Chapter 251 Agricultural Issues

Emainur's suggestion was recognized by many nobles.

Seeing that many Greek upstarts agreed to unite and develop agriculture in Macedonia, Constantine was naturally relieved.

"I can tell you in advance that food prices will remain high in the next few years." Constantine took the initiative to remind everyone in order to increase everyone's enthusiasm for developing agriculture.

"Soon, the Grain Reserve Bureau under the jurisdiction of the government department will purchase food without limit and make food reserves in advance."

"So, whether it is wheat, rye, corn, potatoes, beets, etc., or cotton, tobacco, no matter what crops you plant on your land, it doesn't matter, everyone, you can plant as much as you want, I guarantee that these crops will be in high demand internationally."

In fact, Constantine and Venizelos did not reach an agreement on the issue of early food reserves.

It's just that Constantine insisted on considering the possibility of food shortages that Greece may face in the future. Venizelos had no choice but to reluctantly agree to Constantine and agree that the Grain Reserve Bureau would complete this task.

At present, the Greek government's fiscal deficit remains high. A war has just ended, and the government's accumulation over the years has been exhausted. In addition, it has issued hundreds of millions of national debts to the three major banks in Greece.

Due to Bulgaria's hostile actions on the border, although the war has ended, it is still forced to maintain more than 200,000 troops, not including the more than 100,000 native troops in Congo that are being assembled.

The government's expenditure on the daily consumption of the army has not only not been reduced, but has increased day by day.

Venizelos believes that it is almost impossible for Constantine's so-called Greece to face a food shortage crisis in the upcoming world war.

The reason is that even if a war that affects the whole of Europe really breaks out, Greece can transfer food from Congo in time through shipping to fill the gap in Greece.

Venizelos believes that in the situation where fiscal revenue is stretched, money is needed in all aspects, and it is inappropriate to spend huge amounts of money to reserve food.

Nevertheless, Venizelos agreed to Constantine's insistence on asking the government to speed up and guide and encourage the people to develop the agricultural potential in Macedonia.

Constantine considered that if the war really came, the Mediterranean region would also be affected, such as the submarines of Germany and Austria-Hungary that could also wreak havoc in the Mediterranean in the original historical time and space.

There is also the rapidly growing population of Greece.

Therefore, Constantine now openly encourages everyone to develop their own fiefdoms.

And Emanuil's suggestion to raise funds to build fertilizer plants and seed companies also made Constantine agree.

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, it was a period of booming fertilizer industry. People have clearly realized the important role of fertilizers in the growth of crops.

Fertilizers are also an important import commodity for Greece. Previously, Greece imported about 8 million drachmas worth of phosphate fertilizers and potash fertilizers from the UK every year to supply the agricultural needs of Greece.

The high cost of imported fertilizers is also an important reason why Greek farmers are reluctant to grow wheat.

"Speaking of fertilizers, I remember that Hubble in Germany invented a method of synthesizing ammonia using air, which can be used to make nitrogen fertilizers," Constantine said.

If Greece can learn this technology, as long as there is sufficient nitrogen fertilizer, there is no need to worry that Greek agriculture cannot develop rapidly, and it will play a positive role in getting rid of the embarrassing state of Greek agriculture.

Even though Constantine did not know much about chemistry, he had heard of the Hubble air nitrogen fixation method, after all, it is known as the "technology of obtaining food from the air".

Turning stone into gold is indeed a scam, but pie in the sky is not impossible.

Air synthesis ammonia technology, isn't it pie in the sky?

In addition to the factor of war, the reason why Constantine was so eager to promote the agricultural development of Macedonia was also the concern about the growth of the Greek population.

The population of Greece has risen rapidly under the government's package of policies to encourage fertility.

Especially after this war, as expected, Greece will usher in a baby boom, and those Greek young people who participated in the war will be the main force of this baby boom.

In the past, Greece had a small population, and there was no problem even if some food was imported from the international market.

Now the population of Greece is growing rapidly every year, and the serious problem of food production has to be taken seriously.

According to Constantine's estimate, the population of Greece will soon exceed 10 million.

As for why people who have participated in the war are more willing to have children, well, it is probably because after witnessing the cruelty of war, people prefer a peaceful life and realize the beauty of life.

As the population increases, the production of food in Greece has become an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

Constantine naturally thought of the incomparable role of fertilizers in the development of modern agriculture.

The growth curve of human population is actually accompanied by the use of fertilizers.

At the beginning of 1900, the total population of the world was about 200 million. In about a century, this number quickly expanded to 700 million or 800 million.

If Greece can quickly produce enough fertilizers, then the agricultural problem will be solved.

But Emmanuil shook his head after hearing this and said, "This technology, I heard from the intelligence department, seems to be not very mature, and the product is relatively expensive"

"It is said that Haber and BASF (German chemical giant) cooperated to build a factory in Ludwig for production."

At this point, Emmanuel spread his hands helplessly and said: "According to the information from the Intelligence Department, the Germans value this technology very much and it is impossible to get it."

"In addition, this technology is not yet perfect. According to the information obtained by the Intelligence Department, the products made by this new technology are relatively expensive. Most of them are used as chemical products, and only a very small part is used by the Germans to make fertilizers."

This answer naturally made Constantine a little disappointed. For example, synthetic ammonia technology can be used to produce explosives, suitable for war, and can also make fertilizers and increase food production. It is a dual-use technology for military and civilian use. Constantine is naturally salivating.

If it can be successfully introduced, Greece will not have to import a large amount of saltpeter every year as a raw material for ammunition production.

There is no way. Saltpeter, an important raw material for producing gunpowder, is almost monopolized by the British.

For saltpeter, an important commodity, the British control the trade channels.

At this time, almost all the saltpeter on the international market is under the control of the British.

If enough saltpeter could not be imported from Britain, the army would not be able to fight at all because there would not be enough gunpowder.