CHINA last Friday signed an agreement to provide funding assistance for agriculture machinery.
Chinese Ambassador Li Ming, Jeremiah Manele, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and Senley Filualea, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, attended the ceremony.
Ambassador Li said that China has provided assistance to rural areas of all nine provinces.
The pending arrival of agricultural machinery including tractors and ploughs will help improve local farmers’ capability-building in agriculture production.
The Chinese Embassy is also working with Ministry of Agriculture of Solomon Islands to bring in Chinese agricultural technical team as early as possible, which will help improve SI farmers’ agricultural technology and enrich their experience.
“China and Solomon Islands are both developing countries, and faced with common challenges such as COVID-19 pandemic, sustainable development, and climate change,” Ambassador Li said.
“As the largest grain producer and consumer of the world, China attaches great importance to tackle climate change, and pursues an environmental friendly agriculture industry to reduce greenhouse emission and mitigate impact of climate change while ensuring food security,” he added.
“China will continue to honor its commitments to friendly relationship with Solomon Islands and look forward to more in-depth cooperation.”
Manele expressed appreciation to the Chinese Government for funding assistance on agriculture machinery.
He said the agricultural machinery will help enhance the capability of agriculture sector in Solomon Islands.
“And the machinery will be provided to the Agricultural Development Project in Guadalcanal and Malaita under the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) of World Trade Organization,” Manele said.
