Chapter 279 Somali Banana
The Western Route Army's occupation of the right bank of the Kuango River also means the end of the third war of conquest in East Africa. The current state of East Africa is considered to be full.
Having achieved its military goals, East Africa's affairs have also shifted from war to national development. Now East Africa must digest the results of this war and prepare to deal with the future world situation.
At present, the Franco-Prussian war is still going on in Europe, and Italy and Austria are still at war. During the Franco-Prussian war, Ernst, who has read the script, already knows the ending. The main reason is that the Italian side does not know how it will change.
October 3, 1870.
Hohenzollern Castle.
Under the electric light, Ernst was looking at the geographical data of Somalia he had collected in his hands. He used a pencil to tinker with the map of East Africa next to him. The main areas of East Africa in Somalia are Northern Province and Juba Province.
Northern Province and Juba Province are planned development areas. Ernst's positioning for the two provinces is to vigorously develop cash crop cultivation and animal husbandry.
In fact, Somalia is not a pure desert country. There are still 15% of forests and a similar area of grassland on its territory, especially the two provinces in East Africa, which cover not only Somalia, but also the large southeastern Ethiopia in the previous life. partial area.
As for the cultivation of food crops, it is better to leave it to other regions. Somalia's arable land resources are relatively scarce in East Africa, as are water resources, so it is still cost-effective to grow cash crops.
The first is to increase the cultivation of frankincense and myrrh. These two things are easy to sell. The Somali region has been rich in spices in history. It is now also the main producing area of frankincense and myrrh in the world, so it is also known as the "Spice Country" , frankincense and myrrh are local flagship products, with production accounting for more than half of the world's production.
Then there is animal husbandry. The most important product of Somalia's animal husbandry is camels. In the previous life, Somalia had the largest number of camels in the world, followed by cattle and sheep. There is not much demand for camels in East Africa, but they can be sold to North Africa and the Middle East.
Frankincense, myrrh cultivation, and camel breeding are all Somalia's dominant traditional industries. On this basis, Ernst plans to build Somalia into a cotton and banana planting base in East Africa.
Speaking of banana planting, this is definitely a new field. There are many banana trees in East Africa, but large-scale planting has never taken shape, and there is no commercialization. It is a fruit for ordinary East African residents.
In the previous life, the bananas produced in Somalia had an excellent taste and tasted like vanilla cream. They were known as the "sweetest bananas in the world", and Somalia also won the reputation of the "Banana Kingdom".
Currently, the banana planting industry in Somalia is basically blank. In the past, banana planting in Somalia began during the Italian colonial period in the 1920s. On the fertile land in southern Somalia, the Italians built more than 200 banana plantations.
Italy's banana planting industry has been very successful, and bananas have quickly become one of the staple foods of Somalis. They can be eaten mixed with rice or pasta, or as a pre-dinner fruit. You can see from the eating habits of Somalis that Italy Profound impact on banana farming in Somalia.
Later, when the warlords in various parts of Somalia got crazy, they would also give priority to snatching banana plantations. Therefore, the banana industry is very important to Somalia. Of course, those Somali warlords had no chance to snatch banana plantations. Now the Northern Province and Juba Province in East Africa Not a single local in sight.
Thinking of this, Ernst said: "Tom, please contact European agricultural experts, preferably those who are good at banana planting technology, and ask if anyone is willing to develop in East Africa, and also look for more expertise in banana planting." We need data to support the economic development of Somalia."
"Yes, Your Highness! But I have a question. Isn't Somalia a desert? Is it suitable for growing bananas?" Tom asked curiously.
"It has a desert climate, but it is not entirely a desert. There are oases in the Egyptian desert! And I don't need to say how fertile the Nile River is. Although the Shabelle River and Juba River in Somalia are not as good as the Nile River, they are not much worse. It can provide irrigation water sources for both sides of the river, and as long as there is water source desert, it is a trivial matter.”
"So that's the case, but, Your Highness, why do we have to grow bananas in Somalia? Isn't this something common in other parts of East Africa?" Tom asked a little strangely.
Bananas are very common in Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region, which is very suitable for banana cultivation. In the documentary of the previous life, Africans used bicycles to transport bananas, which is the country in the Great Lakes region. For example, the "national rice" of Uganda is banana rice, and the "national drink" is wala and It is also a drink made from bananas. The famous Oudebia is a banana transporter in Burundi. Bananas are the staple food of many Africans, so the bicycles of Oudebia are not about fruits, but about life.
“It’s good to have bananas in those places, but the distance cannot be compared with Somalia. We have to target the European market. Transportation of products is a big problem, especially for bananas and other fruits and vegetables. Somalia’s location is very good because Suez The reason why the canal was opened is that it is close to Europe and there are ports that can be used directly,” Ernst explained.
Afgooye, the main banana-producing area in Somalia, is only more than 30 kilometers away from Mogadishu, and the port of Mogadishu is very convenient to the Middle East and Europe, especially in terms of distance, which has an advantage over Southeast Asia and the Americas where similar products are produced. There are so many. With this location advantage, as long as bananas are grown, it will be difficult not to make a fortune.
Africa has a long history of cultivating bananas, and it is the only region that can compete with Southeast Asia and the Americas in banana cultivation.
"Now, I heard that Americans also want to start banana planting in Latin America, so we will focus on business in Europe and the Middle East." Ernst said.
The U.S. banana planting industry happened to start during this time period. However, Americans planted it on islands in Latin America and the Caribbean, not in the United States. In East Africa, they planted it on their own soil. Without the use of slaves, it would definitely not be possible. Like the Americans, they make everyone angry.
"In terms of cost, our East African banana production may be slightly higher than that of the United States. However, if bananas, a tropical crop, are generally exported, preservation and transportation are the biggest problems. Compared with Americans, the entire Middle East and European markets are oriented towards We’re open.”
At this time, Tom asked: "Your Highness, I heard you say that growing bananas in Somalia does have its advantages, but European banana imports can also be imported from West Africa! Spain, the United Kingdom, and France are all like this."
"Hahaha, of course I know this, but that's the Atlantic coast, but Europe is big, especially Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These are our markets." Ernst said.
Especially Tsarist Russia, a cold zone country, lacks most tropical products. In fact, India is quite close to Tsarist Russia, but the problem is that the heart of Tsarist Russia is in Eastern Europe. East Africa has more transportation advantages by using the Suez Canal and finally passing through the Black Sea to the Tsarist Russian port.
