Chapter 283 Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Africa in general, has a vast land area, low land prices, abundant labor resources, relatively low wages for workers, and high food prices.

If there is a successful planting model, it will be very beneficial to the commercial development of the enterprise.

In this regard, Golden Harvest undoubtedly has a natural advantage.

Guo Yang had planned how to use natural energy before going abroad, and Africa was also an important point.

The investigation report in his hand was compiled by Yu Honghai and others in four months.

The direction of the investigation also came from Guo Yang’s original instructions in the capital.

Four months ago, Guo Yang met with Congolese Minister of Agriculture François Nzanga, and the two had a good chat.

At the same time, the information from the Ministry of Agriculture was also referenced.

Finally, the three directions of palm oil, grain and comprehensive agricultural development were determined, and they were finally concentrated in the central and western regions.

Stay away from the eastern and southern mining areas such as the Great Lakes region, which are prone to unrest.

However, in this report, Guo Yang saw that in addition to Equateur Province and Orientale Province, Yu Honghai also recommended Katanga Province in the southeast, which is right on the edge of the Great Lakes region.

Guo Yang looked at Yu Honghai and asked, "What are the requirements for developing oil palm plantations in Katanga Province?"

Yu Honghai pondered and said, "The climate conditions in the northern part of Katanga Province are similar to those in Equatoria Province, which is suitable for oil palm planting. However, Katanga Province is close to the mining area, which has a huge advantage in cross-border logistics and transportation. In the future, if Jiahe's products want to return to China, they can use the mining channel."

Yu Honghai brought a map of Africa and said, "In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the most suitable areas for developing agriculture are Equateur Province and Oriental Province, but the roads, bridges and docks in these two places are badly damaged, the Congo River is also turbulent, and more than 100 kilometers in the central part are affected by waterfalls, so the transportation cost is extremely high.

In addition, there is a lack of storage facilities in these two regions, and crops are easily spoiled in the local high temperature. Therefore, the long-term plan for these two provinces is also oil palm plantations. "

Guo Yang stared at the map for a moment. These two provinces are near the equator and have dense river networks, which are indeed suitable for agricultural development, but the problems are also very realistic.

What about Katanga Province?
Also near the equator
But the terrain is more of a plateau.

"Katanga Province is also located deep inland?"

"Lubumbashi in Katanga Province is the mining center of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the second largest city. It is close to the lake area. Mining companies from all over the world gather here and in surrounding countries, and their spending power is not bad either."

Yu Honghai paused and continued, "At the same time, the railway here has been maintained for a long time. Cobalt and other minerals imported into China also depart from here. One route goes east to board a ship in Maputo, Mozambique, but more of them go all the way south through southern Africa and board a ship in Cape Town to return home."

"Katanga is indeed more convenient in terms of international transportation."

Guo Yang has learned from the Ministry of Forestry that the initial tone of domestic aid to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is infrastructure in exchange for mineral resources.

Large state-owned enterprises such as China Railway, China Construction, China Hydropower, China Road and Bridge Corporation, and China Gezhouba Group, as well as China Minmetals, Huayou Cobalt, Zijin Mining, and Luoyang Molybdenum have successively come to Ganges to invest.

Infrastructure investment is concentrated in the capital Kinshasa and Matadi in the lower reaches of the Congo River, while many mining companies are concentrated in Katanga Province and North and South Kivu Provinces.

The Equatoria and Oriental provinces, two provinces suitable for agricultural development, received very little assistance.

If Jiahe wants to break out here, it can only be a long-term breakthrough.

Guo Yang thought of a question, "Can the Kabila government fully control the land of Katanga?"

Yu Honghai was stunned for a moment, and said, "That area is more under the control of Vice President Bemba's army. There are also anti-armed elements in the eastern mountainous areas, but the peacekeeping forces of various countries are also mainly concentrated there, so there is no problem with security."

"In fact, the land in Equatoria and Orientale provinces is also mainly controlled by tribal chiefs. But I have met with a senior official from Equatoria province, who is the chief of the local tribe. There are no major problems with the land."

Guo Yang recalled a number in the survey report, "10 hectares?"

