African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 517: Chapter 195 Borrowing People

April 1879.

West Great Lake Province, Bujumbura.

As the capital of West Great Lake Province, Bujumbura is situated on the shores of Soron (Tanganyika) Lake, right at the onset of the long rainy season in March and April.

This year’s rainfall has been extraordinarily intense. The average annual precipitation in Bujumbura typically ranges from 800mm to 1000mm, but this year it has surpassed 2000mm, with some areas exceeding 3000mm. Although the raging river waters generally discharge into Soron Lake, many areas still saw the water outpace the drainage speed, submerging vast stretches of farmland on both sides of the rivers.

This situation has caused great concern for the Governor of West Great Lake Province, Najin. He frowned and said, ”This year, the excessive rainfall in West Great Lake Province has been quite overwhelming. We have received reports from multiple locations. In the western regions near Hessen Province, rainfall even reached 130mm in a single day. Most regions in the province have seen precipitation levels break records, and this year’s grain production plan for the entire province may suffer significant setbacks.”

The West Great Lake Province comprises the former territories of Burundi, Rwanda in their entirety, parts of Tanzania, Uganda, and Congo, so the flooding disaster has affected a wide area. The provincial capital, Bujumbura, is relatively less affected compared to other regions, especially the rainier areas which have suffered considerable losses.

Nevertheless, the relatively minor impact on Bujumbura is only in comparison to other places within West Great Lake District. Bujumbura is located in an area that typically receives less rain. Now that even Bujumbura is affected, one can imagine the situation in other regions.

”Your Excellency Governor, this is something beyond our control. Natural disasters are uncontrollable. We can only try to mitigate the losses, dredge the rivers throughout the province to prevent further submergence of farmland, and commence emergency rescue and disaster relief efforts,” the assistant said.

The assistant’s words brought Najin’s thoughts back to solving the issue at hand. He smiled wryly and said, ”Yes, indeed. This is not the time for complaints. Organize personnel immediately to assess this disaster, prepare grain storage everywhere, ready for relief efforts at any time. Health departments must also remain vigilant. As the saying goes, ’After a major disaster comes an epidemic.’ Ensure disinfection activities are thoroughly conducted...”

Najin methodically arranged the disaster relief tasks. In West Great Lake Province, years with excessive rainfall such as this one occur every few years, so they have become familiar with it and are well-experienced in handling it.

Likewise, North Lake Province, South Prussia Province, and Highland Province, which surround the Great Lakes Region, have also experienced the impact of this rainfall. However, more rain is not necessarily detrimental for these regions, especially for Highland Province, where rainfall is typically scarce. The animals on the Gallentes Grassland are now thriving with the increased water.

The entire Great Lakes Region has suffered from this disaster, and a reduction in grain production this year is inevitable. The information quickly reached the Central Government.

Ernst: ”The Great Lakes Region is the second largest grain production base in East Africa. The disaster there significantly impacts the nation’s grain output this year. It seems we need to expedite the infrastructure upgrades in the Great Lakes Region.”

In recent years, the Coastal Plain Region has benefited from water infrastructure projects, especially in the Central Province, where significant investments have been made in water engineering, including canal excavation, farmland irrigation system upgrades, river management, and reservoir construction, which have greatly stabilized and increased the grain yield of the Coastal Plain Region, reclaiming the top position once held by the Great Lakes Region.

Constantine: ”Are you planning to apply the same measures used along the coast to the Great Lakes Region?”

Ernst: ”The natural conditions in the Great Lakes Region are far superior to those in the Coastal Plains, even better than in France. What they lack is the infrastructure. Otherwise, agricultural development in the Great Lakes Region should surpass that in France.”

In agriculture, France is truly ahead of others. Although the United States is also strong, its agricultural success depends more on its vast farmland. In terms of average performance, France excels, particularly as it didn’t acquire its agricultural land through conflict with indigenous peoples as the U.S. did, and living standards for French farmers are generally high.

The origins of East African land are as questionable as those in America, and its agricultural development falls behind those countries. However, the tropical advantage of East Africa means its tropical agriculture is thriving, avoiding direct competition with many temperate nations. The only real competitors are Brazil and Southeast Asia, but Southeast Asia has not fully developed yet, and Brazil is considerably tumultuous compared to the stable governance in East Africa.

Of course, Brazil’s initial advantage cannot be ignored, but East Africa is rapidly closing that gap with water infrastructure development. Building hydraulic projects in East Africa can vary in scale according to local needs, whereas Brazil may handle small-scale projects adequately but falls short in large-scale projects due to less powerful government intervention than East Africa’s. Large projects inevitably involve land appropriation, posing difficulties for the Brazilian government in negotiating with the landowners.

Ernst addressed Constantine, saying, ”The government doesn’t have any major tasks currently, and many inland areas remain undeveloped. Thus, we might as well initiate large-scale water infrastructure projects across the nation following the coastal model.”

Constantine pondered and said, ”The scale of such an undertaking is massive!”

Ernst: ”Father, it’s alright. I don’t intend to accomplish everything at once. Given Africa’s low development level, it may only be slightly better than Oceania compared to other continents. Therefore, we must utilize the plentiful labor of Black people to undertake large projects and minimize our developmental gap with other continents.”

The majority of East African regions were only integrated into agricultural society after incorporation into East Africa. Many places preserve their original Earth-like appearance, so East Africa faces significant challenges in land development.

However, East Africa has excellent natural conditions, and once developed, the land yields substantial agricultural returns. Thus, Ernst views it as a profitable venture.

Nonetheless, if East Africa wants to catch up with developed regions much older in ​​a short period, it must make significant sacrifices. Luckily, the large population of Black people in East Africa allows these impacts to be transferred onto them. If Ernst wasn’t aware from future experience that colonialism has repercussions, he might have insisted on keeping the Black population as objects of exploitation.

Constantine: ”Alright then, if that’s the decision, go ahead and implement it!”

Ernst nodded and proceeded to arrange the task. With experience from the coastal water projects, this time, he sought assistance from the German and Austrian senior partners directly.

Public construction and the water engineering projects require skilled experts. Ernst plans to implement large-scale hydrological constructions nationwide, creating a substantial demand for skilled professionals. Thus, he simply sought some guidance from Germany and Austria for East Africa’s national water project construction.

Responding to East Africa’s request for help, the German and Austrian governments promptly agreed, as providing some personnel was not a significant issue and served as a goodwill gesture towards East Africa.

Through coordination by both governments, East Africa was able to bring in over two hundred technical experts from Germany and Austria specializing in hydrological projects to guide the construction efforts in East Africa.

For this hydrological project, Ernst plans to embark on an intensive campaign, using twenty years to accomplish what other countries achieved over centuries, smoothening the path for East Africa’s agricultural development.