Chapter 286 Pyrethrum"Even hoes are not widely used in Congo, what kind of agricultural machinery can you sell?" Guo Yang muttered, "You might as well go lion hunting." The wildlife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely rich, and you can often see various wild animals for sale on the road leading to the airport. Guinea fowl, python, muntjac, bamboo rat, falcon, eagle, pangolin, squirrel monkey... These are brought back from hunting by some locals and sold. To be honest, Guo Yang sometimes also wants to try the feeling of hunting. Yu Honghai said: "If Congo is not an option, we can go to other countries, such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya... There must be demand for agricultural machinery there." Guo Yang was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that Lin Bu was also in Kenya. "How about we go to Kenya for an inspection together? The leader should still be there." "Leave then?" "Walk."

After just a few words, Guo Yang made up his mind. He first contacted Lin's secretary and informed him that Jiahe would go for an inspection. As for the leader's itinerary, Guo Yang originally did not intend to ask. However, the secretary informed that Minister Lin had just arrived in Kenya today, so it would take at least another day or two. This made Guo Yang even more certain that Ministry of Industry's call was most likely a hint. However, we can't just go there directly. In addition to buying tickets, matters such as planning communication and recruiting of the plantation have to be arranged. The predecessor of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences was the South China Institute of Tropical Forestry, which was originally located in Guangzhou and later moved to Danzhou, Hainan. In 2005, China decided to build an agricultural technology demonstration center in each of the 14 African countries to improve seeds, impart technology, and train personnel. The implementation task of the Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center in the Republic of Congo is undertaken by the Institute of Tropical Science. The implementation site is in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, across the river from Kinshasa, and there are navigable ships between the two places. Jiang Changshun is the director of the project office of the Congo (Brazzaville) Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center. It took two years to select the site for the demonstration center in the Republic of Congo, and construction has just started. Today, Jiang Shunchang was also invited to Kinshasa. There are two senior agricultural experts from the Institute of Tropical Science who came with the Ministry of Agriculture this time. One is Li Yi from the Coconut Research Institute, who is very young, probably in his 30s. The other is Deng Mingke, an old expert from the Rubber Research Institute. He is gray-haired and has already retired. This time he was also invited by Jiahe at a high price. When Guo Yang and Yu Honghai walked into the meeting room, the three were still having a heated discussion on planning issues. "Boss Guo, you're here at the right time." Li Yi was holding a pen in his hand, and there were several maps of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the table. “Are oil palm trees going to be introduced from other areas?” Guo Yang was silent for a while. What should I say? Jiahe plans to cultivate it by itself? "What do you suggest?" "Introducing and purchasing seeds and seedlings is definitely the most convenient way," said Li Yi.

“But if there is no human intervention, the natural reproduction of introduced oil palm trees may be worse than the previous generation.” The gray-haired Deng Mingke also said: “Boss Guo is also a breeder, he should know this.” Jiang Changshun said: "If we breed by ourselves, the cycle will be long." "Long?" Deng Mingke snorted coldly, "No matter how long it takes, it won't be as long as the rubber breeding process! It took us decades to overturn the conclusion that 'the area north of 15 degrees north latitude is not suitable for rubber tree planting'." Jiang Changshun curled his lips and said, "Yeah, I know the rubber institute is willing to endure hardships. Many people start to engage in rubber tree breeding when they join the workforce, but may not produce any results until they retire. It's the same for you. Only after you retired did your descendants organize the information and apply for the National Science and Technology First Prize." Deng Mingke puffed his beard and glared, and it was unclear whether he was angry or proud. "It's been 35 years. The Institute of Thermal Science, Hainan, Yunnan, and Guangdong have been working together for 35 years. After the rubber trees are planted, they can be tapped after 8 years, and then they enter the peak production period after another 5 years. The rubber production cycle is as long as 30 years... The long breeding cycle is like a marathon with no end." Deng Mingke recalled something, turned to look at Guo Yang and laughed. "It's too far, too far." “Having said so much, I still want Jiahe to be prepared for long-term breeding. Large-scale oil palm plantations cannot be built in a short period