African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 343: Chapter 23: Rice Seeds

The East African government is very displeased with the Boers’ secret support for the Ndebele people, and many, including the hawks led by Constantine, want to immediately take action against the Transvaal Republic.

However, they were stopped by Ernst.

Ernst said, ”We must severely punish the Boers for their actions, but now is not the time for us to take action. Just imagine, if we push them too far, forcing the Boers to align with the British, we would be in a difficult situation. Therefore, even if we want to take action against the Boers, it should be a swift and decisive strike, eradicating the Transvaal Republic without giving them a chance to react.”

Ernst’s considerations have a historical basis. Historically, the Boers, unable to cope with the pressure from the Zulu Kingdom, voluntarily aligned with the British, although the Zulu people had British support behind them.

Later, the outcome became well-known. A large discovery of diamonds and gold mines was made in the Boers’ settlements, and as the landowners, the Boers undoubtedly wanted to keep it all for themselves.

However, the British wanted to take it without compensation, which naturally dissatisfied the Boers. ”Why are you so selfish!” Hence, the second Boer War occurred, essentially a conflict of interests.

Although the Boers resisted the British, they knew how to choose when faced with threats. While the British may not act as a benevolent sovereign, the extreme feudal autocratic nature of East Africa posed a more lethal threat to the Transvaal Republic.

In the end, the decision of the East African kingdom was first to prepare for war. Once everything was ready, they’d accuse the Transvaal Republic at the end of the year and launch a direct assault, giving them no time to react. As for the witnesses and evidence East Africa had in its hands, they would not be presented now to avoid alerting the enemy; having the excuse to declare war is sufficient. It essentially boils down to what East Africa desires.

Therefore, after deliberation by the East African government, troops were first transferred to the Matebel Plateau. Next, they turned a blind eye to the Boers’ support for the Ndebele people and continued to increase trade with the Boer Republic, lulling the Boer ruling class. Simultaneously, through trade and contacts, such as with the Germans among the Boers, East Africa increased its infiltration of and intelligence-gathering efforts on the Boer Kingdom.

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June marks the harvest season for rice in the Great Lakes region. Rice harvesting times in the Great Lakes area aren’t very uniform, though they mainly fall between June and December in the latter half of the year.

Currently, the Great Lakes area is an important rice-growing region in East Africa. Its rice cultivation scale has surpassed that of the eastern coastal plain, making it the largest rice-growing base in East Africa.

Like the coast, the Great Lakes region has abundant rainfall and sufficient heat. Unlike the East African coastal plain, it is at a higher altitude; the climate around the Great Lakes is relatively cooler, such as Uganda, where nighttime temperatures can drop below ten degrees Celsius.

Therefore, the rice varieties grown around the Great Lakes differ from the indica rice of the East African coastal plain. The locally grown rice is japonica, native to East Asia. Compared to indica rice, japonica rice is more cold-resistant and suited for mid-to-high latitudes.

The choice of the Great Lakes region in East Africa as a rice planting site may be unexpected, but it was carefully selected from many areas in the Far East, identified as having the most similar rice varieties to the East African Great Lakes region.

The climate of the Great Lakes area definitely differs from the Far Northeast, but in some Far Northeast regions, summer temperatures are similar to those of the Great Lakes, with the difference being more abundant rainfall in the Great Lakes and differences in soil composition.

However, rice is very sensitive to temperature, especially low temperatures. The temperature on the East African highlands is around ten degrees Celsius lower than the East African coast. Thus, summer temperatures in such Far Eastern latitudes are more similar to those of the Great Lakes.

In fact, Liaodong is also a good place, but East Africa has no relevant strongholds there, and the Qing Government attaches great importance to the Land of Dragon’s Ascension, so they chose to take seeds from the north.

”Currently, the best growing one is this variety of rice from a place called Shanxi in the Far East, which adapts well to the Great Lakes environment, especially in higher-altitude fields where it grows better. I discovered during my research on rice cultivation in West Great Lake Province last year that the total rice yield there was relatively high,” the East African rice researcher Marcos said to officials of the North Lake Province government.

The governor of North Lake Province, Brasgin, asked, ”Mr. Marcos, does that mean we should actively promote large-scale rice cultivation within the province next year?”

Marcos: ”Yes, if you’re pursuing higher yield and quality. However, my suggestion is to maintain some experimental fields for other rice varieties. Perhaps, with the development of technology, there could be breakthroughs, especially in pest and disease control, which might offer alternatives in the future.”

Brasgin: ”Then what do you think is the difference between the rice we grow here and the rice in the East African coastal plain regions?”

Marcos: ”Due to temperature, the rice growing season here is longer than on the coastal plain. Both regions receive approximately the same sunlight, but the daily temperature variation here is greater. Based on my observations in the Far East, rice produced in such conditions yields a more plump texture. However, the East African coast grows Indian long-grain rice, which is quite different from the Great Lakes rice. The taste of Indian rice is probably not inferior, but it all boils down to personal eating habits and preferences.”

Brasgin inquired for more detail: ”Can you be more specific?”

Marcos: ”For instance, pilaf is popular in the Middle East and India, while steamed rice is popular in the Far East. Each has different culinary pursuits.”

Brasgin: ”Can I understand it this way: our Great Lakes rice is more suitable for the Far East market, and the rice from the East African coastal provinces is more suitable for the Middle East and Indian markets?”

Marcos: ”That’s roughly it. Think about the habit of Middle Easterners and Indians eating with their hands; long-grain rice is more suitable as it doesn’t stick. In contrast, rice produced from East Asian varieties has more moisture after cooking, resulting in a softer texture. But for groups who don’t use utensils, it’s unfavorably sticky and too hot for hands.”

Marcos, being one of the few East African experts on rice agriculture, was at most at an intermediate level, since there was indeed a lack of relevant German expertise in this field.

Before being hired as a rice researcher in East Africa, he was merely an intern at the East African Tropical Agriculture Institute, and his research direction was not rice, making him something of a latecomer to the field.

Therefore, his ability was quite limited; he could only observe the growth conditions of various rice varieties, summarize the experience, and record the data for the East African government’s reference.

The East African kingdom is rather reliant on external sources, lacking personnel with the capability for in-depth research into breeding and hybridization. Thus, they introduced mature varieties from foreign countries, planted them in East Africa, and, through comparison, identified which one had the highest yield and quality, then promoted it on a large scale in the region, adapting accordingly to local conditions.