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To those in agriculturally developed countries with abundant agricultural talents, aside from the Egyptians, the entire African continent may seem like primitive tribes that lack knowledge of farming. In their view, people either go out to hunt antelopes for food or gather fruits in the forest. The most skilled might be those like the Maasai, primarily engaged in cattle farming and lion hunting on the side.

However, if we remove the colored glasses provided by colonialists and carefully examine historical records, we’ll discover that Africans not only possess decent farming skills but also have distinctive agricultural characteristics. This content might challenge your preconceptions, and the curator has invested significant effort in verification. Don’t forget to like and support if you enjoy the content(sources from resopp-sn.org).

Welcome to Tanghui Club, your mental hotpot. Today, let’s delve into the level of farming among Africans.

Firstly, the starting point of agriculture is the domestication of crops. South of the Sahara in Africa, commonly associated with growing peanuts and cotton in our impressions, is where many famous crops originated.

Take, for example, red sorghum, also known as “Burning Blade.” Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is believed to have been domesticated 5,000 to 7,000 years ago in present-day Ethiopia, Chad, and Sudan in northeastern Africa. It was then introduced to China by Sogdian traders from Central Asia during the Han and Jin dynasties. Today, sorghum remains the fifth-largest cereal crop globally and a crucial food source in African savannas, India, and other tropical, arid regions.

Next is the well-known black-eyed pea, which is actually a type of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Cowpea was domesticated in West Africa around 4,500 years ago.

Consider your daily cup of coffee. Although the correct use of coffee beans was discovered by the Arabs, coffee itself originated in Ethiopia in East Africa. Even today, the best coffee beans are produced in Africa.

Other crops include African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), African yam (Dioscorea rotundata), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus or Pennisetum glaucum), and more. These plants either originated in Africa or were independently domesticated by Africans.

These species might not sound extraordinary, but Africans went further by domesticating rice.

Wait a minute! Isn’t the cultivation of rice a technique that originated in southern China, the most crucial invention in ancient agriculture in East Asia, the ancient source of our sustenance? What does this have to do with Africans?

Hold on. Although they are both rice, the rice we eat, called japonica rice (Oryza sativa), comes from Asia. The rice domesticated by Africans is its cousin, African rice (Oryza glaberrima). It’s another species within the Oryza genus, also known as lowland rice. They indeed pioneered a path of rice domestication and cultivation with African characteristics(quotes from resopp-sn).

In a vast region along the West Coast of Africa, starting from the Gambia River in the north, running along the coastline, and then making a bend to the Ivory Coast in the south, traditional rice cultivation is evident. Satellite maps reveal a lush green landscape, indicating a climate conducive to rice cultivation.

Especially along the Gambia River, there is a long history of rice cultivation.

In the 15th century, when the Portuguese first arrived in West Africa, they marveled at extensive rice fields. Accounts suggest that as they ventured deep into the Gambia River, the entire country seemed to be covered with rice fields, resembling a pond. Doesn’t this description evoke a bit of the ambiance of the water towns in southern China?

After all these details, the most important question arises: Is this rice tasty? African rice is long-grain and looks similar to japonica rice, but it has a natural red hue, earning it the name red rice. It is said to have a more robust aroma than the famous Thai fragrant rice, and when chewed, it carries a nutty flavor, according to Chinese friends who have tasted it.

Based on the curator’s extensive dining experience, this type of rice is probably suitable for seafood or fried rice. But talk is cheap—take a look at a famous West African dish: Jollof rice. Doesn’t it look appetizing with its vibrant red color?

Now, can you buy this rice to try it out? This is where the tragic story begins.

Firstly, let’s go back to the year 0 AD. According to archaeological evidence and genetic analysis, African rice was domesticated around 3,000 years ago in West Africa, significantly shorter than the time it took for Asian rice. As a result, African rice has incomplete shattering, where seeds detach and disperse on their own after the rice head matures, leading to a 50% lower yield compared to Asian rice. On the other hand, African rice is extremely hardy, thriving not only in various soils but also in saline-alkali lands. It is resistant to drought, heat, and pests.

If Asian rice is likened to a programmer earning a high income with a low HP (health points), African rice is like a warrior king with over 500 HP, capable of self-healing, albeit with a rough production capacity.

However, when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century, they brought two things: seeds of Asian rice and the slave trade.

Here comes a twist in the story. First, let’s talk about Asian rice. Gradually, due to its superior productivity, Asian rice replaced local varieties. Today, it is estimated that only 20% of the total rice cultivation area in West Africa is African rice. The preserved part is, to some extent, because many ethnic groups in West Africa consider it a sacred plant used in their religious ceremonies. For example, the Jola people in Senegal require an abundance of traditional rice and beef for their important coming-of-age ceremony, Bukut, to be considered complete.

On the other side, starting from the 16th century, the transatlantic slave trade lasted for three centuries, transporting millions of Africans to the Americas. Most of these slaves came from West and Central Africa. Perhaps to reduce food expenses, slave owners allowed the slaves to cultivate their own lands. Thus, West Africans began planting their traditional rice, and African rice crossed the oceans to establish roots in American soil.

However, around 1650, things began to change. After the end of the Thirty Years’ War, Europe experienced an unprecedented tenfold population increase, but food production did not increase tenfold. As a result, Europeans had to diversify by growing potatoes and maize and importing rice.

In the North American Carolina colonies, present-day North and South Carolina, white plantation owners seized the opportunity, rapidly investing in more slaves, developing rice paddies, and expanding African rice cultivation for export to Europe.

The annual rice export from just the Carolina colony skyrocketed from 22 tons in 1699 to 12,000 tons in 1773. This amount could feed 250,000 Europeans for a year with one meal a day.

Maybe if this development had continued, Americans would have become a rice-producing giant, but fate had other plans. In the mid-19th century, with advancements in maritime transport and the completion of the Suez Canal, Asian rice flooded the world market at an ultra-low price, pouring into it like a tsunami. This dealt a severe blow to Carolina rice(quotes from resopp-sn.org).

In summary, African rice in the United States declined rapidly, and the cultivation area continued to shrink until it faded from people’s view. What they left behind was a heritage variety called “Carolina Gold Rice.”

Why could Asians produce rice at a lower cost than plantations using forced slave labor? Americans might never comprehend it. Perhaps talent does play a role.

But taking a step back, the tragedy of Africans lies in the fact that the technological tree they painstakingly developed became meaningless after the arrival of Europeans. Importing some outdated technology from abroad was enough for compradors to strangle the infinite possibilities of native technology.

Afterward, they would happily present a stack of banknotes to entice you: Ever heard of cotton? Want to get rich? Come and grow cotton, young man!

One thing led to another. The indigenous people, who once enjoyed leisurely days, suddenly found themselves becoming a cog in the colossal machinery of global capitalism. Until capitalists discovered another place with more fertile land, cheaper labor, and harder-working people, and then the capital shifted. What remained was a impoverished, backward, and neglected continent, Africa.

Thus, the underdevelopment of agriculture in Africa became a self-fulfilling prophecy.