Northern Province.
Agricultural development plans relying on the Shebelle River began to unfold. Somalia itself had relatively limited arable land compared with other regions of East Africa, and this area had previously been deeply influenced by Arab culture, so its land development rate was still fairly high. Most of it was already cultivated land, with no need to start from scratch.
In the early morning, the temperature was still relatively low—or rather, pleasantly cool—so the farmers of Northern Province set out early under the organization of their village chiefs and headed to the fields.
The rising sun climbed over the eastern bank of the Shebelle River, its red glow shining across the broad surface of the water. A sandbar lay in the middle of the channel, which curved southward, while the farmland lining both banks of the Shebelle River made for a pleasing sight, rather like the scenery along the Nile River.
Northern Province, Bal Village.
Akili, a banana cultivation expert from Jamaica, began directing the planning of banana plantations along the lower reaches of the Shebelle River.
The banana variety introduced by East Africa was the "Big Mac banana," a variety that was very sweet and rich in flavor, popular in the Caribbean Sea.
Ernst himself did not particularly like sweet flavors, but people of this era did, especially in Europe and America. Besides, "sweetness" was a touch of light luxury to people of this age.
Big Mac bananas were already highly sweet, and with the Somalia region's climate adding to their sweetness, Ernst could imagine just how cloyingly sweet the cultivated Big Mac bananas would be. Yet Europeans loved precisely that taste.
Their peels were also thick, making them suitable for long storage and long-distance transport, which was another reason Big Mac bananas had once become wildly popular.