Yu Honghai said: "Yes, they reached an agreement on 10 hectares of oil palm plantations, and they gave us 100 hectares of land first."

“Then we can use it to build a nursery first.”

"Yes, that's the plan."

Land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is very cheap. One can buy the right to use the land for 20 to 30 years for only a few dozen yuan per acre.

If it weren’t for the four issues that have been summarized, namely land disputes, transportation, unrestricted import of agricultural products, and laws.

Jiahe’s development here will not be troubled in any way.

Once the difficulties are identified, all you need to do is avoid them in advance. If you can't avoid them, then solve the difficulties later.

This was the tone of the discussion between Guo Yang and Yu Honghai. Retreat was impossible.

Guo Yang also decided on the final development plan.

Like the national team, Jiahe will first develop the local economy around the capital Kinshasa by planting short-term crops such as corn, cassava, and rice.

At the same time, fruit and oil palm plantations are being developed in the Lower Congo Province.

In the long term, the focus will be on developing business projects in Equateur and Katanga provinces that focus on oil palm planting and processing.

The goal is to develop more than 100 million hectares of oil palm plantations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Palm oil is the most produced and traded vegetable oil in the world.

China's edible oil self-sufficiency rate is about 30%, of which palm oil is entirely dependent on imports, accounting for 20% of the total domestic edible oil consumption.

Generally speaking, one hectare of oil palm plantation can produce 5 tons of palm oil, and 90% of the palm oil can be converted into biodiesel.

Guo Yang can also use seed shops to cultivate competitive varieties.

From a business logic point of view, there is no problem.

This is the main line plan.

If the goal is more ambitious, the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be transformed into Africa's granary. With more than 8000 million hectares of arable land, it has the potential to feed the entire Africa.

But it’s still a bit far to think about these things now, let’s take it step by step.

In addition, there are some secondary focuses, such as agricultural machinery, fertilizers, forage, animal husbandry...

And build some roads and ferries connecting grain production areas and consumption areas to facilitate the production and sale of crops.

The plan is finalized.

Yu Honghai immediately arranged for people to start organizing the documents.

Guo Yang was waiting for the visiting delegation sent from the country, which was composed of leaders, enterprises, and experts.

Rather than communicating with the Congolese government alone, it is definitely more secure to participate in agricultural projects in the name of state aid.

While waiting, Guo Yang was not idle either.

I have been maintaining communication with people in China. Video conferencing has not been set up yet, but sending emails and making phone calls every day are necessary.

There is a 7-hour time difference between Kinshasa and China, but neither Guo Yang nor the domestic management took this into consideration.

If you have any urgent matters, please contact us directly.

So far, all businesses have been going smoothly, and Hexi Dairy and Happy Farm have ushered in a wave of rapid growth.

The food aid from the Jiahe Grain and Oil Program is also on the way, and the first batch of agricultural machinery has also been delivered.

This is the first time that Jiahe has engaged in transoceanic grain trade. At a time when international grain prices are soaring, this will help Jiahe explore suitable trade channels.

On this day, Guo Yang had some rare free time, so he thought about visiting Hubei Dadi Company.

The distance between the two sides is only a few dozen kilometers.

He called Luo Xiu and Yu Honghai, as well as two veterans, Cannon and Rabbit, and set off in an off-road vehicle.

It rained a lot in the past two or three days, but Guo Yang saw what silty soil is and it permeates water very quickly.

Half an hour after the rain, as long as there are no puddles, cars can drive freely.

No wonder there is a saying that there are no strong countries in the tropics.

This tropical rainforest climate environment is simply a nightmare for the development of agricultural civilization.

The car was wobbling along the dirt road, and Guo Yang was observing the rural scenery along the way.

The fields are mostly planted with cassava and corn.

Guo Yang has no criteria for judging cassava, but the corn planting is really terrible. A yield of one or two hundred kilograms per mu is normal, and three or four hundred kilograms per mu is considered intensive cultivation.

The only advantage is that there is a lot of room for improvement. With the current level of international aid, the yield per mu is estimated to reach 2024 to kilograms by .

Being poor is really being poor.

