Red Alert Somalia

It is undeniable that Farah is the most knowledgeable one Li Lan has ever seen in Somalia. Through a short conversation, Li Lan also learned to some extent the fundamentals of the current situation in Somalia.Farah also has his own ideas on how to save his country.

Inviting Li Lan, he obviously regarded Li Lan as a mission that could represent the Chinese government. Li Lan did not explain this point.

He has reason to believe that he is definitely not the first person to hear Farah say this.Perhaps before him, many foreigners have heard his remarks.But those people in front did not help Farah.

Li Lan can feel his persistence. Although he cannot represent China, he is a person who really wants to change this place, and he has the ability to change this place.Farah, by the way, meeting Li Lan was perhaps the greatest luck in his life.

In the early 1960s, the food self-sufficiency rate in many African countries was 98%, but in the 1990s it dropped to about 50%.From 1973 to the present, Africa has been the target of food aid for the United Nations, especially Somalia in East Africa. In addition to the war, the self-sufficiency rate of food is only a poor 20%.

What is the reason why there is always insufficient food in Africa?

Without enjoying the fruits of technological progress, Somalia also needs a "green revolution". The so-called science and technology is the primary productive force. This sentence is too difficult to realize in Africa.

The so-called "green revolution" means that since the 1960s, developing countries have successively begun to rely on advanced technology to increase food production.

The Green Revolution has achieved great success worldwide, but unfortunately, like many countries in Africa, Somalia has not enjoyed the fruits of technological progress. 90% of agricultural production still uses simple hand tools and agricultural mechanization The level is very low.

In people’s memory, this is not the first time the United Nations has called on the international community to assist Africa on food issues.

As recently as August 2005, Annan, then the Secretary-General of the United Nations, also called on the international community to extend a helping hand and provide 700 to 800,000 tons of food to Southern Africa to help people there to tide over the food crisis. .

Since last year, the situation in East Africa has been very bleak. Affected by the current violent conflicts and severe weather, millions of people in Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan (especially Darfur) and Uganda still face severe food shortages.

There is also a very important point that affects Somalia's agriculture. The weather is not coordinated and there is not enough rainfall to support agriculture.

47% of Africa does not have enough rainfall to support agriculture.Especially in East Africa, Somalia includes neighboring countries, and the annual rainfall simply cannot satisfy agricultural operations.On the contrary, they will face drought every year.

In East Africa where there is little rainfall, most farmers plant drought-tolerant crops.But even so, relying on the sky to eat is indeed not insurance.According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, only 7% of Africa’s land was equipped with irrigation facilities in 1998, far below the world average of 19.7%.

Due to the frequent occurrence of droughts and locust plagues and other diseases and insect pests, the grains are not harvested, and farmers lack sellable grains, which directly leads to the lack of agricultural investment. This lack of funds prevents farmers from purchasing seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, so the grain output is low. Vicious circle.

Both natural disasters and man-made disasters, ethnic conflicts, and wars have caused African farmers to survive.

In addition to natural disasters, African farmers have to deal with man-made disasters.Since the 20th century, Africa has been the most turbulent region in the world. For more than 40 years, about 20 African countries have experienced at least one civil war.On the one hand, the war destroyed productivity and disrupted agricultural production. On the other hand, it increased the demand for agricultural products and made the imbalance between supply and demand of agricultural products worse.

In addition to war, the rate of population growth exceeding the rate of increase in food production is also a "man-made disaster."Statistics show that between 1975 and 1985, the population growth rate in Africa was 3.1%, and the increase rate of food production was only 1.9%.In 1975, the per capita arable land in Africa was 0.62 hectares. By 2000, it had become 0.32 hectares, almost halved.

In Somalia, the population growth rate is 1.6%, but food is growing negatively every year.

Of course, the decision-making errors of some governments can also be regarded as "man-made disasters."The World Bank pointed out that during the process of promoting industrialization strategy in Africa in the 1960s, it focused on industry and light agriculture, and investment in agriculture was particularly limited.Many African countries have kept down the purchase price of agricultural products for a long time, which has seriously dampened farmers' enthusiasm for production and greatly hindered the normal development of agriculture.However, this has no effect on Somalia.

