Chapter 442

Ever since receiving the news that the Government of France intended to launch the "Colonial Farm Plan," the Government of Vienna became nervous.

To this day, agriculture was still the most important pillar industry in Austria, and it absorbed the most employment.

The capacity of the international food market was limited. If it wasn't for Austria holding the International Agricultural Summit and leading the establishment of the International Agricultural Export Alliance, the major food producers would control the export volume and jointly set the price of food to avoid vicious competition.

However, all of this was based on the basic balance of food supply and demand. Any country that increased food production would cause market turbulence.

Franz: "How many colonies are suitable for agricultural development in France?"

Colonial Minister Stephen replied, "According to the information collected by the Department of Colonization, there are millions of square kilometers of arable land in French Africa alone, and more than 500,000 square kilometers of fertile land suitable for agricultural production.

They are mainly distributed in 210,000 square kilometers of French Algeria, 120,000 square kilometers of French Morocco, 40,000 square kilometers of French Tunisia, 60,000 square kilometers of French Egypt … "

The natural environment and territory of this era were different from the future. It was inevitable that there would be differences in the area of arable land.

For example, Tunisia was divided between Britain and France, Morocco was also full of British, French, and Spanish forces, and French Egypt also included half of Sudan.

Hearing this answer, everyone's expression became more solemn.

With so many places, even if they did not develop all of them, even if they developed one-third or even one-fifth of them, the French would be able to be self-sufficient.

The Desert Empire wasn't all desert. Just French Africa alone had so much fertile land. If the other colonies of the French overseas were included, the number could be doubled.

In Franz's view, the Indo-China Peninsula was very suitable for agricultural development. Although it was a bit far, the French had tariff barriers.

With so much land, developing any part of it could cause a devastating blow to the international food market.

The French didn't need to go out and fight for the international market. Just achieving domestic self-sufficiency was enough to cause the international food market to collapse.

Even if they knew, there was nothing the Vienna government could do. Austria had no reason to interfere with the French's development of their own land.

After a moment of contemplation, Franz slowly said, "This is something that will happen sooner or later. No major country is willing to be controlled by others in terms of strategic security, and the French are no exception.

Even if investing in farms in the colonies doesn't make money, as long as they can ensure food self-sufficiency and reduce foreign exchange losses, they will make money economically.

The only thing that can stop the French now is the French themselves. Agricultural investment wouldn't return in a short period of time.

Reclaiming wasteland, building water conservancy projects, and building roads all required a large amount of upfront investment. No one would do a business that would result in a loss.

Capitalists would certainly not be willing to invest, so the Government of France could only pay for it.

Judging from the current situation, the French government is far from being rich enough to easily take out the money for agricultural development. In the short term, their investment in agriculture is still limited.

In at least three to five years, we don't have to worry about the international food market collapsing. You can do a lot of things in such a long time. "

Opening up wastelands was not just for show. Perhaps opening up a plot of farmland was very simple. Just burn down the trees and weeds, and flatten the land.

Apart from a very small number of areas with abundant natural conditions and water sources, most of the areas needed irrigation works.

Food was not the end either. If it could not be transported out to be sold, even if it was a mountain of grain, it would not have any value.

Taking all the factors into consideration, three to five years was already very optimistic. It was estimated that only the coastal areas would have some results. The inland areas might not even be able to be developed in eight to ten years.

The buffer time did not make everyone optimistic. Foreign Minister Wesenberg suggested, "This is not just about us. Maybe it will be better if we leak the news.

Foreign Affairs Minister Wesenberg suggested, "This is no longer our family's problem. Perhaps the effect will be better if we spread the news.

There was no doubt that Russia and Austria were the ones responsible for putting pressure on the French. The other members of the alliance would be able to wave the flag.

There was no doubt that Russia and Austria were the ones responsible for putting pressure on the French. The other members of the alliance could wave the flag.

Forcing the French to back down would be a win-win situation. But the possibility was not high. If they compromised so easily, France wouldn't be able to survive in Europe.

Prime Minister Carr shook his head. "No need. This kind of thing can't be kept secret. As soon as the French's farm colony plan is started, everyone will know.

If international food prices collapse immediately, we will be the biggest victims. But don't we have a few years of buffer time?

