QUZHOU, China, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In the sun-drenched fields of Quzhou county, Hebei province, African students are learning about farming not from a classroom, but with their hands in the soil.
They drive tractors, take soil samples, test planting techniques and work alongside Chinese researchers and local farmers. The experience is part of the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) program, a model pioneered by China Agricultural University that is now being adapted to agricultural challenges across the Global South.
Established in Quzhou in 2009, the STB model brings university researchers and graduate students into farming communities to conduct research, test technologies and provide services directly to farmers. Since 2019, the university has established 14 STBs in 10 countries, including Malawi and Kenya, working with farmers in more than a dozen villages.
The overseas expansion reflects a shift from simply transferring agricultural technologies to building local capacity, said Zhang Fusuo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and initiator of the STB program.
“Our core strategy for the next decade is to take the Science and Technology Backyards overseas,” Zhang said.
Rather than replicating Chinese farming practices, the model emphasizes adapting technologies to local soil, climate, crops and economic conditions.
In Malawi, for example, STBs focus on maize, a staple crop and major source of rural livelihoods. Malawian agricultural expert Samson Mofolo, who studied at China Agricultural University, is now working with farmers on techniques including cereal-legume intercropping, improved varieties and more targeted fertilizer use.
The approach has brought tangible changes for farmers. In Kasungu, central Malawi, farmer Esnart Mwera said her family began producing more maize from a small plot after adopting improved planting practices.
“We don’t have hunger in our family,” she said, adding that higher harvests have also helped the family pay school fees and buy livestock.
Jiao Xiaoqiang, head of the China-Africa STB program, said young agricultural professionals are trained to become a bridge between scientific research and farmers. “Technology is very important for smallholder farmers, but technology alone is not enough. If we want farmers to adopt new technologies, education must come first,” he said.
Students from Ethiopia and Kenya say the training has given them ideas they can adapt at home, from safer pesticide use and mechanization to soil testing and organic fertilizer.
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