African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 332 Rice Seeds
The East African government was very unhappy with the Boers' secret support for the Ndebele people. Many people, including the hawks headed by Constantine, wanted to attack the Transvaal Republic immediately.

However, Ernst stopped him.

Ernst: "We must severely punish the behavior of the Boers, but now is not the time for us to do it. Just imagine, if we persecute the Boers too much and cause the Boers to defect to Britain, then we will not end well, so even if we want to To attack the Boers, we must accomplish one battle, wipe out the Transvaal Republic with lightning speed, and do not give them a chance to react."

Ernst's considerations can be learned from history. Historically, the Boers were unable to cope with the pressure of the Zulu Kingdom, so they took the initiative to seek refuge with the British, although the Zulu had the support of the British behind them.

Later, everyone knew the result. A large number of diamonds and gold mines were found in the place where the Boers lived. The Boers who are the owners of this place must want to monopolize it.

But the British just wanted to take it for nothing, and the Boers were naturally dissatisfied, "Why are you so selfish!" So there was the second Boer War, which was ultimately a dispute over interests.

Although the Boers resisted the British, they knew how to choose when they encountered threats. Although the British were not like a monarch, the extreme feudal autocratic country in East Africa threatened the Transvaal Republic more deadly.

In the end, the decision of the Kingdom of East Africa is to prepare for war first. After everything is ready, it will suddenly question the Republic of Transvaal at the end of the year, and then directly attack the Republic of Transvaal without giving it time to react. As for the witnesses in the hands of East Africa , Don’t take it out now, so as not to startle the snake. It will be enough to have this excuse for declaring war. In essence, it is still a question of whether East Africa wants it or not.

Therefore, under the calculation of the East African government, they first transferred troops to the Matabele Plateau, and then turned a blind eye to the behavior of the Boers supporting the Ndebele people, and continued to increase trade with the Boer Republic, paralyzing the Boer ruling class At the same time, through trade and contact with the Germans among the Boers, the infiltration and intelligence collection of the Boer Kingdom were increased.

……

June is the season for rice harvesting near the Great Lakes region. The rice harvesting time in the Great Lakes region is not uniform, but it is mainly concentrated in the second half of the year from June to December.

At present, the Great Lakes region is an important rice planting area in East Africa, and its rice planting scale has surpassed that of the eastern coastal plain, becoming the largest rice planting base in East Africa.

Like the coast, the Great Lakes region has abundant precipitation and sufficient heat. Unlike the coastal plains of East Africa, the altitude here is high, and the temperature near the Great Lakes region is relatively cool. Like Uganda, it may drop below [-] degrees Celsius at night.

So the rice varieties grown near the Great Lakes are not the indica rice in the coastal plains of East Africa, but the japonica rice in East Asia.Compared with indica rice, japonica rice has the advantage of being more cold-tolerant and suitable for planting in middle and high latitudes.

It may be unexpected that East Africa chose the location of the Great Lakes region rice species. After careful selection in many regions of the Far East, it was found that the Far-Northeast rice variety most similar to the Great Lakes region of East Africa.

The climate in the Great Lakes region is certainly different from that in the Far Northeast, but summer temperatures in some areas in the Far Northeast are similar to those in the Great Lakes region. The difference is that the Great Lakes region has more abundant rainfall and differences in soil quality.

But rice is very sensitive to temperature, especially low temperature. The temperature on the East African plateau is almost ten degrees Celsius lower than that on the East African coast. Therefore, the summer temperature at latitudes in the Far East is more similar to that in the Great Lakes region.

In fact, Liaodong is also a good place, but East Africa does not have a corresponding stronghold in Liaodong, and the Qing government also paid more attention to the land of Longxing, so it chose to take seeds in the north.

"At present, it seems that the rice variety that grows best is this kind of rice that comes from a place called Shanxi in the Far East. It is adapted to the environment of the Great Lakes region, especially the higher the altitude of the farmland, the better the growth condition. I investigated rice in West Great Lakes Province last year. When it comes to planting, it is found that the total rice production there is too high." Marcos, an East African rice researcher, told the officials of the North Great Lakes Provincial Government.

Brzeszin, a senior official from the North Great Lakes Province, asked: "Mr. Marcos, that is to say, next year we should take the initiative to promote this kind of rice cultivation on a large scale in the province?"

Marcos: "Yes, if you are pursuing higher yield and quality, but what I mean is! It is still necessary to keep some experimental fields for other varieties. Perhaps with the development of technology in the future, breakthroughs can be made, especially Alternatives are readily available for pest and disease control.”

Brzeszin: "Then what do you think is the difference between the rice we grow here and the coastal plains of East Africa?"

Marcos: "Because of the temperature, the growing season of rice here is longer than that of the coastal plain, and the sunlight is similar between the two, but the daily temperature difference here is greater. According to my previous observation experience in the Far East, the rice produced by such rice , the taste is fuller, but the long-grain rice in India is grown along the coast of East Africa, which is very different from the rice in the Great Lakes region. The taste of Indian rice varieties is definitely not bad, but it all depends on personal eating habits and hobbies.”

Breszin asked, "Can you be more specific?"

Marcos: "For example, pilaf is popular in the Middle East and India, while steamed rice is popular in the Far East. The two sides have different pursuits in food."

Brzeszin: "Then can I understand that the rice in our Great Lakes region is more suitable for the Far East market, while the rice in the coastal provinces of East Africa is more suitable for the Middle East and Indian markets?"

Marcos: "It's probably like this. Think about the habit of people in the Middle East and Indians grabbing food with their hands. Long-grain rice is more suitable, and it is not easy to stick to your hands. Rice produced from rice seeds in East Asia is easy to cook. Afterwards, it has more moisture and has a soft and waxy taste, but it is not friendly to people who don’t use tableware, and it’s hotter.”

As a rare rice agricultural expert in East Africa, Marcos can be said to be only a second-hander. After all, Germany does not have relevant talents in this area.

Before East Africa hired him as a rice researcher, he was just an intern at the Institute of Tropical Agriculture in East Africa, and his research direction was not rice, and he was a half-way monk.

Therefore, his ability is very limited. He can only observe the growth of each rice variety, sum up experience, and finally record the data for reference by the East African government.

The Kingdom of East Africa is a medley, and there are no talents who can study breeding and hybridization. Therefore, rice is introduced into mature varieties from abroad, and then planted in East Africa. Finally, the yield is higher and the quality is better, and then it is grown in this area. Scale promotion can also be regarded as adapting to local conditions.

(End of this chapter)