Chapter 1533 Swabia
The performance of the Nanjing government in recent years has been a complete "laughing stock" in the international community. Its voluntary abandonment of the Northeast is equivalent to Germany giving the Ruhr area to France. Its failure to actively resist Japan in Shanghai and allowing Japanese troops to be stationed is equivalent to the Soviet Union allowing Germany to station troops in Leningrad. What's more, Shanghai is the gateway to the Yangtze River, and its importance is far from comparable to that of Leningrad.
"It's hard to describe the performance of the Nanjing government, but I also understand why you, father, were not impressed by it in the first place. It's not an exaggeration to describe their behavior as mud that can't be used to paste the wall." Friedrich commented after reading the final news from the Far Eastern Empire.
Ernst sneered and said, "This is why I asked us to transfer our forces in the Far East to its strategic rear. If the Nanjing government continues to maintain its current behavior, then Japan's war against the Far Eastern Empire will definitely be very easy in the early stages."
"As for countries like Britain, they are now allowing Japan's aggression to continue. Sooner or later, when Japan becomes stronger in the Far East, they will retaliate against them."
"However, this is also the result we want to see. Before that, we should provide limited assistance to the Far Eastern Empire to eliminate Japan's desire to attack the Far Eastern Empire and guide them to the Nanyang region."
"We also need to help Japan obtain relevant intelligence in the South Pacific, Australia and other regions, and increase investment in resources such as Australian iron ore, coal, Burma and North Borneo oil, and East Indian tin."
This will be a long-term strategy. After all, Japan still has to digest its two colonies, Korea and Northeast China. In the next few years, the Far East will enter a short period of stability.
It will take about five or six years. During this period, the East African intelligence agencies will increase their propaganda work in Japan and draw its attention to Southeast Asia, Australia and other regions.
Objectively speaking, going south would be more conducive to Japan transforming the results of aggression into national strength, while giving full play to the advantages of its navy. While attacking the Far East continent would seem to bring considerable benefits, the investment cost is also very high, and it cannot be defended.
In the previous life, Japan invaded Southeast Asia.
…
East African Province of Swabia.
February is the time for soybean harvest in Swabia. Soybeans in Swabia are divided into two seasons. The main season is planted from October to November and harvested in February and March of the following year. The secondary season is planted in February and March and harvested from May to June.
Therefore, during this period, a novel scene appeared in Swabia, with East African farmers and companies some harvesting soybeans and others sowing them.
Soybean cultivation in East Africa has basically achieved mechanized operations. A soybean harvester and thresher drives through the soybean field, and the dry and yellow bean seedlings are drawn into it. They are then threshed into the truck bed at the rear and then enter the transport vehicle nearby through a transmission pipeline. The bean seedlings are then directly crushed and returned to the field.
Next to an experimental soybean field, East African soybean expert Chad and his team are weighing the soybeans harvested from the field.
"Professor, according to the final data we measured, the soybean yield of this hectare of soybean field is about 1.294 tons. It is almost 1.3 tons. It's such a pity." said Abel, Chad's student.
1.294 tons per hectare is about 85 kilograms per mu, and the soybean yield per mu in the United States can easily reach this level, and high-yield fields can even reach 120 kilograms per mu.
Chaide was very satisfied with the data. He said, "In the past two or three years, the yield of Chai 29 has stabilized at 1.2 tons per hectare, which is higher than the yield of most bean varieties on the market in the Empire. Therefore, I am satisfied with this data."
Today, the average yield of soybeans per mu in East Africa is around 60 kilograms, and high-yield fields can reach more than 70 kilograms. There is no doubt that Chai 29 will play a role in promoting the future soybean planting industry in East Africa.
Chai 29, Chai is the abbreviation of Professor Chai’s surname, and 29 is the year, which is 1929. This means that the soybean variety Chai 29 was cultivated by Professor Chai’s team in 1929.
Of course, it is obviously impossible that Chaide's team is the only one in East Africa that conducts research in the field of soybean cultivation. In a world power like East Africa, there are many researchers and teams, companies and institutions even for one crop like soybeans.
“But even Chai 29 still has a big gap in yield compared to US soybeans, not to mention the common soybean varieties in East Africa,” Abel said.
"Now, the unit yield of soybeans in East Africa is on par with that of the Far East Empire, the place of origin. The birth of Chai 29 has only barely surpassed that of the Far East Empire."
