Why Gölweistein had singled out the Central Agricultural Zone and the Mozambique Region naturally had its reasons.
In East Africa, the greatest factor determining agricultural distribution was actually rainfall. Of the nine major agricultural zones, aside from the River Basin Region (Somalia), rainfall basically exceeded four hundred millimeters. The Mozambique Region and the Central Agricultural Zone received between six hundred and fifteen hundred millimeters; beyond that lay a true tropical rainforest climate.
Generally speaking, tropical rainforest climates received more than two thousand millimeters of rainfall year-round. Of course, East Africa's Congo rainforest was an exception, usually receiving around fifteen hundred to two thousand millimeters. Under special circumstances, certain areas could surpass three thousand millimeters, while most of the Amazon rainforest remained steadily above two thousand millimeters.
Rainfall above four hundred millimeters was suitable for developing crop cultivation, while above eight hundred millimeters counted as a humid zone. Therefore, outside the tropical rainforest regions, East African areas with annual rainfall exceeding eight hundred millimeters generally overlapped with East Africa's population and economic distribution.
The Katanga Plateau and the Great Lakes Region, for instance, were humid areas bordering the tropical rainforest and were most suitable for agricultural cultivation. Though the Mozambique Region lay far from the tropical rainforest, terrain and other factors ensured that it too received relatively abundant rainfall.
Of course, among the nine major agricultural zones, the River Basin Region was another special case. Somalia could stand alongside the other eight entirely because of its developed commercial agriculture. It was closest to the Eurasian market, and its agricultural products were of exceptional quality, with cotton, melons, and fruit making up the bulk of its exports.
"Dividing the country into these nine major agricultural zones basically means that East Africa's agricultural policies will tilt toward these regions. The key will be