of time.” Guo Yang smiled and said, "Of course. This is Jiahe's signature business and we will definitely not give it up. Besides, we have already established a joint test station with the Coconut Research Institute." "That's fine, that's fine." Guo Yang thought about the point of contention and said, "Actually, I don't plan to introduce species from other regions." Now it was Deng Mingke and the other two's turn to be stunned. Jiang Changshun said, "Mr. Guo, you don't have to worry about the seeds and seedlings. Xiao Li and his team have contacts with many plantations in China and Indonesia, so it's very convenient to buy them." "It's too far to transport them." Guo Yang said, "And it's probably impossible to buy so many seedlings in a short time." Jiang Changshun looked at Li Yi. He was the most professional here and hoped that he could persuade them, but Li Yi shook his head. "Seedlings are in short supply. Last year, the Tianjin Julong Group also launched a 300 million mu oil palm plantation project in Indonesia. Although it is exaggerated, there must be tens of thousands of mu in the early stage. Even if the seedlings in the institute are suitable, they cannot be supplied." “That’s a bit difficult indeed.” "For a 10-hectare plantation, it would be very impressive if it takes 10 years to plant all the seedlings." "Mr. Guo needs to make long-term plans." Guo Yang actually already had an idea in mind, and said, "I plan to collect seeds from some local oil palm trees and grow seedlings." “Breeding selection?” “We will also plant some of it directly!” Several people were shocked. Jiang Changshun said, "What if it is thick-shelled or shellless seedlings that are not very commercial? The quality of the oil palm cannot be identified before it bears fruit." "It's okay." Guo Yang smiled, "If it doesn't work in the future, just cut down the tree." The three of them were silent. Cut off? That's easy to say. But the cost here is much lower.

After a pause, Deng Mingke said, "This reminds me of my first year in the Hainan rubber plantation. After the typhoon, many rubber trees were broken in half, and the garden was in a mess. Before we had time to clean up the rubber plantation and the house, the experimental station received a task from the superiors to collect 500 kilograms of rubber tree seeds from the 20-acre rubber plantation for the agricultural reclamation department to grow seedlings. So the young climbed the trees to pick the fruits, the old cleared the grass, and the young crawled on the ground to pick up fresh seeds. It took ten days of hard work to complete the task. " "Here we go again." Jiang Changshun laughed and said, "You are old. Now that you are retired, you always start reminiscing about the past." Deng Mingke laughed and said, "This is just something I felt. If Jiahe adopts this planting model and survives the first year of flowering and fruiting, we will be able to select many excellent varieties." "It takes one year to grow the seedlings and three years to bloom. Even then, it will take four years." "Four years is not a long time." "Jiahe is worthy of being the leader in the domestic seed industry and has its own set of breeding ideas." “This is deep pockets!” Seeing that everyone was discussing enthusiastically, Guo Yang did not interrupt, but looked at the planning framework. Fruit trees, grains, oil palm. The three target plots were marked and some design parameters of the nursery were written on the draft. Rectangular planting. The planting density is 8m x 9m. 150 plants/hectare. The annual fruit yield is more than 20 tons/hectare, the annual crude palm oil yield is tons/hectare, and biodiesel... “If we are going to cut down trees, it is better to plant them densely.” Li Yi said with a smile, and was about to cross out and rewrite. Guo Yang thought about the parameters in his mind and said, "Let's follow this model." Li Yi hesitated for a moment, and seeing Guo Yang's determined expression, he said, "Okay, then I'll adjust the layout of the nursery." Guo Yang communicated with the three experts for a while. Naturally, the more detailed the planning is, the better. However, apart from Kinshasa and Matadi, Mbandaka cannot be visited for the time being because the security risks are too high. Therefore, the immediate goals of food in Kinshasa, fruit trees in Matadi, and oil palm in Mbandaka can only be postponed. Guo Yang emphasized the direction with the three experts in the next breeding to avoid deviation. At the same time, he also asked the Institute of Thermal Science to introduce relevant senior talents. 2 month 20 day. Guo Yang, Luo Xiu, Yu Honghai and Ye Tu boarded the flight to Kenya. "This flight is not even close to first class. I'd rather have my own comfortable plane!" "That's right." Yu Honghai said, "Chief Eddie agreed. This time we will provide four types of wood: ebony, red lacquer wood, rosewood, and yellow lacquer wood." "So refreshing?" "The Democratic Republic of the Congo also has a lot of these four types of wood." Yu Honghai pondered for a moment, "The main thing is that we need food. The price of food seems to be rising faster and faster these past two days." “I always feel like I’ve forgotten something.”

