Chapter 298: The Banana Plantation
Northern Province.
Relying on the Shebelle River, the local agricultural development plan has begun to take shape. Compared with other parts of East Africa, Somalia has limited farmland. Moreover, it was heavily influenced by Arab culture in the past, so much of its land has actually already been cultivated. There's no need to start entirely from scratch.
Early in the morning, when temperatures are fairly low or at least pleasantly cool, farmers in the Northern Province head out under the guidance of their village chiefs. They go to their fields right at sunrise. The sun rises over the eastern bank of the Shebelle River, and its red glow shines on the broad surface of the water. There's a sandbar in the middle of the channel, bending south with the river's flow. On both sides, farmland stretches out in neat patterns, somewhat evoking the scenery of the Nile Valley.
Bal Village, Northern Province.
Jamaican banana-farming specialist Acri has come to guide the local Shebelle River banana-plantation project. East Africa has introduced the "Big Mac" banana variety popular in the Caribbean—this type is very sweet, with a strong banana flavor.
Ernst himself is not fond of extra-sweet tastes, but people in this era tend to love sweetness, especially in Europe and America. Besides, "sweet" in these times is viewed as a sort of minor luxury. Big Mac bananas are already high in sugar, and Somalia's climate will likely boost their sweetness further. Ernst can imagine how syrupy they will be, yet Europeans in particular enjoy that. Furthermore, Big Mac bananas have a thick peel, suitable for long-distance shipping, which is why they're so popular.
Acri was born into a farming family in Jamaica, so he has plenty of experience growing Big Mac bananas.
Bal Village's chief, Yaen, asks: "Mr. Acri, are you sure that if we plant bananas in this area, it'll succeed?"
Acri answers, "Yes. All that really matters is having enough irrigation. After all, bananas need stable watering. Temperatures in Somalia are similar to the Caribbean, so there's no big problem. In fact, the deserts in Somalia lead to large day/night temperature swings, which can help the crop accumulate sugar and improve its quality. They'll definitely have a good market in the future."
Yaen: "I see. Apologies—I came from Hungary originally, and I've never seen deserts and oases before, so I wasn't sure this would work."
Acri: "No problem. Honestly, if I hadn't studied, I'd probably have the same doubts. I can thank my father for sending me to France for school. That made me who I am."
Although Acri's background is a Jamaican farming family, it isn't just any small farm—his father was a white landowner there, which explains how he afforded to study in Europe.
Yaen: "Mr. Acri, how else does banana farming in Somalia differ from what you're used to in Jamaica?"
Acri: "In Jamaica, we have to worry a lot about drainage. Both places can grow bananas, but Somalia's climate is not exactly like Jamaica's. You don't need to focus as much on drainage. Somalia's desert climate and minimal rainfall won't typically flood your fields. On top of that, you can irrigate from the Shebelle River."
Yaen: "So building a drainage system is optional?"
Acri: "Pretty much. It's hard to imagine huge downpours here, like the hurricanes and torrential rains we get in Jamaica. You have a more stable, dry climate. Basically, you just need to get water from the river."
Yaen: "We'll need canals for that. We can't just fill buckets by hand. We'll dig channels from the Shebelle River."
Acri: "If you're able, that's great."
Because Somalia's soil is loose, it isn't a huge challenge. In Bal Village, folks are digging a canal system along the west bank of the Shebelle River. Whenever they need water for irrigation, they'll open those channels, and if for some reason they needed to drain water, they could let it flow back to the river (though that's unlikely).
The same is happening in other villages along both sides of the Shebelle. A tangle of canals now branches out across the lower river region like capillaries, anchoring itself into the Benadir Plain. Benadir and Mozambique are basically the only true plains in Africa. The rest are mostly basins and river deltas. Both the lower Shebelle River and Juba River flow into the Benadir Plain, an area of about 270,000 square kilometers.
Across that plain, not a single hectare is set aside for staple grains. Wherever irrigation exists, East Africa is now planting cash crops. Even the farmland from the old Gleddy Sultanate is being converted into banana plantations or sites to grow frankincense and myrrh.
"In the Northern and Juba Provinces, we don't need to plant food crops. There's only so much arable land here, and rainfall is too low, plus the ecology is fragile. Instead of pouring precious river water into large grain fields, it's better to use it for high-value crops, then bring staple grains from the south," Ernst once explained to Constantino when laying out the two-province agricultural plan.
Another important reason is tying the provinces' economies more closely to East Africa's core, preventing them from going independent. Somalia can grow many of the same crops East Africa does, but none that East Africa truly "must have." Meanwhile, the people here can't survive without grain imported from East Africa. Even if they replaced all farmland with food crops, the dominant desert climate would block them from self-sufficiency. Besides, the region's farming patterns are set, and short-term attempts to switch to grain won't succeed.
As for protecting the environment, yes, Somalia's ecology is fragile, but it has two major rivers, which puts it well above most of the Middle East or North Africa in that regard. East Africa is indeed limiting farmland expansion so as not to intensify desertification. Since Somalia's agricultural potential isn't fully tapped, the current plan is only to boost farmland by 20% beyond what's already in use. That's much simpler than developing brand-new farmland in other areas. Meanwhile, turning wilderness into farmland is easy, but converting desert back into fertile land is difficult.
Bal Village is not far from Mogadishu, and most banana production is planned nearby. From dawn to dusk, villagers fix and smooth out fields once belonging to the old Gleddy Sultanate and upgrade the region's waterworks, hoping soon to restore local agriculture.
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