Chapter 603 - 287: One Million Tons of Grain Yield (2)

The planting of medium rice generally takes place from June to July. It can be harvested early in September or may be delayed until October.

After the medium rice is harvested, late rice is planted immediately and harvested before early winter.

In some places, it is not possible to achieve three crops a year, but two crops a year is still feasible.

It is precisely because tropical areas can achieve more than two crops a year that their grain production is generally higher than temperate regions.

Although the Gambia Colony of Spain currently covers only more than 30,000 square kilometers, if the existing colony is fully developed, its grain production might rival that of Portugal.

In late March, a telegram from the Gambia Colony was reported to the Spanish Government, and then forwarded to Carlo by the Minister of Colonial Affairs.

This telegram detailed the land development situation in the Gambia Colony and also introduced the current total area of arable land and crop planting in the Gambia Colony.

Speaking of which, it has been nearly two years since the Spanish Government proposed the West African development plan.

During these two years, the development of various colonies in West Africa has seen some progress. The Gambia Colony, with a focus on agriculture, has taken the lead in the agricultural field, far ahead of other West African colonies.

The Gambia Colony currently has over 50,000 immigrants, of which nearly 30,000 are immigrants from various places brought in by Spain, while 20,000 were already residing here since the British colonial period.

In addition to these 50,000 immigrants recognized by the Spanish Government, there are about 300,000 natives in the area.

In fact, the number of natives here is not as high as that; the main reason it reaches 300,000 is because, after the end of the Ashanti War, Spain brought in a large amount of native labor from Ashanti.

Through the joint efforts of these 350,000 people, the current Gambia Colony has already developed over 1 million acres of land. This land is distributed among the immigrants, with each owning as much as 20 acres, which is equivalent to 121.4 mu, or roughly 8 hectares of land.

Of course, the actual situation is certainly not that exaggerated. The West African development plan involves many nobles and capital, and they have also developed a significant portion of the land.

Among the 50,000 immigrants in West Africa, the per capita land area is at most only 10 acres; few have land exceeding 10 acres.

However, this is still much more than the situation in mainland Spain, as the per capita land area in the Gambia Colony is already considerably higher.

After all, on this land of over 30,000 square kilometers, there are only 50,000 people, so there’s ample land to distribute, and there’s even concern about having too few people.

Based on the previous grain yield per mu in the Gambia Colony, one could harvest at least 400,000 tons of grain each season from a land area of over a million acres.

Even if some areas can only achieve two crops a year, the entire Gambia Colony can easily harvest over one million tons of grain annually.

Just how astonishing is a one million-ton grain yield? Based on the current per capita grain consumption in Europe, one million tons of grain would be enough to feed 6 million people for a year.

Europe’s per capita grain consumption is currently the highest among world continents, and based on the per capita grain consumption of other continents, one million tons of grain could feed even more people.

As of this year, it should be noted that Spain’s population is just over 21 million.

This also means that if the Gambia Colony’s grain is successfully harvested this year, the grain output from the Gambia Colony alone would suffice to feed more than a quarter of Spain’s population.

Relying on the grain production from the Gambia Colony, even if the drought in inland Spain continues, the mainland need not worry about any grain crisis.

More importantly, over one million acres of land actually account for only slightly over 4,000 square kilometers, which is merely about one-tenth of the Gambia Colony’s total area.

As the Gambia Colony continues to develop, its total arable land area will increase, and naturally, so will grain production.

Feeding the entire population of Spain might be exaggerated, but providing more than 2 million tons of grain production for Spain is something the Gambia Colony can achieve.

For Spain’s grain production, the expansion of the Gambia Colony’s arable land area is certainly a positive development.

However, considering that too much grain production from Gambia would affect the income of farmers in Spain, the increase in grain production in the Gambia Colony needs to be limited to some extent.

For Spain at this time, tens of millions of farmers still constitute the country’s basic electorate. If the grain production increases too much, resulting in heavy losses to these millions of farmers, it would not be worthwhile.

Blindly increasing grain production without considering the attitudes of these millions of farmers would only trigger a bigger crisis within Spain.

Therefore, for Spain at present, maintaining grain production in the Gambia Colony at around one million tons is the best outcome.

The Gambia Colony can provide enough grain production for mainland Spain to ensure there is no food crisis, and by limiting the grain production of Gambia, it can ensure the incomes of mainland farmers and maintain stability in Spain’s basic electorate.

After all, as long as the Gambia Colony is under Spain’s control, any future need to increase grain production can be achieved through rapid land development.

After all, being situated in a tropical region, corn and rice can be harvested every three months.

After reading the report on grain planting from the Gambia Colony, Carlo nodded in satisfaction, openly expressing his approval of the Minister of Colonial Affairs, William, and the Governor of the Gambia Colony, Harrison.

Receiving Carlo’s praise, William stood up excitedly, clearly indicating that his objective had been achieved.

It should be known that it has already been five years since the third Cabinet Government election in Spain.

This also means that this year, the election for the fourth Cabinet Government will take place.

As one of the Cabinet Ministers, William naturally wishes to remain in the Cabinet Government. More importantly, this year’s Cabinet Government election will bring greater changes.

Previously, to maintain stability, when Earl Canovas was elected as the new Prime Minister of the Spanish Government, he did not replace a large number of Cabinet members.

Many officials who served as Cabinet Ministers during Prime Minister Prim’s term have safely passed through the tenure of the interim cabinet and the third Cabinet Government.

The upcoming Cabinet Government election is one that Prime Minister Canovas will certainly not miss. Once Prime Minister Canovas is elected as the new Prime Minister, he will undoubtedly make significant replacements to the existing Cabinet.

After all, Prime Minister Canovas now possesses enough prestige to freely replace Cabinet officials within his scope of power without worrying about opposition from other parties or Cabinet Ministers.

The reason why William is currying favor with Carlo instead of Prime Minister Canovas is mainly because the Minister of Colonial Affairs is elected by the Upper House.

As a Cabinet Minister, William has a clear view of the political situation in Spain.

Although Prime Minister Canovas seems to have sufficient prestige, the Spanish Government is actually controlled by Carlo.

Especially since many noble members have joined the Upper House, it has almost become a one-sided affair under Carlo’s influence.

If Minister William wants to continue serving as the Minister of Colonial Affairs, he must gain Carlo’s trust to have a chance of succeeding in the election in the Upper House.

Though Earl Canovas, the Prime Minister, has more authority to appoint Cabinet Ministers, these important departments within the Cabinet are critical positions where there is no possibility of vacating a seat specifically for William.