Guo Yang frowned. The main reason is that the network of the dry farming center is intermittent, power outages are common, and the channel for obtaining information from the outside world is very slow. When we arrived in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, before we had time to appreciate this highland city, Gao De called me. His voice was full of excitement and his excitement was beyond words. The main reason was that the Chicago futures market ushered in a wave of increases. The March, May and July contracts of corn and wheat all rose by 3 to 5 cents. Wheat even approached the daily limit at one point. Only soybeans fell slightly. The May corn contract has reached US$5 per bushel, roughly equivalent to US$ per ton, which is RMB per ton. Slightly higher than domestic prices. However, in November 2005, the international price of corn was only US$11 per ton. In more than a year, the increase has almost doubled. The profits on Jiahe Grain and Oil’s account were increasing. Gaode wanted to withdraw the profits, but Guo Yang chose to increase his holdings. Because during the communication with Gaode, two important pieces of information were also included. The US dollar depreciates. HSBC announced that its home loan mortgage business in North America suffered huge losses and wrote down related assets. The subprime mortgage crisis has gradually emerged. Even though food prices have soared and oil prices are also rising, Guo Yang still believes that this is just the beginning of the rise in commodities. Although the shadow of an international food crisis has emerged, it has not yet broken out. The landed price of corn in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is US$400 to US$500. If you grit your teeth, you can still buy some food with the money earned from mining, and the FAO is still playing a role. It's not the end of the road yet. Guo Yang was thinking while looking at the street outside the window. Nairobi is known as one of the most advanced, fashionable and modern cities in Africa, and is known as the Little Paris of East Africa. The official language is English. Although it is on the equator, it is located on a plateau and has a mild climate, which is much more comfortable than Kinshasa. The urban construction is much better and there are many tourists. There are also many restaurants from the Middle East, India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe on both sides of the street. After arriving at the hotel and making a phone call, not long after, Guo Yang met with Minister Lin alone in a small conference room. The two exchanged some ideas about agriculture in Kenya and Africa. China is Kenya's largest engineering contractor and an important source of direct investment. In agriculture, the two countries' agriculture ministries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in 2002. However, Huaxia has few investment projects in Kenya's agricultural sector. Only a few individual businesses are engaged in Huaxia farm operations, growing spinach, beans, cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables, supplying domestic companies, supermarkets and restaurants. To be honest, Kenya's economic foundation is much better than that of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its geographical features are similar to those of Kunming, with cool weather all year round. It is one of the few regions in the world suitable for growing horticultural crops. It is also close to the two major consumer markets of the Middle East and Europe. It only takes 9 hours to airlift agricultural products to Europe, and it is supplemented by sea transportation.

