A high-ranking Nigerian official Tuesday said that his country is eager to share China's experience both in feeding people and exporting agricultural produce.

"China is capable of feeding some 1.3 billion people and exporting a wide range of agricultural produce. It has much experience to share with Nigeria, which is faced with similar problems," Bamidele Dada, minister of state for agriculture and rural development, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Nigeria, the biggest African country in terms of population, 133 million in total, and rich in such natural resources as arable land and cocoa, wants to attract more Chinese investors and agro-technicians to its agricultural sector, Dada said, listing farming, fishing, aquaculture and agricultural processing as major possible areas of cooperation.

Dada emphasized the processing of cocoa and cassava, two major agricultural products of Nigeria, explaining that his country wants to export more finished products rather than raw materials.

The minister of state also encouraged Chinese companies to invest in tractor making, production of chemical fertilizers, and rural infrastructure, such as roads and power.

"Chinese are expert in these areas and can find great opportunities in Nigeria," he said.
 
Although the oil industry is booming, agriculture is still the backbone of the Nigerian economy, amounting to 41 percent of the country's gross domestic product and 88 percent of its non-oil exports.

To attract investors, Dada said, the Nigerian government has put in place incentives in agriculture, including zero tariff rate on importation of agricultural chemicals, duty free importation on spare parts of processing machinery, and tax free dividends for a period of five years for agricultural production and processing in Nigeria.

The two countries have made much progress in cooperation in agriculture since about 500 Chinese experts started to take part in the Nigerian National Special Program for Food Security, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2003.
 
The experts, based in 36 Nigerian states, have helped the benefiting communities overcome shortage of water supply for drinking and irrigation while teaching local farmers planting, fishing and beekeeping skills.

The minister of state believed that the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, scheduled for November 3-5, would help boost agricultural cooperation between Nigeria and China.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2006)