The main soybean producing areas of the Far Eastern Empire are mainly distributed in the Northeast. High-yield fields can easily exceed 70 kilograms per mu, and irrigated land in North China can reach 60 kilograms per mu. The unit yield of Chai 29 is stable at more than 80 kilograms. If it can be promoted, it will naturally allow the unit area yield of East African soybeans to exceed that of the Far Eastern Empire.
Abel went on to say: “What’s more, East Africa surpasses the Far Eastern Empire in terms of agriculture, technology, and fertilizer usage.”
Soybean cultivation in East Africa is obviously very different from that in the Far East Empire. For example, East Africa has a more professional scientific research team, a more efficient planting management model, advanced machinery and equipment, and abundant pesticides and fertilizers.
The agriculture of the Far Eastern Empire is basically based on small-scale peasant economy, even in the main soybean producing areas in the northeast, which rely more on the experience of farmers. At the same time, there is a lack of professional machinery and equipment, and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is almost zero. Even the use of farmyard manure may not be much.
Chai De didn't care much about this. He said, "We in East Africa are indeed more advanced than the Far East Empire's planting areas in terms of mechanization, breeding technology, pesticides and fertilizers, but the Far East Empire also has its natural advantages."
"For example, the soil in the northeastern part of the Far Eastern Empire is one of the most fertile black soils in the world, while the soil in Swabia is somewhat barren, not to mention compared to it, even compared to some ordinary lands in Eurasia."
"In terms of climate, the temperature in the northeast of the Far East Empire is low, which is conducive to reducing the occurrence of diseases and insect pests."
"Finally, soybeans themselves are native to the Far East Empire. They are a mid-to-high latitude crop, and Swabia has a tropical savanna and rainforest climate. Without human intervention, it is not surprising that the unit yield of soybeans in East Africa is low."
"So, in my opinion, it is already very good that the average soybean production capacity of the Empire is on par with that of the Far East Empire. Moreover, the cultivation of high-yield varieties such as Chai 29 now makes it almost certain that our soybean production will surpass that of the Far East Empire in the future."
"In the field of soybean cultivation, the one we should really focus on is the United States. The United States is not much worse than East Africa in the field of agricultural technology. Moreover, their soybean cultivation area, climate, and soil are all top-notch natural endowments, just like the northeastern part of the Far East Empire."
"Therefore, it is not easy for my country to surpass the United States in soybean yield per unit area. However, I believe that as long as we can continue to make progress, one day East Africa will also be able to enter the first echelon in soybean yield per unit area."
The soybean-growing area in the United States, namely the Great Lakes and the northern part of the Great Plains, is also a black soil distribution area, and the second largest black soil distribution area in the world. The latitude and climate are also similar to the soybean-growing area of the Far East Empire. Coupled with the United States' technological accumulation in the field of agriculture, it is not surprising that its soybean production can rank first in the world.
In contrast, most of East Africa's territory is located in the tropical region. Although soybeans can be grown in most parts of the country, because soybeans are temperate crops, their yields will naturally be lower than those in mid- and high-latitudes.
In terms of soil, the soil fertility in many areas of East Africa is relatively low. In this regard, the soil fertility in Swabia is even below the average, and the local soil is acidic, so the land needs to be improved.
For example, before planting soybeans in East Africa, a large amount of lime is added to the farmland to neutralize the soil, and other fertilizers are also needed to improve soil fertility.
Finally, there is the problem of pests and diseases, which is also an important factor that plagues soybean cultivation in East Africa, so the use of pesticides is also higher than that in the United States and the Far East Empire.
However, these natural factors cannot limit the rapid development of soybean cultivation in East Africa.
In Ernst's vision, East Africa is fully capable of learning the soybean planting model of Brazil and Argentina in the past and becoming a major soybean producer in the world.
Brazil and Argentina were the first and third largest soybean producing countries in the past, especially Brazil, whose total soybean production even exceeded that of the United States. Brazil's climate, latitude, soil and other conditions are most similar to those of East Africa.
Argentina is not bad either. Its soybean production exceeded 50 million tons in the previous life, while the Far East Empire's was only 20 to 30 million tons. In the past life, the climate of Argentina's soybean-growing areas was similar to that of southern East Africa.
The latitude, temperature, light, soil and other conditions of the soybean growing areas in Brazil and Argentina are relatively similar to those in East Africa. Coupled with East Africa's vast land area, this means that East Africa also has the potential to become the world's largest soybean growing country.
Of course, there is another important reason for growing soybeans in East Africa, which is related to the current development of East Africa in the field of ecological environment.