Black tea, coffee, tropical vegetables, flowers and fruits are the representative products, especially Kenyan black tea and mocha coffee are world-renowned. However, due to oversupply in the international market, Africa's coffee, tea, cocoa and rubber have lost their original dominant position. The price is low and the profit is slim. The flower industry is Kenya's new choice. The forestry department said: "Apart from a few sectors such as food and coffee, Kenya has implemented a market-oriented, internationalized and privatized economic system. Private trade and import of wheat and corn are allowed, and even agricultural machinery imports are subject to low tariffs or even tax exemptions. The main competitors are large foreign companies from the UK and the Netherlands. Currently, there is a lack of voices from domestic agricultural companies here.” Guo Yang smiled and said half-truthfully: "If I had known that the conditions in Kenya were so good, Jiahe would have come earlier." "It's not too late." Minister Lin hesitated and said, "In order to develop export-oriented agriculture, Kenya has to accept conditional loans and aid from the International Monetary Fund and the European Investment Bank. Its economic foundation is very fragile." Vegetable and flower seeds, grain and agricultural machinery trade… Guo Yang extracted key information, these are the areas where Jiahe can intervene. As for the problems faced by Kenya, they are common to many export-oriented developing countries. Carrying a heavy burden of foreign debt, economic development lacks stamina and momentum. In other words, the crisis may be transferred to developed countries at any time. For example, Kenya is certainly not immune to the current food crisis. Guo Yang thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Where is Lin Bu going next? I might as well follow you and take advantage of it." Lin Bu smiled and said, "Jiahe lacks talents in this area!" "Yes, we are in great need of them." Guo Yang said, "Can Director Lin recommend a few to Jiahe?" "The people I know are all engaged in scientific research, which is not suitable for Jiahe." Lin Bu thought for a while and said: "The Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture will take us to inspect the company this afternoon. I've added you to the list. You can go and see if you can recruit anyone." "That's good." "That's it for now. I'll let you know later." Guo Yang hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Has Minister Lin paid attention to the subprime mortgages in the United States these days?" "I know. What's going on? Mr. Guo has another brilliant idea?" "This is probably just a precursor. The subprime mortgage crisis will really break out in the next few months. Xida will definitely divert the financial crisis through currency devaluation, commodity price increases, global inflation, etc." Lin Bu hesitated for a moment, "Are you talking about food?" "Correct." "Domestic grain prices are very stable, and it is expected that grain prices may fall after the winter wheat harvest."

"It is mainly because subprime loans can cause financial panic, and a large amount of funds will withdraw from the virtual financial market and enter the real commodity market to avoid risks." Guo Yang paused, and then said: "Or it may enter other countries in the form of 'hot money' to make profits." The atmosphere was silent for a moment. Minister Lin said: “I can only tell you that food security is not a problem in the country.” "We can cooperate in public opinion!" Guo Yang was almost kicked out, but he still felt that this was a perfect opportunity to fight back. Western University's bioenergy plan provides the hype, exchanging corn for oil, which in itself is creating food shortages worldwide. Corn was used to be refined into oil, resulting in a shortage of supply and a surge in prices, which subsequently led to a surge in prices of agricultural products such as wheat and soybeans. Funds fleeing from subprime mortgage housing will once again fuel this momentum. It’s not that there is no food in the market, but that people cannot afford to buy it. This is the plan of international grain traders. The seemingly doubled food prices are just the beginning, and a lot of funds have not yet entered the market. The high point will not come until 2008. There is still more than a year to go. After returning to the room, Guo Yang began to think about how to maximize his profits, making money by stockpiling grain or by long futures. So can the short sellers make another profit? Before he could figure out the answer, there was a knock on the door. It was Yu Honghai, Luo Xiu and Wild Rabbit. "Boss, what are your plans for the afternoon?" "I'm going to investigate with my boss." Guo Yang looked at Yu Honghai and said with a smile, "It's time to sell agricultural machinery. Kenya is a big market." Yu Honghai was also unambiguous, "Okay, then I'll take them to have a look this afternoon." "Please ask more about other situations." "it is good." "be careful." The inspection in the afternoon was led by Obre, the head of Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture, who walked in front, chatting and laughing with the head of the Forestry Department. Guo Yang devoted all his energy to the agricultural conditions along the way. Thanks to the fact that many signs were in English, he learned a lot of information. The white corn demonstration area of ​​Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, the water-saving irrigation experimental field, the family farms and agricultural service team operation site in Thika area. New Holland large agricultural machinery, Rift Valley machinery, Carter construction machinery Dairy farms forage processing and milk production, flower farms, horticultural product plantations in Kiambu area. And the Pyrethrum Industrial Park. Power supply, roads, telephones, water supply systems, calls, maintenance services... the infrastructure is much better than that of Kinshasa.

