Many people learned useful things. We have better technology now. We are using more clean energy. And we can share what we know better. This helps Zimbabwe's experts get better jobs. It also gets people to use greener ways of farming."