The houses are mostly thatched, and banana and oil palm trees can often be seen in front of and behind the houses. Some houses even raise chickens and ducks.

A black child with his upper body naked sat in front of the door, staring at the passing cars.

Occasionally, you would see busy farmers, but they were mostly holding knives and hoes. There were no plows, rakes, hoes or other farm tools, or any livestock such as cows and horses.

The inherent deficiency of soil and backward tools have resulted in large tracts of land being barren.

When it’s time to farm, they light a fire. Guo Yang couldn’t help but sigh: “It’s really slash-and-burn farming!”

Luo Xiu was also going abroad for the first time. He said, "It's too poor. In comparison, China is much happier."

"There's no comparison at all," said Yu Honghai, who has been abroad for some time. "But these farmers are still not aggressive."

"They are all powerless civilians."

Guo Yang looked at these thatched houses in silence. In fact, this kind of houses still exist in the country. Ten years ago, they were very common.

It's just that the country is developing too fast.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been facing various problems.

Guo Yang did not mention this. He looked at the oil palm trees that passed by from time to time and said, "Let's stop in a yard with oil palm trees. The trees should be tall."

"no problem."

Many villages have oil palm trees planted near houses. For hygiene reasons, the areas under the trees are kept very clean.

But there was no sign of any management measures.

After a long while, Guo Yang saw two or three unique oil palm trees. They were tall and straight, with thick trunks, lush branches and leaves, and most importantly, they were full of fruits.

There was a black child sitting and playing in front of the door.

Guo Yang reminded: "Just stop there! Do you have any food?"

The car parked on the side of the road quickly attracted the attention of several black women and children.

"I brought candy."

Guo Yang looked at the sturdy Da Pao in surprise and said, "Give it to me."

After getting the candy, Guo Yang got out of the car, walked to the family's thatched house, gave the candy to the child, and then pointed to the fruits on the oil palm tree next to him.

There was a language barrier and I remembered that I didn't bring a translator. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a French-speaking country and there are many tribal languages.

The two sides could only gesture for a while, and soon, the black child roughly understood what Guo Yang meant.

then……

Turned around and ran away.

After a while, an adult man came back.

After a lot of gibberish, Guo Yang didn't understand a word and could only go under the oil palm tree and point at the bunches of fruit.

The man was still screaming.

Guo Yang tentatively took out a redeemed Congolese franc.

The black man then laughed.

Guo Yang also gestured and said, "Help me get the fruit down and I'll give you the money." The black man nodded.

Guo Yang and his companions came under the tree and cleaned it also very cleanly. There were also traces of cut leaves and harvested fruits on the tree, which showed that it had been managed.

Only the tree is very tall.

When Guo Yang was still wondering how to harvest the oil palm fruits, he saw the black man move a bamboo pole placed diagonally next to the oil palm tree. There were knots on the bamboo pole, and the thin black man climbed up the bamboo pole with a knife.

Guo Yang was stunned.

Is this how oil palm fruit is harvested?
Guo Yang learned from Yu Honghai's investigation report that generally speaking, a family needs to pick fruit once every two months or so.

However, the fruit production, quality and processing level here are not good enough to meet modern food safety requirements.

Oil palm plantation production is basically left to its own devices.

Along the way, only the oil palm trees of this black family were worth looking at, but I didn't expect that their harvesting techniques were so special.

After a while, a bunch of dark red fruits fell from the tree.

It already looks mature.

Not lightweight either.

This black guy is quite honest.

Guo Yang said: "The oil palm fruits look good. This family has managed them well."

"Yes." Yu Honghai also tried to pick up the bunch of fruit, his face wet with sweat, "It's really rare."

The action of several people picking up the oil palm fruits made the black guy so anxious that he started yelling on the bamboo pole.

Two black children and a woman also gathered around, and some people in the village heard the noise and ran out to see what was happening.

Guo Yang reacted, took out some money from his bag and gestured to the man on the bamboo pole.

The atmosphere became relaxed.

After the monkey-like black man came down, Guo Yang handed the money to him first, making hand gestures and muttering, "good, good!"

The black man seemed to understand and kept laughing.

