LUSAKA, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Rosann Monga, a 37-year old farmer and his 6-member family in Eastern Province of Zambia has been benefited from a Chinese-invested agricultural project in the southern African country.

In a 1.2 hectare private land, Monga and his wife Mudenda as well as his four children enjoyed the harvest season for cotton, which make the poverty-stricken family live a better life.

Monga is one of the 200,000 farmers in Africa who signed contract with China-Africa Cotton Corporation and earn a life by planting cotton for the company.

"I plant cotton in my land with free seeds, farming instruments and fertilizer from the Chinese investor, which will also buy all harvested cotton back from me," Monga said, adding that the income from planting and selling cotton reaches about 800 U.S. dollars per year, a sum enough for daily cost of his family and even can be part of education fees for his children.

According to local agricultural department, farmers in the province earn an average of 200 U.S. dollars per person.

Grace Lubanwa, an economist in the Lipade Research Institute, said that the arrival of Chinese enterprises in the country has injected energy into Zambia's economic progress and social development.

The income from the Chinese investors is very important for the poverty-stricken families, especially in rural area, who lack chances for jobs with monthly salary, she said.

Following the establishment of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000, China-Africa Development Fund was launched in 2007. According to official statistics, China has so far signed bilateral agreements on investment promotion and protection with 33 African countries and is constructing economic and trade cooperation zones in 6 countries on the continent.

Wang Hongwei, general manager of Bank of China (Zambia) Limited, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that Chinese investors in the southern African country have come to agree that the only way to promote their projects is to seek win-win cooperation with local communities.

According to Wang, more and more Chinese enterprisers in Zambia have achieved win-win development both for themselves and local communities through aid projects, contracting and investment cooperation, etc.

As one of Chinese enterprises supported by China-Africa Development Fund and Bank of China, the China-Africa Cotton Corporation, formed in 2003, has branch firms in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, with total annual production ability of 45,000 tons of raw cotton and 15,000 tons of cotton oil and other by-products.

"We are now carrying out a production structure of order-based farming, which plays an important role in promoting the industrialization of agriculture and increasing the income of farmers," Ju Wenbin, general manager of China-Africa Cotton Corporation, told Xinhua on Monday.

So far more than 200,000 framers in the four African countries have been hired as employees in charge of cotton planting and picking, he said.

"Our company provides seeds and fertilizers to the farmers and finally purchase all raw cotton from the farmers," Ju said, adding that such order-based farming structure matches land conditions in Africa and will benefit both sides.

Even farmers in remote mountainous area can earn their living through growing cotton under the structure. "Wherever the land condition suitable to cotton growing, the order-based farming can exist," Ju said.

"I think the order-based farming is a very helpful way for those living in the countryside and without high technological skills to get rid of poverty because it is cost-free and profitable," Ju pointed out.

At present, Chinese firms in Zambia are mostly engaged in mining and business. Ju suggested Chinese investors focus on the agricultural sector.

"They should implement more investment projects in agricultural sector. I believe that cooperation between Chinese farms and their counterparts in Africa will really bring them a big surprise which lead them to win-win development," he added.

Encouraged by a series of incentive and supportive policies of the Chinese government, Chinese enterprises' investment in Africa has expanded in a broader and more diversified manner.

According to the Chinese embassy in Zambia, by the end of 2011, China's total investment in Zambia reached over 2 billion U.S. dollars, making China the third largest investor for Zambia. Currently there are more than 300 Chinese companies operating in Zambia in the sectors of mining, manufacturing, agriculture, trade, infrastructure, tourism, technology, telecommunication, etc.

According to the data from the Zambian Investment Center, Chinese investment has created more than 27,000 jobs for locals.