Chapter 298 Banana Garden
Northern Province.
The agricultural development plan based on the Shabelle River began to be implemented. The cultivated land in Somalia itself is relatively limited compared to other regions in East Africa. In addition, this area was deeply influenced by Arab culture, so the land development rate is still high. Most of it is mature land, and there is no need to start from scratch.
In the early morning, the temperature was still relatively low, or rather 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 scattered on both sides of the Shabelle River looks pleasing to the eye and quite interesting. Scenery along the Nile River.
Northern Province, Bar village.
Acrylic, a banana planting expert from Jamaica, began to guide the planning of banana plantations on 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 didn't 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 just like this one. .
And its skin is also thick, suitable for long-term storage and long-distance transportation, which is why Big Mac bananas are so popular.
Acrylic himself was born in a farmer's family in Jamaica, so he has considerable experience in growing Big Mac bananas.
Yaen, the head of Baer Village, asked: "Mr. Acrylic, is it really possible to plant bananas in this area?"
Acrylic said: "As long as the irrigation water source is sufficient, there won't be much of a problem. The main thing depends on the local temperature. The temperature in Somalia is about the same as that in the Caribbean Sea. So there is no problem in this aspect. Moreover, due to the desert in Somalia, the daily temperature difference is very large. Therefore, it is beneficial to the accumulation of sugar in local crops and helps to improve their quality, and the sales volume in the future will definitely be more marketable.”
Jahn: "I'm really sorry. The main reason is that I used to come from Hungary and have never 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, 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.
Yann: "Mr. Acrylic, are there any differences between Somalia and Jamaica regarding banana cultivation?"
Acrylic: "Banana planting in Jamaica requires good drainage. Although it can be grown in both places, the climate in Somalia is very different from that in Jamaica. You can not pay too much attention to this. The rainfall in Somalia's tropical desert climate is basically detrimental to the growth of Somali bananas. It doesn’t have a big impact and it can supplement it.”
Yaen: "Does this mean that this drainage system is optional?"
Acrylic: "That's pretty much what I mean. After all, it's hard for me to imagine the same heavy rain here as in Jamaica, especially when a hurricane comes. The farms in Jamaica are turned upside down, while the climate in Somalia is very stable, with drought and little rain, and irrigation is also dependent on The waters of the Shabelle River.”
Yaen: "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 build canals along the planned plantation drawings on the west bank of the Shabelle River.
During irrigation, the irrigation water in the fields can be replenished. When drainage is needed, it can just flow 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 estuarine deltas.
The lower reaches of the Shabelle River and the 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 its irrigated land is used by East Africa to grow cash crops. Including the original cultivated land of the Gradi Sultanate, East Africa has transformed it into banana plantations and frankincense and myrrh. Planting base.
“There is no need to grow food crops in the Northern Province and Juba Province. The cultivated land here is limited, the rainfall is insufficient, and the local ecology is very fragile. Rather than growing food on a large scale and consuming the water of the Shabelle and Juba rivers, there is less economic value in small-scale planting. Higher crops and food can 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 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 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 agricultural products that are necessary for East Africa, while the Somali region Inseparable from the food supply in East Africa, even if the entire Somali region were to grow food, it would 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 it is basically impossible to change food crops in a short time. Might be done.
As for environmental protection, 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 arable 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 also an important reason why the difficulty of development in Somalia is much lower than that in other regions.
The development of such a small amount of land is obviously different from the approach in other areas of East Africa, which 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 at the same time. Restore local agricultural production as soon as possible.