Some large farms operate over thousands of hectares. Guo Yang felt that the trip was worthwhile. If Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania all have this level, it will definitely be an agricultural market with great potential. If grain production in these regions increases significantly in the next year or so, will it affect international grain prices? Whether it will happen or not, it will not affect Tianhe's cultivation and promotion of good varieties here. Guo Yang also took this opportunity to reach a verbal cooperation agreement with Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. In the future, scholarships will be established in professional fields such as agronomy, chemistry and economics to encourage outstanding students to work in the company's scientific research and production fields in the future. In addition, Guo Yang also developed a strong interest in pyrethrum. Pyrethrum, as its name implies, means "insecticide". The insecticide and fungicide prepared with it are as effective as chemical pesticides. Its flowers, roots, stems and leaves all contain pyrethrin, a type of nerve agent. It has a good killing effect on bed bugs, lice and fleas, and is a powerful tool for killing pests such as aphids, mosquitoes, flies, cabbage worms, and cotton bollworms. At the same time, mosquito coils made from pyrethrum leaves can repel mosquitoes and flies. It is the only insecticidal plant in the world that is currently cultivated intensively. This has the same effect as the lycopodii extract currently produced by Jiahe from the herb Ligusticum chuanxiong. Both are toxic and can be quickly decomposed by sunlight or rain, leaving no harmful substances and causing no pollution to the environment. The difference is that pyrethrins rely on paralyzing the nerves of cold-blooded animals. At the same time, pyrethrin is one of the few pesticides approved for use in organic farms in Europe, America, Australia, Japan and other countries. Sophora flavescens is still only used in small quantities in China and has not yet passed the certification of organic farms. This aroused Guo Yang's great interest. Definitely excellent germplasm resources! Guo Yang did not hide his interest in the pyrethrum industry and even expressed his interest in investing to the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture. But the official statement was ambiguous, probably indicating that external investment was not welcome, which made Guo Yang very frustrated. It was not until I talked with experts from China that I learned that the entire pyrethrum industry in Kenya is monopolized by the official agency, the Pyrethrum Board. In Kenya, any business dealing in pyrethrum requires a license, and other than the commission, the chances of obtaining one are zero. The total market value of pyrethrum in the world reached US$1995 billion in 50 and is now close to US$100 billion. From the 20s to the 60s, Kenyan pyrethrum accounted for more than 90% of the world market. Such high interests. No wonder they play the monopoly game. However, in 2004, Kenya's pyrethrum production fell precipitously, with the official reason given being oversupply in the international market.

Guo Yang didn't believe it. Most likely the monopoly has collapsed. The facts did not surprise Guo Yang. It was not until he met up with Yu Honghai and the other two in the evening that he learned the information from the grassroots level. Some family pyrethrum growers near the capital have had their payments delayed for as long as four years, which shows that the government has completely ignored the interests of farmers. This causes farmers to switch to growing other crops. In addition to the vigorous development of Australia and three other countries in the East African Plateau, Yunnan Province in China has also introduced the pyrethrum industry. Under attack from both inside and outside, Kenya's pyrethrum industry will probably collapse in a few years. Other industries are not as promising as Guo Yang saw today. After trade liberalization, the export of large quantities of primary agricultural products has not brought Kenyans the economic returns they deserve. Poverty, hunger, unemployment, political corruption, drought... this is the norm at the bottom. “But Kenya does have a large agricultural market, especially the agricultural machinery market.” Yu Honghai summed up what he saw today. "There is a good market demand for small and medium-sized tractors, diesel engines, generator sets, water pumps, water-saving irrigation, flour mills, rice mills, and oil presses." "The annual demand for large tractors exceeds a thousand units." Guo Yang also smiled and said, "There is also great potential in seeds, forage grass and grain." "Want to set up a trading company here?" "Yes, it would be best if all four East African countries were included. In addition, we can cooperate with the agricultural university here, and in the future, the main middle and senior management staff should still be locals." Guo Yang said. "Can it be done?" “Always give it a try.” While resting at night, Guo Yang looked at the wide variety of breeding plans in the seed store and added a new option. pyrethrum. Yu Qin will definitely like it. If you can't do it in Kenya, you can go back to China, or Tanzania will also be fine. In short, we need to add an extra layer of protection for Jiahe’s organic farm. Building an organic banana plantation in Matadi should be able to break through Europe's technological blockade. (End of this chapter)