Leguminous plants can play a good role in soil improvement. Therefore, East Africa hopes to improve the soil in Swabia and other places through soybean planting. Soybeans grow symbiotically with rhizobia and have the ability to fix nitrogen, so they can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and have significant ecological benefits.
In addition, soybeans themselves are a crop with outstanding economic benefits. They can provide nutrients such as oil and protein, and are very suitable as feed. Therefore, soybean cultivation in East Africa can take into account both economic and environmental aspects.
Chad said: "With the cultivation of soybeans, the agricultural ceiling of Swabia can also be raised. In a few decades, Swabia may also become a new agricultural development area of the empire, instead of relying entirely on the mining of resources such as copper mines like now."
The location of Swabia is actually the southern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the past, between the Katanga Plateau and the Congo rainforest, and belongs to the central region of East Africa.
Industrial income in Swabia has declined in recent years, and the reason for this is the reduction in the scale of copper mining.
With the development of trade between East Africa and other countries in the world, copper resources from Chile, Peru, the Soviet Union, Southeast Asia and other regions entered East Africa, and the copper mining industry in the Swabian Copper Belt was also challenged.
Kitwe, also located in the copper belt, began to adjust its industries many years ago. In recent years, the province of Swabia has also been looking for new economic growth points to enrich its industries and get rid of its heavy dependence on mining development.
In addition to mineral resources such as copper mines, Swabia focuses on three aspects. The first is the processing and manufacturing industry, such as non-ferrous metal smelting and processing, and the textile industry.
The second is the electric power industry. Swabia has huge hydropower potential, and the province is located in central East Africa, which facilitates the transmission of electricity to the east, central and west.
Finally, there is agriculture. Swabia has two climates, namely tropical rainforest and tropical savanna. Therefore, Swabia focuses on the cultivation of cash crops. The planting areas of crops such as coffee, cotton, soybeans, etc. have expanded, and animal husbandry has also developed rapidly.
Of course, the success of these measures depends on how Swabia allocates resources. For example, soybean cultivation in Swabia requires supporting related processing companies to turn soybeans into oils, soy foods, feed, etc., so as to better fit the market and increase local economic benefits.
However, if Swabia only relies on single crop planting and does not develop related extended industries, it will always be at the lower end of the industrial chain.
In fact, Swabia is located in the central part and is an important region connecting the eastern, central, western and northern parts of East Africa. Therefore, if possible, Swabia will definitely pay attention to the development of transportation, so as to realize the integration of agricultural planting, agricultural product processing and national distribution, and further consolidate its market advantages.
Unfortunately, the Central Province of East Africa has become the heart of the country's inland transportation, and it has two major comprehensive transportation hubs, New Frankfurt and Rhein City. Therefore, the Swabian Province had to abandon its plans for transportation construction.
Of course, for the current Swabia province, the most important thing in its economic strategy is obviously the development of electricity and related industries, taking advantage of cheap electricity to develop some energy-consuming industries.
Industry has always been the core of Swabia's development, with the primary and tertiary industries merely being important supplements. This is also the consensus in the development of most provinces in East Africa.
Unfortunately, we are now in the midst of a global economic crisis. Although East Africa has avoided the impact of the economic crisis on the country through government intervention, it does not support blind expansion of industries at present.
Instead, under the coordination of the East African Central Government, each province develops its own advantageous industries in accordance with local conditions.
This is the case with soybean cultivation in Swabia. It is not that Swabia is the only province in East Africa suitable for soybean cultivation, but that there are fewer types of agricultural crops suitable for development in Swabia. Therefore, the East African government supports soybean cultivation in Swabia for the sake of economic coordination and regional economic balance.
Correspondingly, the expansion of soybean-growing areas in Swabia means a reduction in the soybean planting share in other provinces, which will switch to growing other crops.
In other words, the current agricultural development in East Africa is not entirely dominated by local governments. For example, each state in the United States can plant whatever it wants. If everyone sets their sights on a certain crop, the output of this crop may skyrocket in the short term, eventually leading to overcapacity.
East Africa has reduced blind expansion and chaotic competition in the agricultural sector through central allocation of tasks and coordination, thus preventing the outbreak of an agricultural overproduction crisis.
Of course, this is effective at the current stage. After all, government intervention can play a greater role in the world agricultural crisis. In the future, the East African government will make relevant adjustments based on changes in the economic environment.
(End of this chapter)
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