African Entrepreneurship Record

Ernst has always valued such vast and sparsely populated areas, as they represent greater malleability, while Luzon Island is the core of the Philippines and an area long integrated by Spain, which Ernst is not interested in.

Of course, the dirty work should be left to the Americans. East Africa appears to covet the Philippines, but this does not hinder the friendly relations between the two countries in the slightest.

Just like this visit, Ernst puts Spain last, which actually signifies importance, and Alfonso XII enjoys this feeling of being respected.

Spain is still a famously powerful nation in the world, albeit its national fortune has been declining, similar to Portugal; however, it is far stronger than Portugal, as its mainland area is large enough to hold a great power foundation in Europe.

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North Province.

For the smooth implementation of the ”Europe-Asia Fruit Basket Plan,” the governments of North Province and Juba Province must join forces, collaborate in development, improve regional productivity, and unleash the industrial advantages of both provinces, so they convened in Mogadishu for negotiations.

”In Somali regions, we are developing an agricultural economy oriented towards exports, which is apparent; however, we also face significant risks, with the most substantial agricultural threat being the desert locust menace. Our North Province and Juba Province are key breeding grounds for these locusts.

Therefore, to ensure healthy agricultural development and stable financial income, efforts must be undertaken to combat locusts, which is not only the responsibility of our North Province but also significantly linked to Juba Province.”

”Desert locusts are the major agricultural hazard in Somali regions, acknowledged by both provinces. Locust disasters occur every year but are within controllable scales, except for the case when locust swarms spread from northern Somali regions into our territory.”

”To respond to such cross-border pest species, we must establish effective monitoring and prevention mechanisms, while setting up a unified management agency in both provinces to periodically inspect the breeding conditions of desert locusts, and once issues are detected, eliminate threats at their inception.”

Desert locusts are widely distributed in northeastern East Africa, northern Somali coastlines, the Red Sea coast, and the Arabian Peninsula.

East Africa can effectively manage desert locusts only within its borders, indeed fortuitously, East Africa’s territory happens to be the main active zone for desert locusts; otherwise, East Africa wouldn’t bother putting in the effort to manage them.

It’s pointless to manage locusts here only for them to fly over from the neighboring region. Locusts from the Arabian Peninsula primarily fly east, with the remainder crossing the Red Sea into East Africa, but their energy is largely expended in doing so. Thus, East Africa only needs minor defensive measures to minimize risk.

”Both provinces lie within the Somali region. Two pests and disease monitoring centers make operations difficult, given the expansive border areas between North Province and Juba Province. If responsibilities are shirked between the two, locusts might breed extensively along the provincial boundaries, dragging everyone down. Therefore, agricultural-related agencies in both provinces should communicate more, establish streamlined intelligence exchange channels, or go a step further and establish joint offices.”

This matter has thus been settled, falling within respective jurisdictional boundaries, thus not worrying about causing issues.

”Additionally, regarding our Somali region’s economic crop issue, besides cotton, the most prevalent crops are bananas, both of which hold high economic value. But keeping only these two crops bears significant risk and doesn’t match the ’Europe-Asia Fruit Basket Plan’ definition. A basket with only bananas becomes just the ’Europe-Asia Banana Plan,’” said the Director of Agriculture of Juba Province.

”I concur. Single-crop systems possess the weakest resistance to pests and diseases, and once afflicted, can cause irreparable damage. Furthermore, diversifying fruits, vegetables, and flowers is one of our Somali plans,” the Agriculture Director of North Province said defiantly.

Of course, this isn’t enough, since it seems rather like picking up someone else’s ideas, so he further proposed: ”In this aspect, East Africa faces great weaknesses, particularly in selection, breeding, and species variety, as East Africa’s history is short and lacks relevant agricultural talent, rendering quick achievements difficult. We should learn more from local experiences.”

As he spoke, he took out a grayish object from his pocket, unappealing in appearance, and placed it on the table.

”Director Anthony, what is this?”

”This is a local agricultural crop, perhaps not noticed by everyone here, which is a plant greatly appreciated by the local natives, called oil chicory.”

”Is this the fruit of oil chicory?”

”To be precise, it’s a tuber growing underground similar to peanuts.”

”What use does it have?”

”Aside from consumption, the most important use is extracting oil, and its leaves can serve as fodder,” Anthony explained.

He continued introducing the advantages of oil chicory: ”As an oil crop, it offers high quality yields and significant comprehensive utilization value. More importantly, it thrives in alkaline soil environments akin to many places in Somali regions. It has good stress resistance, strong ability to withstand adverse external factors, resist alkalinity, encounters fewer pests and diseases, requires minimal chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and yields are high, with acre yields reaching several hundred kilograms, at worst not below three hundred kilograms. An acre of oil chicory yields as much as several acres of other oil crops.”

Although oil chicory’s oil yield rate is rather average, its high acreage output makes oil chicory economically valuable.

”Certainly, I must emphasize its strong resistance to pests and diseases. Moreover, given its fruits grow underground, locust infestations won’t cause complete loss.”

Oil chicory releases a unique chemical with a fragrance that indeed repels pests, an aspect East Africa is unaware of, but the natives, with thousands of years of experience, easily reached this conclusion.

”Why haven’t we seen large-scale local cultivation before?” someone asked.

Anthony replied, ”Before us, have you ever seen large-scale farming in Africa? Particularly in Somali’s pastoral areas, where other territories are dominated by wheat and other food crops.”

Nonetheless, Anthony shifted the conversation: ”Oil chicory has many advantages, but is not without drawbacks. For instance, its harvest compared to other crops is challenging due to its strong tillering ability and smaller fruit size than peanuts; harvesting is cumbersome. However, our two Somali provinces needn’t worry about this, as Somali’s soil is sandy and loose. I have designed a tool with Mogadishu craftsmen specifically for harvesting this crop, which will greatly improve efficiency.”

Another point not mentioned by Anthony is that oil chicory fruits are harder to dehydrate compared to other oil crops, requiring prolonged sun exposure, which poses spoilage risk under different conditions.

Yet, in Somali with its low rainfall, abundant sunny days, and dry climate, this is not problematic, coupled with oil chicory’s low fertilizer requirement, high yield, and good oil quality, it is tailored as the ideal oil crop for Somali regions.