Chapter 298 Banana Garden

Northern Province.

The agricultural development plan based on the Shabelle River began to be implemented. The arable 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 the land is cultivated land, and there is no need to start from scratch.

In the early morning, the temperature was still relatively low, or cool, so the farmers in the northern province began to go out early and work in the fields under the organization of the village heads.

The rising sun rises from the east bank of the Shabelle River, and the red glow shines on the broad river surface. There is a sandbar in the middle of the river, and the river bends to the south. The farmlands on both sides of the Shabelle River look pleasing to the eye, quite like the scene along the Nile River.

Bar village, Northern Province.

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 to East Africa is the "Grocery" banana popular in the Caribbean. This banana variety is very sweet but has a strong flavor.

Ernst himself didn’t like sweet taste very much, but people of that era did, especially in Europe and America. In addition, “sweet” was a light luxury taste for people of that era.

The Gross Michel banana is very sweet in itself, and the climate in Somalia adds to the sweetness of the banana. Ernst can imagine how sweet the grown Gross Michel bananas are, but Europeans just like them.

Its skin is also thick, making it suitable for long-term storage and long-distance transportation, which is why the Gros Michel banana became so popular.

Acrylic himself was born into a farmer's family in Jamaica, so he has a lot of experience in growing Gros Michel bananas.

Yaun, the head of the village of Bar, asked: "Mr. Acrylic, if we grow bananas in this area, is it really possible?"

Acrylic said: "As long as there is enough irrigation water, there will be no 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. In addition, because Somalia is a desert, the daily temperature difference is very large, so it is beneficial for the accumulation of sugar in local crops and helps to improve their quality. There will definitely be a market for sales in the future."

Yann: "I'm really sorry. The main reason is that I'm from Hungary and I've never seen a desert or an oasis since I was a child, so I have some doubts about this."

Acrylic: "Of course it's not a big problem. In fact, if I hadn't received any education, I might have the same idea as you. I still have to thank my father for sending me to study in France. That's why I am who I am today."

Although Acrylic was born into a Jamaican farmer's family, he was not an ordinary farmer. His father was a local white farmer, which is why he was able to study in Europe.

Yann: "Mr. Acrylic, is there anything else different about banana growing in Somalia and Jamaica?"

Acrylic: "When planting bananas in Jamaica, you need to do a good job of drainage. Although bananas can be planted in both places, the climate in Somalia is very different from that in Jamaica, so you don't have to pay too much attention to this. The tropical desert climate and rainfall in Somalia have little effect on the growth of Somali bananas, and can even supplement them."

Yann: "So this drainage system is dispensable?"

Acrylic: "That's about it. After all, it's hard for me to imagine the same heavy rains here as in Jamaica, especially when hurricanes come. The farms in Jamaica are turned upside down. The climate in Somalia is very stable, dry and rainy, and irrigation also depends on the water from the Shabelle River."

Yann: "We still need to build canals and bring river water for irrigation. We can't just use buckets to fetch water bit by bit. We still need to bring 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 difficult. The villagers of Bar Village began to build canals along the planned plantation drawings on the west bank of the Shabelle River.

When irrigating, 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 the chance of this happening is very small.

Like the village of Bar, criss-crossing canals began to appear on both sides of the Shabelle River. The lower reaches of the Shabelle River seemed to have taken root, and these tiny canals penetrated deep into the Benadir Plain like capillaries.

The Benadir Plain and the Mozambique Plain are the only two strictly plain terrains in Africa; the other areas are called depressions, basins and estuary 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.

There is no place in the entire Benadir Plain where food is grown. All the land with irrigation conditions is used by East Africa to grow cash crops, including the original arable land of the Geredi Sultanate, which has been transformed into banana plantations and frankincense and myrrh cultivation bases by East Africa.

"There is no need to grow food crops in the Northern and Juba provinces. There is limited arable land and insufficient rainfall. The local ecology is very fragile. Instead of growing food on a large scale and consuming water from the Shabelle and Juba rivers, it is better to grow crops with higher economic value on a small scale and transport the food from the south." This was Ernst's explanation to Constantine when he designed the blueprint for the agricultural development plan for the two provinces.

Another important reason is that this move will tie down the two northern provinces in agriculture and economy, making it impossible for them to break away from their dependence on the core region of East Africa.

The 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 advantage, or each region has its own advantages. Therefore, Somalia does not have any agricultural products that are essential to East Africa, and the Somali region cannot do without the food supply of East Africa. Even if all of Somalia switched to growing food, it would be difficult to achieve food self-sufficiency in the tropical desert climate, because the current agricultural structure of Somalia has been finalized, and it is basically impossible to switch to growing food crops in a short period of time.

As for protecting the environment, although Somalia's ecology is relatively fragile, Somalia, with two major 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 intensification of desertification.

Currently, the arable land potential of Somalia has not been fully developed, and the East African government's plan is only to increase the existing developed land by 20 percent. This is also an important reason why the development difficulty in Somalia is much lower than other regions.

The development of such a small amount of land is obviously different from the practice in other areas of East Africa, which is to avoid excessive destruction of vegetation and oases. It is easy to turn wasteland into arable land, but it is difficult to restore arable land once it becomes desert.

Bal Village is not far from Mogadishu, and the banana producing areas in East Africa are almost concentrated in the nearby area. The villagers are busy from morning to night, leveling and repairing the land of the former Geredi Sultanate, while repairing water conservancy facilities, striving to restore local agricultural production as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)