Chapter 298 Banana Farm
Northern Province.
The agricultural development plan based on the Shabelle River has begun to be implemented. The cultivated land in Somalia itself is relatively limited compared with other regions in East Africa. In addition, this area was deeply influenced by Arab culture before, so the land development rate is still high. Most of it is cultivated land. Start from scratch.
In the early morning, the temperature is 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 shines on the broad river. There is a sandbar in the middle of the river, and as the river bends to the south, the farmland is distributed on both sides of the Shabelle River. It looks pleasing to the eye, quite like a scene along the Nile River.
Northern Province, Bar 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 "Big Mac Banana" popular in the Caribbean. This banana variety is very sweet but has a strong taste.
Ernst himself did not like sweetness very much, but people of this era did, especially in Europe and the United States, and "sweet" was a light and luxurious taste for people of this era.
Big Mac bananas themselves are very sweet, and the climate in Somalia adds sweetness to bananas. Ernst can imagine how sweet the grown "Big Mac bananas" are, but Europeans are just good at this.
And its skin is also thick, suitable for long-term storage and long-distance transportation, which is why Big Mac bananas are so popular.
Yacli himself was born in a farmer's family in Jamaica, so he has quite a lot of experience in growing Big Mac bananas.
Yan, the head of Baer Village, asked: "Mr. Acrylic, is it really possible to plant bananas in this area?"
Yacli said: "As long as the irrigation water source is sufficient, it will be natural. It’s not a big problem. It mainly depends on the local temperature. The temperature in Somalia is similar to that in the Caribbean, so there is no problem in this regard. Moreover, due to the desert, Somalia has a large daily temperature difference, so it is beneficial to the accumulation of sugar in local crops. It will help improve its quality, and it will definitely be more popular in future sales."
Jahn: "I'm really sorry, mainly because I came from Hungary before and haven't seen deserts and oasis since I was a child, so that's why. I have some 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, so I am who I am today."
Although Acrylic comes from a farmer's family in Jamaica, he is not an ordinary farmer. His father is a local white farmer, which is why he has the ability to study in Europe.
Yan: "Mr. Acrylic, are there any differences between Somalia and Jamaica regarding banana planting?"
Yaen: "Drainage work must be done well in banana planting in Jamaica. Although the two places have Both can be grown, but the climate in Somalia is very different from that in Jamaica. You don’t need to pay much attention to this. The rainfall in Somalia’s tropical desert climate basically has little impact on the growth of Somali bananas, and it can also supplement it.”
< br>Yarn: "Does this mean that this drainage system is dispensable?" Acrylic: "That's pretty much what it means. After all, it's hard for me to imagine the scene of heavy rain here as in Jamaica, especially when a hurricane comes, the farms in Jamaica The climate in Somalia is very stable, with drought and little rain, and irrigation depends on the water of the Shabelle River.”
Yan En: "We still need to build canals to divert river water for irrigation. We can't fetch water little by little with buckets. We still have to divert river water through canals."
Acrylic: "Of course you can do that if you want."
The soil in Somalia is relatively soft, so this matter is not troublesome. The villagers of Bar Village began to draw plans for the planned plantation along the west bank of the Shabelle River. Build canals.
During irrigation, the irrigation water in the fields can be replenished. When drainage is needed, it can be flowed back to the Shabelle River along the canal, although this chance is very small.
Like the village of Bar, criss-crossing water channels began to appear on both sides of the Shabelle River. The lower reaches of the Shabelle River seemed to have taken root. These small water channels penetrated deep into the Benadir Plain like capillaries.
The Benadir Plain and the Mozambique Plain are the only two strictly plain terrains in Africa. Other areas are called depressions, basins and estuary deltas.
The lower reaches of the Shabelle River and Juba River are both within the Benadir Plain, with a total area of approximately 270,000 square kilometers.
In the entire Benadir Plain, no food is grown anywhere. All the irrigated land is used by East Africa to grow cash crops, including the original cultivated land of the Gradi Sultanate, which was transformed into bananas by East Africa. Plantations and frankincense and myrrh plantations.
“The Northern Province and Juba Province do not need to grow food crops. The cultivated 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 of the Shabelle and Juba rivers, It’s better to plant crops with higher economic value on a small scale, and just transport the food from the south.” This was Ernst’s explanation to Constantine when he designed the blueprint for agricultural development in the two provinces.
Another important reason is that this measure will restrain the two northern provinces agriculturally and economically, making it impossible for them to get rid of their dependence on the core areas of East Africa.
Crops that can be grown in Somalia can also be grown in other areas 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 anything that is necessary in East Africa. Agricultural products, and the Somali region is inseparable from the food supply in East Africa. Even if all Somali regions are converted to growing food, it will be difficult to achieve food self-sufficiency in an environment dominated by tropical desert climate, because the current agricultural structure of Somalia has been finalized, and in a short time Switching to food crops is basically impossible.
As for protecting the environment, although Somalia's ecology is relatively fragile, Somalia, with its two large rivers, is much stronger than most areas in the Middle East and North Africa. However, limited development of land in Somalia can indeed prevent the increase in desertification.
At present, the potential of Somalia’s cultivated land has not been fully developed, and the East African government’s plan is only to increase the original developed land by another 20%. This is why the development difficulty in Somalia is lower than that in other regions. There are many important reasons.
The development of such a small amount of land is obviously different from the approach in other areas 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. .
The village of Bar is not far from Mogadishu, and the banana-producing areas in East Africa are almost concentrated in the nearby area. The villagers were busy from morning to night, leveling and repairing the land of the original Gradi Sultanate, and repairing water conservancy facilities to strive for Restore local agricultural production as soon as possible.
(End of this chapter)