Guo Yang felt that this black guy was quite honest and had some awareness of oil palm plantation management. Although his awareness was not very good, he was already able to stand out among a group of people who left everything to fate.

I immediately had the idea of ​​recruiting him.

However, due to language barrier, I could only write down the location and ask Yu Honghai to translate it for me later.

Before leaving, Guo Yang gave two pieces of candy to each of the new black children to win their goodwill.

Then he got into the car with the oil palm fruits and left.

The shell of the oil palm fruit picked this time was very thick. Guo Yang recalled the information he had read in the past two days and it should be a local thick-shelled variety.

In addition to the thick-shelled species, the Democratic Republic of the Congo also has thin-shelled species brought by early commercial cultivation, as well as wild species in the rainforest.

Guo Yang's breeding target this time is also thin-shelled species, but the excellent characteristics of local species and wild species can also be integrated.

You can never have too many seeds.

After walking a little further, under the guidance of Yu Honghai, we finally arrived at the headquarters of Hubei Dadi Company.

This should be the best farm Guo Yang has seen in the past few days. It has everything from planting to various livestock breeding, like a paradise.

However, it is still technical assistance, cultivating good varieties and teaching cultivation techniques of rice, corn, vegetables, mushrooms, etc.

There are also profitable businesses, such as pig and chicken farming in some areas.

When Guo Yang visited the pig farm, he happened to see the scene of pigs being slaughtered.

Xu Zhong, the person in charge of Dadi Company, said, "Boss Guo, let's have a couple of drinks at our farm today and kill the New Year pig, which can be considered as celebrating the Little New Year."

Guo Yang was stunned.

I have been here for a while, and it seems that the Chinese New Year is approaching. I haven't seen the scene of slaughtering pigs for the New Year for several years. I didn't expect to see it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Guo Yang said: "Okay, let's enjoy Mr. Xu's pig-killing banquet today!"

Yu Honghai smiled and said, "Boss Xu, we agreed last time that you would sell us a fat pig during the Chinese New Year."

"Sell?" Xu Zhong made an expression of being looked down upon: "Today, for the sake of Boss Guo, you can take whichever one you like."

"None of us knows how to kill a pig!" Yu Honghai narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Why don't you just kill it for us and I'll take the meat."

"You have a very bright plan!" Many people smiled and said, "We will kill the pig in a few days. You can come and get it then."

"That's a good feeling."

"But we have a deal. We don't have any water pumps or tractors right now. Jiahe has to get us a few."

Food in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be sold at such a high price, and clean and hygienic pork can be sold at an even higher price.

The reason why many people were so happy to give Jiahe the fat pig was naturally because Jiahe could bring help.

Guo Yang visited the machine repair workshop that was aided by the state and saw that the spare parts warehouse was filled with tractors, cars and other machinery destroyed in the war.

They are all missing limbs and can no longer be used.

When Jiahe came to invest in Africa, it naturally started recruiting experts, introducing seeds, transporting machinery, and even made careful preparations for related processing equipment.

In addition to these,
Jiahe also purchased a batch of improved varieties and parent seeds from the Dryland Farming Center and Dadi Company.

The corn seeds cultivated by the Dryland Farming Center can produce 1000 kilograms per mu, but Gan Jian personally admitted that a large amount of chemical fertilizers and other soil improvement measures were used, which are not universally applicable.

However, Dadi Company's Hubei No. 6 is a genuine good variety. The promotion area in Congo has reached 6 acres. Even the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations orders 30 tons of seeds from it every year.

In the field of rice breeding, China has always been number one in the world, and we can achieve results wherever we go in the world.

Before Jiahe’s seeds are fully propagated, early grain planting will be mainly based on Hubei No. 6.

In the rice fields of Dadi Company’s farm, Guo Yang saw a unique scene: several black guys were standing on the ridge of the field, watering the rice with water pipes?
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Silt-sand soil doesn't retain water." Xu Zhong sneered, "When the flowers bloom, we have to water them from morning till night."

Guo Yang asked doubtfully, "If we water during the flowering period, won't the yield be reduced... or even eliminated?"

