In addition, the development of the fertilizer industry is also extremely rapid, so that China's arable land, especially the less fertile arable land per mu yield increased significantly, in 1903 China's total fertilizer output exceeded 2 million tons, in addition to potash fertilizer subject to resources and insufficient production, the need for a large number of imports, nitrogen fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer production are the world's first, the former is the vast majority of the world's total output, China has mastered the secret of synthetic ammonia technology finally exposed. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Although pesticides have not yet been developed with low toxicity and low residue and low-cost varieties, they cannot be widely used for the time being, but some pollution-free simple insecticide control methods and biological control have gradually been promoted, which has reduced the losses caused by pests and diseases to a certain extent.

As for the cultivation of improved seeds, although it takes a long time in scientific research, it is enough to have a significant impact if the scientific selection method is promoted.

In addition, the popularization of steel agricultural tools not only greatly reduces the amount of labor of farmers, but also helps to improve yield.

In fact, in 1904, China's total grain output was approaching the 250 million ton mark, which is a figure that anyone would be shocked, even if Li Hui estimated that China's total population was close to 600 million at this time, and the per capita grain output exceeded 400 kilograms, reaching the level of China at the beginning of the 21st century in history!

It is also worth mentioning that there are also some lands that are not counted as arable land in the statistics that objectively share the pressure on food supply, such as some tropical plantations that are classified as economic forests, the most significant of which is the "oil king of the world" oil palm.

As early as after the victory in the war against the British, Li Hui ordered the promotion of oil palm cultivation in areas of the South Seas that were not suitable for rice cultivation. This woody oil crop has a very high yield, and after entering the peak fruiting stage, the oil yield per mu is almost ten times that of peanuts (in the early 20th century, when improved varieties had not yet appeared and the extraction process was not used for oil extraction, the gap between oil crops with low oil content and oil crops with high oil content was even greater than in later generations). Twenty times that of soybeans!

In other words, one acre of oil palm plantation is equivalent to ten acres of peanuts or twenty acres of soybeans (not taking into account by-products such as soybean meal), and there is no need to compete with grain for land, and the labor required per unit area is not as much as arable land (of course, under the intensive farming mode), which is too competitive.

Of course, Li Hui also knows that the quality of palm oil is a little worse, and it may even be the worst for the body of edible vegetable oil (but it is still better than most animal fats), but before achieving a well-off life, the first thing that Chinese people need to meet is the demand for "quantity" of oil. You know, even in China in the 21st century, palm oil still has a strong competitiveness because of its high cost performance! What's more, even if no one eats it, it can be used as an industrial raw material!

In order to promote oil palm, Li Hui even deliberately suppressed the expansion of the strategically important Nanyang rubber plantation for a period of time, but there is no way, the more important thing in China is to let the people have enough to eat, and the more oil and water in the food, the less food is needed.

Although the coconut produces much less oil than the oil palm (but also much more than peanuts and soybeans), it is very salt-tolerant (in fact, the oil palm is also more salt-tolerant, but it cannot grow in the high-salt soil of the sea like the coconut). It can be planted by the sea, there is no contradiction with other cash crops to grab land, and the coconut is a treasure all over the body, so it is also very valued, but the coconut on the seaside is everywhere, and the increase in production is far less significant than that of oil palm.

The amount of sugar eaten will also affect the demand for staple foods, and will also greatly affect people's happiness, and China has been short of sugar since ancient times. Therefore, Li Hui also attaches great importance to it. It's just that both sugar and sugar beet have to compete for land with grain crops, and in the past few years, when the focus has been on solving the problem of feeding the people, it would be good if the planting area did not decrease. Fortunately, Hawaii, the sugar production base, has become China's "36th province", although it is not enough to fully meet the needs of the whole of China, at least it can ensure that sugar is no longer a rarity in the Chinese market, and brown sugar water will never be used to cure diseases again.

In addition, the Chinese government's introduction of the woody sugar crop sugar maple from Canada can also increase the supply of some edible sugar. For those poor families and patients who can't eat sugar, Li Hui also fully explored his past life memories and let people introduce stevia from South America......

The rapid development of animal husbandry and fisheries has not only reduced the demand for staple foods, but also allowed people to consume more of the protein and minerals they lacked, which is beneficial to their health.

Among them, the introduction of European Simmental cattle (the world's best breed of cattle) has increased the production of beef and dairy products, which has strongly supported the nutritious meal system for primary school students, which has been widely spread throughout the country, and although it is still slightly insufficient in quantity, it is at least a good start.

In absolute terms, the contribution of the fishing industry is even greater, after all, most of the Pacific Ocean has now become China's fishing grounds, and if it were not for the fact that the number of fishing boats, especially distant-water fishing vessels, is not enough for the time being, even ordinary people may be able to eat Shanghai products every day.

Another problem is that the cost of refrigeration equipment is still too expensive, and the main way to prevent spoilage is only traditional methods such as pickling and smoking, although it can make food last for a long time and has a unique flavor, but eating too much will increase the risk of cancer. It's just that in terms of the current level of nutritional intake of Chinese people, it is better to have salted fish to eat than not to eat at all.

Although the efficiency of converting feed into animal food is much lower today than in later generations due to the gap in agricultural technology, it is no longer difficult to eat a full meal anyway. In fact, if it weren't for the lack of accumulation before, I'm afraid that even the well-off would have been within reach.

It is worth mentioning that due to the successful implementation of the forced immigration policy, the number of poor counties in China has also been greatly reduced, in 1905 there were only a few dozen poor counties in the country whose per capita income did not meet the standard of food and clothing, and the total number of poor people in the country who had not yet eaten and clothed was only a little more than 10 million, compared with the old China that was still abjectly poor ten years ago, this is definitely a miracle on earth! (To be continued.) )