The occupation of the right bank of the Kuango River by the Western Route Army also meant the end of the Third War of Conquest in East Africa, which was now well fed and drunk.

Militarily accomplishing the goal, East Africa's affairs have also shifted from war to national development, and now East Africa must digest the fruits of this war and prepare for the future world situation.

At present, Franco-Prussian on the European continent, Italy and Austria are still at war, and between Franco-Prussian people, Ernst, who has read the script, already knows the ending, mainly because the Italian side does not know how it will change.

October 3, 1870.

Hohenzollernburg.

Under the electric light, Ernst was looking at the geographical information he had collected about Somalia, and he was tinkering with a pencil on a nearby map of East Africa, which was mainly in the Northern Province and Juba Province.

The Northern Province and Juba Province are planned development areas, and ERNST has positioned the two provinces to develop cash crops and animal husbandry.

In fact, Somalia is not a pure desert country, and its territory is still covered with 15 percent of forests and grasslands, especially in the two provinces of East Africa, which cover not only Somalia but also most of the southeastern part of Ethiopia.

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

The first is to increase the cultivation of frankincense and myrrh, these two things are not worried, 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, so it is also known as the "spice state", frankincense and myrrh are the local fist products, the production of more than half of the world.

Then there is animal husbandry, the most important product of animal husbandry in Somalia is mainly camels, in the past life Somalia had the largest number of camels in the world, and then cattle and sheep, East Africa is not in great demand for camels, but can be sold to North Africa and the Middle East.

Frankincense and myrrh cultivation and camel farming are considered to be Somalia's dominant traditional industries, and on this basis, Ernst intends to build Somalia into a cotton and banana planting base in East Africa.

Speaking of banana farming, this is definitely a new field, there are many banana trees in East Africa, but large-scale cultivation has not taken shape, so it has not been commercialized, but the fruit of ordinary East African residents.

In the past, Somali bananas tasted so good that they tasted like vanilla cream, and they were known as the "sweetest bananas in the world", which earned Somalia the reputation of "banana kingdom".

Banana cultivation in Somalia is still basically blank, and the Somali banana cultivation in the past life arose during the Italian colonial period in the 20s of the 20th century, and the Italians built more than 200 banana plantations in the fertile land of southern Somalia.

Italy's banana cultivation industry has been very successful, and bananas have quickly become one of the staple foods of the Somali people, both mixed with rice or pasta and eaten as a pre-dinner fruit.

Later, when the warlords in Somalia played out their brains, they would also give priority to the banana plantations, so the banana industry was very important for Somalia, of course, those Somali warlords did not have the opportunity to rob the banana plantations, and now there is not a single local person in the northern provinces and Juba provinces of East Africa.

Thinking of this, Ernst said: "Tom, you go and contact European agricultural experts, it is best to be good at banana planting technology, ask if you are willing to develop in East Africa, and find more professional information about banana planting, we need data to support the economic development of Somalia." ”

"Yes, Your Highness! But I have a question, isn't Somalia a desert? Where is the right place to grow bananas? Tom asked, curiously.

"It's a desert climate, but it's not all desert, there are oases in the desert of Egypt! And I don't need to say how fertile the banks of the Nile are, although the Shabelle and Juba rivers in Somalia are not as good as the Nile, they are not much worse, they can provide irrigation water for both banks, as long as there is a water source desert, it is also a trivial matter. ”

"I see, but, Your Highness, why do you have to grow bananas in Somalia, which is not very good in other parts of East Africa?" Tom said a little strangely.

Bananas are very common in Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region, which is very suitable for banana planting, in the previous life documentary, Africans used bicycles to transport bananas are the countries of the Great Lakes region, like Uganda's "national rice" are banana rice, "national drink" Vala and wine also brewed from bananas, the famous Odbiao is the banana transporter of Burundi, bananas are the staple food of many Africans, so the Odbiao's bicycles are not fruits, but life.

"It's good to have bananas in those places, but the distance can't be compared with Somalia, we have to target the European market, the transportation of products is a big problem, especially bananas and other fruit and fruit agricultural products, 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.

Afgoye, the main banana producing area in Somalia, is only more than 30 kilometers away from Mogadishu, and the port of Mogadishu is very convenient to the Middle East and Europe, especially in terms of distance compared to Southeast Asia and the Americas, which have many advantages over the production of similar products.

Africa has a long history of banana cultivation and is the only region that can compete with Southeast Asia and the Americas in banana cultivation.

"Now, when we hear that the Americans also want to start banana farming in Latin America, we will concentrate on doing business in Europe and the Middle East." Ernst said.

Banana cultivation in the United States also happened to start at this time, but the Americans planted it on the islands of Latin America and the Caribbean, not on the American mainland, and East Africa on its own soil.

"In terms of cost, our banana production in East Africa may be slightly higher than in the United States, but bananas are a tropical crop that is generally used for export, and storage and transportation are the biggest challenges. Compared to the Americans, the entire Middle East and continental markets are open to us. ”

At this time, Tom asked: "Your Highness, listen to what you say, growing bananas in Somalia does have its advantages, but European banana imports can also be imported from West Africa!" Spain and England, France they are all like this. ”

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

In fact, India is quite close to Tsarist Russia, but the problem is that the heart of Tsarist Russia is in Eastern Europe, and East Africa has more transportation advantages with the help of the Suez Canal and finally through the Black Sea to reach the ports of Tsarist Russia.

(End of chapter)