Many people said: "It's better than having no harvest at all, and this aspect was taken into consideration when Hubei No. 6 was bred."

"Really, Mr. Xu, this is it." Guo Yang gave a thumbs up.

"What a shame! I put in ten times the effort but got twice the reward."

Many people shook their heads and said, "If we really want to grow rice, we have to go to countries like Nigeria, Madagascar, and Tanzania."

"However, Jiahe's main business is fruit trees and palm oil. This is a very suitable direction. I hope Jiahe will take care of us in the future."

"It's about helping each other, Mr. Xu."

The farm covers an area of ​​nearly 100 hectares, and by the time we finished the tour, the pig-slaughtering banquet was ready.

Steaming stewed pork, crispy and delicious grilled pork chops, smooth and delicious pig blood cake... there is a wide variety of delicious food.

In this foreign country, Guo Yang only felt that every dish exuded an enticing aroma.

Let him eat with relish and enjoy the feast to the fullest.

A meal is meant to make all the guests enjoy themselves.

It was already dark, and although Luo Xiu abided by his duty and did not drink, the few of them did not plan to go back tonight and would rest here for the night.

After waiting for another two or three days, Guo Yang also tried to screen various seed breeding combinations.

Oil palm trees, mangoes, bananas, papayas, pineapples...as well as cassava, corn, rice and so on.

Made many attempts.

There are also some preference options.

Finally, the visiting team sent from the country is about to arrive in Congo.

On February 2, Guo Yang, together with the embassy, ​​President Kabila, and François Nzanga of the Ministry of Agriculture, met the visiting team at the airport.

The leader turned out to be Lin Bu.

Guo Yang immediately felt relieved. Isn’t Jiahe a well-connected company?
In addition to the Forestry Department, representatives from companies including Central Energy, China Reclamation and China Water Resources also came.

and the Coconut Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, which is also the oil palm cultivation expert group that Jiahe contacted.

While shaking hands, Lin said, “I didn’t expect that President Guo would come here in person!”

Guo Yang laughed and flattered: "Isn't this following the leader's steps?"

A few pleasantries were exchanged.

Lin Bu then left.

The negotiations did not start immediately, which gave Guo Yang time to communicate with the visiting group and the Coconut Research Institute.

The national team also came with a mission. In addition to providing free aid to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the paid aid includes more content and involves multiple countries.

Golden Harvest will also be on this train.

In an office,
The secretary of the Forestry Department told Guo Yang: "According to the Forestry Department's suggestion, Jiahe can arrange logistics and transportation in neighboring countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda."

Guo Yang understood. It seemed that the higher-ups also wanted to transport Congo (Kinshasa)’s resources to the country.

"As for the mode of cooperation, the Ministry of Forestry lets you make your own decision, because whether it is direct investment or cooperation, it will carry great risks."

Guo Yang had already figured this out and said, "Well, I've already thought of a combination of the two methods."

"Okay, that's no problem."

Afterwards, Guo Yang met with the Coconut Research Institute again, but the negotiations began after just a few words.

Guo Yang attended as a representative of Jiahe.

As the domestic situation stabilized, the Kabila government began to pay attention to agriculture, but it still did not change its direction of focusing on mining and neglecting agriculture.

The government invests less in agriculture.

Of the more than 8000 million hectares of arable land, only 600 million hectares have been developed.

Grain production has long been between 2000 and 2500 million tons. This is a country with a population of more than million, and the population growth rate is terribly high.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has long been unable to support such a large population.

Therefore, the Democratic Republic of the Congo may still bargain with China when it comes to exchanging infrastructure for mineral resources.

But the Kabila government has shown great enthusiasm for agricultural investment, especially food production.

We agreed to all the conditions proposed by China National Agricultural Development Group, Central Energy and Jiahe Group, regardless of whether they could be achieved or not.

China State Farms is better, as it has experience and the state aid projects it undertakes are not for profit.

The central energy source is a little bit disoriented.

Guo Yang sat calmly down below, negotiating with the government in order to obtain legal land procedures.

But if you want to obtain land, communication with tribal chiefs is more important, and gray transactions are also inevitable.

(End of this chapter)