国际英语新闻:Africa's leading cotton producer Benin builds on Chinese machinery expertise

COTONOU, March 24 (Xinhua) -- About 225 agricultural operators in Benin on Tuesday began a one-month training session on Chinese expertise in farm machinery operation which aims to improve cotton productivity in the country.

Slated to end on April 24, the training session is hosted by the China-Benin agricultural pilot center at Seme-Kpodji, about 20 km southeast of the economic capital Cotonou.

At the opening ceremony, Benin's minister of agriculture, livestock and fishery Gaston Dossouhoui said the training session will provide stakeholders in the cotton sector with qualified operators who are able to properly carry out agricultural operations.

He also recalled the objectives of Benin to achieve one million tons of seed-cotton by 2023 with increased cotton productivity, thanks to the ongoing training session at the agricultural pilot center.

The Ambassador of China to Benin Peng Jingtao reiterated that agricultural cooperation always remains a priority in bilateral relations.

Peng welcomed the contribution of the Chinese task team supporting the cotton sector in Benin that became Africa's largest cotton producer with 714,714 tons of cotton production during the last crop year.