AIDS has made agriculture worse.

According to the latest report on the AIDS epidemic released by UNAIDS in 2007, there are about 33.2 million people infected with HIV in the world, and more than 80% of AIDS patients are concentrated in Africa, with East Africa accounting for 30% of the quota.

Somalia is also suffering from this. Although Muslims have a strict position on the relationship between men and women, with the advancing of the times and the flow of refugees, AIDS has also seriously affected Somalia.

For more than 20 years, the impact of AIDS on African food production is far beyond people's imagination. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published the article "The Relationship between AIDS and African Agriculture" in 1994 and elaborated on this issue:

African agriculture is a typical labor-intensive industry and is more vulnerable to the impact of AIDS.

First of all, the increase in the number of farmers' illnesses and deaths not only directly reduces the labor force, but also removes the family members who take care of patients from the front line of production. The traditional custom of not doing farm work during the mourning period has also caused the loss of farmers' income.

Second, the inheritance system of land ownership in some countries is male-centered, and more and more widows have no right to inherit land after their husbands die of illness, making farming difficult.

Finally, AIDS has caused the simplification of the types of agricultural products, because farmers’ illnesses and deaths directly affect the cultivation of important cash crops such as coffee and bananas that require high labor input, and instead plant more drought-resistant crops such as sweet potatoes and corn that require less labor input. This changed the previous trade model of exporting advantageous cash crops in exchange for grain, so that it was too poor to afford grain.

On how to change this status quo, Farah said several key ideas.

First of all, we must create a good scientific research environment. The project aims to train local crop experts for West Africa, so as to overcome the brain drain phenomenon of the few scientists.

At present, the brain drain from developing countries has become a phenomenon that cannot be ignored.Even in poor Africa, the brain drain is very serious. Every year, more than 20,000 high-quality talents from African countries leave their country to seek jobs in developed countries such as Europe and the United States.

Farah believes that if Somali crops are to survive future floods and droughts, they need a group of crop talents who understand local knowledge and local characteristics, rather than foreign experts trained in foreign universities and foreign experimental fields. .

Farah also said that he knew a lot of Somali scientists on plants, but most of them obtained PhD degrees in Europe or the United States, which means that after returning to China, they did not master local crops such as sorghum, millet and cassava. Professional knowledge, so they have to relearn how to grow different kinds of crop varieties.

His idea is that he hopes that Li Lan will help him to train about 40 experts in plant cultivation with doctorate degrees within five years. These native Somali scientists will be able to effectively study native crops and crop diseases.

The doctoral training program includes research and work, and usually includes a two-year doctoral teaching course.Farah is convinced that with the help of China, crop experts who graduated from Somalia will be able to cultivate crops that can better deal with drought, disease and other environmental pressures.

And he needs Li Lan's sponsorship, faculty, funds, scientific research and teaching books, etc.

In Farah's view, this will help prevent the brain drain in Africa.In the past, it was difficult for African experts trained by foreign countries to stay in their home country. They either did not return after studying, or even if they returned, they would eventually find the best opportunity to leave.

At present, in East Africa alone, the basic economic income and nutritional needs of more than 100 million farmers come from agriculture, and the agricultural production in most sub-Saharan African countries mainly depends on natural precipitation, and most of the farmers are small-scale production.In recent years, drought, environmental degradation and climate change have brought severe challenges to agricultural development in this region.In addition, although three-quarters of Africa’s population are engaged in activities related to agriculture and animal husbandry, investment in agriculture and animal husbandry in Africa has been lagging behind population growth for many years, so that Africa has been unable to achieve sustainable economic and social development for a long time. aims.

Agriculture is just one of Farah's ideas.Li Lan originally thought that he would buy more and more advanced weapons from him, but from the line between the lines, what he saw was the intelligence and wisdom of the Somalis.Understand that teaching people to fish is worse than teaching people how to fish.

ps: This chapter is a supplement that was not uploaded yesterday, and there are still two chapters today.Everyone, it’s great to watch, don’t forget to collect and vote for recommendations!