At local time in the morning of April 24, Hainan University's first overseas science and technology "backyard"— the HNU Zambia Hemu Science and Technology Backyard (the Backyard)—was officially inaugurated in Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia.

At local time in the morning of April 24, HNU Zambia Hemu Science and Technology Backyard was officially inaugurated in Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia. Source: Hainan University

Heading the innovative venture is Professor Wang Zhiyong of Hainan University's Tropical Agriculture and Forestry College, who serves as its chief expert. It was jointly established with Zambia's Mulungushi University and leverages a 100-hectare agricultural demonstration base operated by a Zambian enterprise.

The project will focus on tropical forage breeding and industrialization, promotion of economic crop cultivation technologies, and economic services for the agricultural industry. Adopting a "technology + economy" dual-drive model, the Backyard will facilitate the transfer of China's tropical agricultural technologies to Africa.

Zambia has approximately 42 million hectares of arable land, but less than 15% has actually been developed. At this stage, Hainan University—leveraging its strengths in tropical agriculture research—has signed a technology transfer cooperation agreement, whereby the Zambian enterprise provides the capital and site, and the university provides technology and talent, laying a solid foundation for mature cooperation mechanisms and stable funding for the Backyard's growth.

The plan for the Backyard's development shows that it will screen 2-3 candidate forage varieties suitable for local conditions within three years, establish a pilot silage feed line, establish large-scale pastures covering more than 1,000 mu (66 ha), and draft guidelines for the transfer of tropical agricultural technology to Africa. Building on these initial results, a zero-carbon farm will be planned and constructed.

In terms of talent development, the Backyard plans to host two postgraduate students from HNU annually and enroll students from Mulungushi University in master's or doctoral programs in China, building a tripartite community of collaborative innovation among HNU, Mulungushi, and Chinese enterprises.