SFS Chapter 636 Food Production and Population
Chapter 636 Food Production and Population
While the good news on the economy and finance was still lingering, Prime Minister Zhang Guangsong brought another important report concerning the country's foundation - food.
"Commander-in-Chief, colleagues," Zhang Guangsong said as he flipped open another document. His tone was now more composed than his previous excitement. "This is the preliminary statistics for the grain harvest for the first quarter of this year, from January to March."
He read out the key data: "Nationwide, a total of six million tons of staple grains, such as rice and corn, have been harvested."
This figure might seem insignificant in the era before Zhang Chi's time travel, when annual production was often in the hundreds of millions of tons. But 45 years later, it is of extraordinary significance.
Zhang Chi's mental arithmetic is very fast.
In this era, supplementary food was scarce, and an adult laborer often consumed more than one jin (500-600 grams) of staple food per day.
In a year, nearly 400 kilograms (about 210 kg) are needed.
These 6 million tons of raw grain can meet the annual food needs of more than 28.5 million adults.
And this is just the first quarter.
Nanyang is located in the tropical and subtropical regions, and it is normal for many fertile plains to have two, three or even four crops a year.
As long as water conservancy keeps up, fertilizers are sufficient, and farming is reasonable, Zhang Chi roughly estimates that it will not be difficult to exceed 25 million tons in total annual output.
That will be able to support the survival of 120 million people.
This does not take into account the potential of the newly incorporated island of Sumatra, which has fertile land. Moreover, the current output was achieved during the initial stage of land reform and the popularization of fertilizer use.
"What about the food structure?" Zhang Chi asked for details.
Zhang Guangsong had obviously done his homework and responded fluently:
“Currently, rice is mainly grown in the southern plains, such as southern Bago, central Siam, and the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, while high-yield corn is vigorously promoted as a supplement.
In areas such as northern Bago and northern Siam, which are at higher altitudes and have relatively cool temperatures from October to February, we are trying to promote potato cultivation. We have even found that in some valleys, the climatic conditions are sufficient to support the growth of winter wheat.
He further gave a macro introduction:
“Our country’s current territory, including the island of Sumatra, covers a total area of over 1.6 million square kilometers.
According to preliminary surveys, the area of land suitable for cultivation is roughly estimated to be more than one million square kilometers.
However, a large amount of it is pristine rainforest, and the actual cultivated land is less than 200,000 square kilometers.
Hearing this, Zhang Chi couldn't help but sigh, "The potential is huge. The carrying capacity of the land is far from reaching its limit."
Southeast Asia is truly naturally suited to agricultural development and can easily support hundreds of millions of people.
The topic naturally turned from the land to the people on the land.
Zhang Guangsong then reported the latest population statistics:
"According to joint statistics from the Household Registration Department and the Ministry of the Interior, the total population within our country's current jurisdiction has exceeded 52 million."
He elaborated:
"Among them, the Chinese population, including those who have lived in the local area for generations, mixed-race Chinese who identify themselves as Chinese and are registered as such, and recent immigrants, totals about 18 million.
The Saka people in the Bago region are the largest ethnic group, with a population of about 10 million.
The Siamese population is approximately 11 million.
There are about 2.5 million Malay natives on the Malay Peninsula, and on the newly incorporated island of Sumatra, the number of Malay natives is large, exceeding 5 million.
The remaining 5.5 million are made up of hundreds of other indigenous peoples."
Hearing this population composition, Zhang Chi tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
There are 18 million Chinese people in the total population of 52 million, and the proportion of Chinese people has not even reached one-third.
Especially after the inclusion of Sumatra, the total number of Malay natives climbed to about eight million, a number that needs to be taken seriously.
History and experience tell him that the Malay natives in certain areas have a strong tendency to separate, which can become a serious problem if not handled properly.
At this time, Zhang Chi seemed to want to relax the atmosphere. He smiled and said to Secretary Liu outside the office:
"Shengnan, take out the box of caviar from the refrigerator.
The Russians have been praising this stuff to the skies and insisting on charging a high price for it in barter trade. Let's try some foreign food today and see what kind of delicious food it is.
If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll have to bargain down the price next time.”
Before the time travel, this sturgeon caviar, a specialty of the Russian Bear, was portrayed as something magical on the Internet, as if it were an exclusive symbol of the richest people, separated from ordinary college students like Zhang Chi by a dimensional wall.
Unexpectedly, after traveling through time, he would have the opportunity to enjoy this "delicacies" specially provided by the Russian leader.
Secretary Liu smiled sweetly and left.
Soon, she came back with an exquisite, chilled wooden box filled with caviar as round and plump as black pearls.
She then took out a small silver spoon and a few glasses of vodka, and gracefully distributed food to Zhang Guangsong, Chen Zhenchuan, Bai Hongsheng and Zhang Chi himself who were present.
Now Liu Shengnan's status in Zhang Chi's core circle is already self-evident. Several important officials hurriedly bowed slightly, respectfully took the wine glass and spoon from the hands of this de facto "second wife", and thanked her repeatedly.
Zhang Chi scooped a small spoonful of caviar into his mouth, savored it carefully, and curled his lips: "Hmm... It's just so-so, salty and fishy, with a weird taste."
Prime Minister Zhang Guangsong immediately followed up: "What the commander-in-chief said is that the taste of Western white people is really hard to agree with. It is far less refreshing than our small plate of pickles."
Chen Zhenchuan and Bai Hongsheng also echoed this, saying that this thing does not live up to its name and is just a false reputation.
After this brief interlude, Zhang Chi returned to the topic, his expression returning to seriousness: "Let's get back to the point. These two things must be persisted in for a long time, and they must be pushed forward with an iron fist."
He held up two fingers and said, “First, the work of attracting immigrants from the Republic of China cannot stop, but must be intensified.
The goal is to ensure that the proportion of Chinese in the population reaches at least half within a certain period of time. This is the foundation."
"Secondly," his tone turned cold, "as for those Malay natives in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula who harbor dissenting ideas, on the one hand, those who dare to cause chaos or carry out terrorist attacks must be severely punished with high pressure, and struck at the first sign of trouble, without mercy.
On the other hand, large-scale population replacement is required.
It is possible to consider relocating some of the Saka people to Sumatra, and relocating some of the Malay natives in Sumatra to the Saka settlement in Bago.
Breaking up their inherent regional and ethnic clusters and dispersing them will make management easier and reduce the risk of them forming groups and causing trouble."
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Guangsong, Chen Zhenchuan and Bai Hongsheng looked at each other and their expressions became serious.
They knew very well that this matter was extremely sensitive and difficult to implement. Moreover, no matter what the final result was, the specific executors would easily become the outlet for the grievances of all parties, and it was an absolute "fire pit" position.
After a moment's silence, Chen Zhenchuan spoke cautiously, "Commander-in-Chief, this matter is of great importance and requires a capable official to oversee it. I have thought of someone who might be able to take on this task."
"Oh? Who?" Zhang Chi looked at him.