Chapter 298 Banana Garden
Northern Province.
The agricultural development plan based on the Shabelle River began to be implemented. Somalia itself has relatively limited arable land compared with other regions in East Africa. In addition, this place was deeply influenced by Arabic culture before, so the land development rate is still high. Most of them are cultivated land, instead of starting from scratch.
In the early morning, the temperature was still relatively low, or relatively cool, so farmers in the northern province began to go out early and work in the fields under the organization of the village chiefs.
The rising sun rises from the east bank of the Shabelle River, and the red glow is reflected on the broad river. There is a sandbar in the middle of the river, which bends to the south with the river, and the farmland distributed on both sides of the Shabelle River looks pleasing to the eye. A scene along the Nile River.
Northern Province, Baer Village.
Acrylic, a banana planting expert from Jamaica, began to guide the planning of banana plantations in the lower reaches of the Shabelle River.
The banana variety introduced in East Africa is the "Grand Mac Banana" popular in the Caribbean. This is a very sweet, but very rich banana variety.
Ernst himself doesn't like sweetness very much, but people in this era like it, especially in Europe and America. Adding "sweet" is a light and luxurious taste for people in this era.
The Gros Michel banana itself is very sweet, and with the addition of the sweetness of bananas in the climate of Somalia, Ernst can imagine how sweet the grown "Grand Mac Banana" is, but Europeans just like it .
And its skin is also thick, suitable for long-term storage and long-distance transportation, which is also the reason why Gros Michel bananas are all the rage.
Acrylic himself was born in a Jamaican farmer's family, so he has considerable experience in growing Gros Michel bananas.
Baer Village Chief Yann asked: "Mr. Yakeli, if bananas are planted in this area, is it really possible?"
Acrylic said: "As long as the irrigation water source is sufficient, there is no big problem. It mainly depends on the local temperature. The temperature in Somalia is similar to that of the Caribbean Sea. So there is no problem in this regard, and because of the desert in Somalia, the daily temperature varies greatly. Therefore, it is beneficial to the accumulation of sugar in local crops and helps to improve their quality, and there will definitely be a market for future sales.”
Yan: "I'm really sorry, mainly because I used to be from Hungary, and I haven't seen deserts and oases since I was a child, so I have doubts about this."
Acrylic: "Of course there is no big problem. In fact, if I had not received education, I might have the same idea as you. I still have to thank my father for sending me to France to study, and I am what I am today."
Although Acrylic was born in a Jamaican peasant family, he is not an ordinary farmer. His father is a local white farmer, which is why he is able to study in Europe.
Yan: "Mr. Acrylic, is there any difference between Somalia and Jamaica about banana planting?"
Jain: "That is to say, is the drainage system optional?"
Acrylic: "That's almost what it means. After all, it's hard for me to imagine the scene of heavy rain here like Jamaica. Especially when the hurricane comes, Jamaica's farms are completely disrupted, while Somalia's climate is very stable. It is dry and rainless, and irrigation also relies on The waters of the Shabelle River."
Yan: "It is still necessary to build canals to divert the river water for irrigation. We can't fetch water little by little with buckets, so we still have to divert the river water through the canals."
Acrylic: "Of course you can if you want to."
The soil in Somalia is relatively soft, so this matter is not troublesome. The villagers of Bar Village began to build water canals along the planned plantation drawings on the west bank of the Shabelle River.
During irrigation, the irrigation water in the field can be supplemented, and when drainage is required, just flow back to the Shabelle River along the canal, although the chance of this is very small.
Like Barr Village, criss-crossing canals began to appear on both sides of the Shabelle River. The lower reaches of the Shabelle River seemed to take root. These small canals penetrated into the Benadir Plain like capillaries.
The Benadir Plain and the Mozambique Plain are the only two strictly plain terrains in Africa, and other areas are called depressions, basins and estuary deltas.
The Shabelle River and the lower reaches of the Juba River are both within the Benadir Plain, with a total area of about 270,000 square kilometers.
In the entire Benadir Plain, there is no place to grow food, and all the irrigated land is used to grow cash crops in East Africa, including the original arable land of the Geredi Sultanate, which has been transformed into banana plantations and frankincense and myrrh in East Africa. Planting base.
"Northern Province and Juba Province do not need to grow food crops. The arable land here is limited, and the rainfall is insufficient. The local ecology is very fragile. Instead of growing food on a large scale and consuming the water from the Shabelle and Juba Rivers, the economic value of small-scale planting is better. For taller crops, it is enough for food to be transported from the south.” This was Ernst’s explanation to Constantine when he designed the blueprint for the agricultural development plan of the two provinces.
Another important reason is that through this measure, the two northern provinces are restrained agriculturally and economically, so that they cannot get rid of their dependence on the core region of East Africa.
The crops that can be grown in Somalia can also be planted in other regions of East Africa, but there are differences in yield and quality. Somalia has no obvious advantages, or each has its own advantages, so Somalia does not have any necessary agricultural products in East Africa, while Somalia has Inseparable from the food supply in East Africa, even if all of Somalia is replaced by food crops, it will be difficult to achieve food self-sufficiency in the environment dominated by tropical desert climates, because the current agricultural structure in Somalia has been finalized, and it is basically impossible to replant food crops in a short time. May be done.
As for protecting the environment, although Somalia's ecology is relatively fragile, Somalia, which has two major rivers, is much stronger than most regions in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the limited development of land in Somalia can indeed prevent desertification from intensifying.
Currently, the potential of cultivated land in Somalia has not been fully developed, and the plan of the East African government is only to increase the original developed land by 20%, which is also an important reason why the development difficulty of Somalia is much lower than that of other regions.
The development of such a small amount of land is obviously different from the practice in other regions of East Africa. It is to avoid excessive destruction of vegetation and oases. It is easy to turn wasteland into cultivated land, but it is difficult to restore cultivated land after it becomes desert.
Baer Village is not far from Mogadishu, and the banana production areas in East Africa are almost concentrated in the nearby area. The villagers have been busy from morning to night, leveling and repairing the land of the original Gradi Sultanate, and at the same time repairing water conservancy facilities. Restore local agricultural production as soon as possible.
(end of this chapter)