Promoting pig farming was a path highly suited to East Africa. Ernst planned to make pork one of East Africa's main meats for consumption in the future.
As for beef and mutton, ranching in East Africa carried greater risks than in other countries. Ranches in the United States, Argentina, Europe, and Asia were almost all located at middle to high latitudes, where the climate was relatively mild. The areas between forty and fifty degrees north and south latitude were even known as the "Golden Grass Belt."
Africa's grasslands, meanwhile, stretched along the equator, forming distinctive savannas. The greatest problem plaguing East African ranching was disease and insect pests, among which the tsetse fly was a hurdle difficult to overcome. The solution to tsetse flies was manual management and maintenance.
Tsetse flies were mainly found in hot, humid rainforests, river valleys, and similar environments. This was why East African ranches were established in Northern Kenya and Plateau Province, two regions with scant rainfall and dry climates. The place in Africa best suited for vast ranches was actually South Africa, the continent's highest-latitude region.
Of course, there was no need to regard tsetse flies as too terrifying. They were not unique to Africa; they also existed in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet Arabs clearly suffered less harm from tsetse flies than Africans, and this still had to do with hygiene. Many natives could not even be bothered to brush away flies crawling over their bodies, much less care for livestock.
But because of the unique nature of Africa's tropical grasslands, they truly were unfavorable for raising cattle and sheep. It was not a matter of quantity, but quality. For example, when it came to beef, people would certainly prefer better-quality meat. On the international market, beef from North and South