Although the local food production capacity is still growing, the increase is only less than 1.5%, while the domestic food consumption growth rate is as high as 4.7%.

If it wasn't for the start of the Near East Development Plan, the food production capacity may continue to grow in the future. Maybe in less than ten years, our food production capacity will only be enough to meet the local needs.

At present, most of the finished grain we export is imported from Russia. If there is another overcapacity, we can just lower the purchase price of raw grain to pass on the losses.

A strong Russian Empire is not in our interest. We can use the French to interrupt the development of the Russians.

If possible, it is best to get the British involved.

If Britain and France implement a food self-sufficiency plan at the same time, the international food import market can shrink by half. It will let everyone feel the power of the agricultural crisis. "

The increase in food consumption was caused by many reasons. The most direct reason was the increase in population, which increased food consumption.

Secondly, people's living standards were improving. Everyone's consumption level was also increasing. The most typical example was the rapid increase in meat consumption.

Affected by this, the annual growth rate of food used for feed was also increasing at a high rate of more than 5%.

Finally, there was an increase in industrial food consumption, including pharmaceutical, chemical, alcohol, starch, and many other industries. The demand for food continued to increase.

Rapid growth in demand did not mean rapid growth in production. In fact, since the outbreak of the agricultural crisis, the Government of Vienna has been encouraging the cultivation of cash crops.

It was not that Franz didn't know the importance of food, but Austria really did not lack food. The consequence of continuing to increase production was that the grain hurt the farmers, or even directly rot in the ground.

Otherwise, the establishment of the Agricultural Export Alliance would still be in the agricultural crisis. Everyone would pour milk into the river.

Of course, winning over the Russians was also one of the reasons.

More than 90% of the Russian Empire's annual grain exports flowed into Austria. Nearly half of the grain was processed and finally returned to Russia for sale.

The Russo-Austrian Alliance could continue and the relationship between the people had been friendly. In essence, it was also based on interests.

Generally speaking, the alliance based on interests was often the most stable, but the relationship between Russia and Austria was an exception.

If one day the Russians completed the industrial revolution, the local processing industry would develop, and the food interest chain would be broken.

But this was a matter of the future, and there was no need to worry about it in the short term.

In the context of the imperfect infrastructure, the nobles of the Tsarist government still liked to be the mine owner and big landowner with a guaranteed income. They were not enthusiastic about the risky industry.

Franz knew that these were only superficial reasons. After ten years, the Near East Development Plan would almost be completed, and Austria would be in the real sense of the general trend.

At that time, the process of German unification should also be put on the agenda. The Government of Vienna would not take the initiative to break the situation and cause hatred.

Austria did not have the ability to challenge the European world, so it was necessary to provoke the relationship between European countries.

The French colonial development plan did harm Austria's interests, but compared to the national strategy, the temporary loss was acceptable.

Taking advantage of the situation and encouraging the British to join in, it seemed that Britain and France had achieved food self-sufficiency, and the national strategic security was no longer restricted, but in fact, it made them stand on the opposite side of Russia.

Touching the cheese of Russia involved the interests of tens of millions of people. Even if the Tsarist government wanted to stand with Britain and France, the people of Russia would not agree.

The failure rate of one against three was too high. One against two, two against two, or simply one on one, the odds of winning were greatly increased.

As a mature monarch, Franz felt that it was better not to fight a war if he could avoid it.

"The Prime Minister is right. If the French want to develop colonies, we can't stop them at all, and there is no need to stop them.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will let the outside world know that we are very dissatisfied. It is best to let the British feel that the French have hit our weakness.

Induce the Government of London to join in, artificially create the most serious agricultural crisis, and create an opportunity for our next strategy. "

The agricultural crisis was not a joke. If it really happened, the food-exporting countries would suffer huge losses, and the two participants, Britain and France, would definitely not be relaxed.

The French were fine. With the protection of the tariff barrier, the Government of Paris would not let domestic food prices collapse.

The British were in trouble. Free trade had always been a double-edged sword. While enjoying the benefits of free trade, they must also bear the negative effects it brought.

With the British style, once the agricultural crisis broke out, all the early investments would be wasted, and the men in Congress would order the government to stop the losses.

Spending money was not a big deal. The key was the political turmoil, which could delay the time of the Government of the United Kingdom to make decisions, which was very beneficial to Austria's next plan.