African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 279 Somali Banana

The occupation of the right bank of the Kuango River by the West Route Army also means the end of the third war of conquest in East Africa. The current state of East Africa can be regarded as full.

The military goal has been achieved, and East Africa's affairs have also shifted from war to national development. Now East Africa has to digest the results of this war and prepare to deal with the future world situation.

At present, France is popularized in Europe, and Italy and Austria are still at war. Between France and France, Ernst, who has read the script, already knows the ending, mainly because Italy does not know how it will change.

1870 10 Month 3 Day.

Hohenzollernburg.

Under the electric light, Ernst was looking at the geographical information of Somalia collected in his hands. He was tinkering with the map of East Africa next to him with a pencil. The areas of East Africa in Somalia are mainly Northern Province and Juba Province.

Northern Province and Juba Province are planned development areas. Ernst positioned the two provinces to vigorously develop economic crop planting and animal husbandry.

In fact, Somalia is not a pure desert country. There are still 15.00% of its land area forests and grasslands with a comparable area, especially the two provinces in East Africa, which cover not only Somalia, but also most of the southeast of Ethiopia in the previous life.

As for the cultivation of food crops, it is still handed over to other regions. Somalia’s arable land resources are relatively scarce in East Africa, as are water sources, so it is still cost-effective to grow cash crops.

The first is to increase the planting of frankincense and myrrh. These two things are not worrying about sales. The Somali region is rich in spices in history, and now it is also the main production area of ​​frankincense and myrrh in the world.

Then there is animal husbandry. The most important product of Somali animal husbandry is mainly camels. In previous lives, Somalia had the largest number of camels in the world, and then cattle and sheep. East Africa does not have much demand for camels, but they can be sold to North Africa and the Middle East.

The cultivation of frankincense and myrrh and camel farming are considered to be the dominant traditional industries in Somalia. On this basis, Ernst intends 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 on the land of East Africa, but the large-scale planting has not been formed, and there is no commercialization. It is the fruit of ordinary East African residents.

In the previous life, the bananas produced in Somalia tasted very good, and tasted like vanilla cream. They were known as "the sweetest bananas in the world", and Somalia also won the reputation of "Banana Kingdom".

Now the banana planting industry in Somalia is still basically blank. In the previous life, banana planting in Somalia rose in the Italian colonial period in the 20s. On the fertile land in southern Somalia, the Italians built more than 20 banana plantations.

The banana planting industry in Italy has been very successful, and bananas have quickly become one of the staple foods of Somalis. They can be eaten with rice or pasta, or as a pre-meal fruit. From the eating habits of Somalis, we can see the profound influence of Italy on the banana planting industry in Somalia.

Later, when the warlords in various parts of Somalia got their brains out, they would give priority to robbing banana plantations, so the banana industry is very important to Somalia. Of course, those Somali warlords have no chance to rob banana plantations. Now there is no local in the Northern Province and Juba Province in East Africa.

Thinking of this, Ernst said, "Tom, go and contact European agricultural experts, preferably those who are good at banana planting technology. Ask if anyone is willing to develop in East Africa, and find more professional information on banana planting. We need data as a support to support the economic development of Somalia."

"Yes, Your Highness! But I have a question, isn't Somalia a desert? It is suitable for growing bananas there?" Tom asked curiously.

"It's a desert climate, but it's not all desert. There are oases in the Egyptian desert! And I don't need to say how fertile the banks of the Nile River are. Although the Shabelle and Juba Rivers in Somalia are not as good as the Nile River, they are not much worse. They can provide irrigation water for both banks. As long as there are water sources, the desert is also a trivial matter."

"So that's the case, but, Your Highness, why do you have to grow bananas in Somalia? There aren't many of them 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 growing bananas. In previous documentaries, Africans used bicycles to transport bananas. This is the country in the Great Lakes region. For example, Uganda’s “national meal” is banana rice, and the “national drink” Wala is also a drink made from bananas. The famous Odebiao is a banana transporter in Burundi. Bananas are the staple food of many Africans.

"Bananas are good in those places, but they can't compare with Somalia in terms of distance. We want to target the European market. The transportation of products is a big problem, especially for agricultural products such as bananas, and Somalia's location is very good. Because of the opening of the Suez Canal, 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 Mogadishu port is very convenient to the Middle East and Europe, especially in terms of distance compared with Southeast Asia and the Americas that produce similar products. With this geographical advantage, as long as bananas are grown, it is difficult not to make a fortune.

Africa has a long history of growing bananas, and it is the only region that can compete with Southeast Asia and the Americas in banana planting.

"Now, I heard that the Americans want to grow bananas in Latin America, so we will focus on doing business in Europe and the Middle East," Ernst said.

The banana planting industry in the United States also started during this time period, but Americans planted it on islands in Latin America and the Caribbean, not on the mainland of the United States, while East Africa planted it on its own soil. If slaves were not used, they would certainly not be able to cause anger and resentment like the Americans.

"In terms of cost, our banana production in East Africa may be slightly higher than that in the United States. However, if bananas are a tropical crop that is generally exported, storage and transportation are the biggest problems. Compared with Americans, the entire Middle East and European markets are open to us."

At this time Tom asked: "His Royal Highness, listen to what you said, planting bananas in Somalia does have its advantages, but European banana imports can also be imported from West Africa! Spain, Britain, and France are all like this."

"Hehehe, of course I know this, but it is on the Atlantic coast, but Europe is big, especially Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are all our markets." Ernst said.

Especially Tsarist Russia, a country in the frigid zone, lacks tropical products the most. In fact, India is quite close to Tsarist Russia, but the problem is that Tsarist Russia’s heart is in Eastern Europe, and East Africa has more transportation advantages to reach Tsarist Russian ports through the Black Sea through the Suez Canal.

(End of this chapter)