Fertilizer? We don't need no stikin' fertilizer

 that is sarcasm and refers to this meme

in recent years, the Chinese have moved to Africa in search of mineral resources and farmland. 

In Zimbabwe, they took advantage of the self righteous "sanctions" against Mugabe, who "stole" the farm land of the white farmers (who of course had stolen their farm lands a couple of decades ago from the local Africans). But China ignored the sanctions, and was not above giving gifts to move in.

I am ambivalent about Chinese investment: They are neocolonialists when it comes to exploiting the mines (so Chinese exploitation instead of European exploitation) and their shops sell cheap Chinese goods that make local factories uncompetitive (something we see here in the Philippines).

 But China is helping the agricultural sector by introducing modern high yield methods (fertilizer, "green" hybrids and GM hybrids and working with farmers who own their own land, 

and yes, Bill Gates is helping supply the much needed fertilizer in some areas.

this goes against the meme of the powerful "organic" ecology movement. of course who see traditional practices as sustainable and pollution free (just ignore the kids dying of kwashiorkor).

The modern "green revolution" hybrids (that required fertilizer) and especially now the even more productive GM seeds have been discouraged by some governments in Africa, because of powerful NGO's and church groups that believe in the myth that change is bad, and primitive farming methods and tribal customs should not be changed.

NatGeo on China who now has pollution problems (but hey they are feeding their people). But when it comes to Africa, note that one lady scientists said they can't afford it.

“Africa cannot afford massive amounts of fertilizer,” says Sieglinde Snapp, a crop scientist at Michigan State University. A more sustainable approach, she says, is greater reliance on nitrogen-fixing plants.

Summary: Fertilizer? we don't need no stinkin fertilizer. (pun).

 BBC report from 2014.

as for the Chinese takeover/looting of Africa's mineral resources: This is from StrategyPage:

February 3, 2021: China has continued to expand its dominant control of African raw materials. Currently Chinese firms control about 70 percent of Congo’s mineral deposits and mining industry. Chinese state-owned firms own most of this, which includes substantial portions of the global supplies of copper and cobalt. Since 2012 Chinese companies have invested at least $12 billion in Congolese mineral assets.

Some of those billions go to enrich Congolese officials who make possible Chinese ownership and protect it from local or foreign interference. The eagerness to gain control of so much cobalt is driven by Chinese plans to become the major producer of electric vehicles. Congo is the world’s biggest cobalt producer, each year producing between 55 percent or 65 percent of the world’s total cobalt. 

Chinese companies control around 40 percent of Congo’s cobalt deposits and means of extraction. Cobalt is critical as a stabilizer in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. It takes about ten kg (22 pounds) of cobalt to manufacture an electric car battery. China is committed to producing electric vehicles (EVs) of all types.