Chinese back Africa's farms but want greater support

By David Lewis

DAKAR (Reuters) - Chinese companies are lining up to invest in African agriculture, but governments like Senegal must do more to limit the risks for investors, a veteran Chinese investor said.

Chinese markets remain hungry for crops grown in Africa and the money, jobs and expertise they bring will help, not exploit, the world's poorest continent, Riping Ouyang, who has over 20 years experience in African agriculture, said this week.

"It would be difficult to convince those who don't know agriculture in Africa to invest in this sector," Ouyang told Reuters in Senegal, where he has a sesame production business.

"If there are no examples, people won't take risks. But if we succeed, others will follow. That is why our project is sensitive for the Chinese and Senegalese governments," he added.

Ouyang, managing director of DATONG Enterprises, which operates across West Africa, spoke to Reuters ahead of a visit this week by China's President Hu Jintao to Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius, all relatively stable but poor countries.

Sino-African trade has jumped from around $10 billion per year in 2000 to over $106 billion last year. Analysts say Hu will try and show that China's interest in the continent extends beyond extractive industries in resource-rich countries.

Known more for importing oil and minerals and exporting cheap goods to African markets, Chinese diplomats have been quick to underscore trade in goods such as Ethiopian sesame, Egyptian cotton and Zimbabwean tobacco ahead of Hu's visit.

More than 450 products from more than 30 of Africa's poorest countries are exempt from import tax in China, encouraging $680 million in exports from Africa by 2008, according to one Chinese briefing.