Foreign Affairs Minister Mark Chen (陳唐山) inspected a huge rice plantation area near Lake Bagre in central Burkina Faso on Sunday, witnessing a "Taiwan miracle" in the African desert.
Aboard a military helicopter, Chen took a bird's-eye view of the over 1,000-hectare Bagre Rice Plantation, which was developed with Taiwanese funds and technology between 1995 and 2000.
The plantation, using water from the nearby Bagre Dam (Barrage), also known as the Bagre Project, is now the major granary in the landlocked African country formerly called Upper Volta. Bagre is located about 200km to the southeast of the capital Ouagadougou.
Following the rice plantation project, Taiwan began to help the Burkinans to develop their fishing industry in the Bagre area last July.
With ponds, tidal boxes, labs and feed factories built one after another, the 16-hectare Bagre Fish Culture Center is expected to yield 150 tonnes of fresh fish each year from next year, becoming an important protein-providing stronghold in the country.
In addition to the rice paddies and fish culture, Taiwan has also been discussing with the Burkina Faso authorities a plan to develop a tourist attraction and resort area near Lake Bagre. The tourism plan, with a price tag of over NT$100 million (US$3.23 million), is expected to be developed in one year. Taiwan also helped Burkina Faso develop another 200 hectares of rice paddies near the River Nakambe.
To facilitate the rice plantation there, Taiwan helped develop a 580m long canal system along the River Nakambe. The canal system is the largest in all of West Africa.
Admiring the progress of these developments, Chen said that "we have to engage in activities in person so that we will experience the African way of life and appreciate the African cultures."
Chen arrived in Burkina Faso on Saturday for a four-day official visit. He is scheduled to proceed to Chad, another of the nation's allies in Africa, today for a visit.
While in Chad, Chen is expected to host ceremonies marking the donation of office equipment to that nation's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and medical supplies to a hospital. He will also visit Unity Bridge and Taiwan Boulevard, both of which are the result of projects undertaken between Taiwan and Chad.
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