It is located in Africa, but it is not as poor as most African countries; Its total population is only about 2 million, but its per capita GDP is equivalent to Fujian and Zhejiang; More than 70% of its land is desert, and 80% of fruits and other foods are imported... It's the small country of Botswana in southern Africa! With its natural advantage of producing the world's largest diamonds, it ranks from one of the poorest countries in the world to the richest countries in Africa today.
Let's take a look at the "rich country of Africa" in the birthplace of watermelons, and what fruits it has.
▲Botswana's wildlife lives with humans
In the 50s of the last century, one of the poorest countries in the world
The title "the poorest country in the world" is not surprising in Africa, given that seven of the 10 poorest countries today are still from Africa.
▲ In the 50s, Botswana began to educate
Although today Botswana is already one of the richest countries in Africa, with a per capita GDP of about $16,000, back in the 50s, this small African country was also ranked as the "world's poorest country".
With an area of 580,000 square kilometers, Botswana is the 48th largest country in the world. Its area is comparable to mainland Ningxia (about 66,000 square kilometers), equivalent to 10 Fujian provinces (about 120,000 square kilometers) on the mainland, and slightly smaller than mainland Qinghai Province (about 720,000 square kilometers). Among African countries, the area ranks in the 20s. Compared with South Africa, Cameroon and other African countries, hundreds of thousands, millions of land area, can only be regarded as small and medium-sized countries in Central Africa.
▲Most of Botswana is covered by desert
Its climate is not pleasant.
Most of Botswana has a tropical dry steppe climate, and the western part has a desert and semi-desert climate. Annual precipitation decreases from 600 mm in the northeast to below 200 mm in the southwest. Precipitation can be said to be very small, which is not conducive to the growth of crops. Moreover, the Kalahari Desert in the central and southwestern parts of the country covers nearly seventy percent of Botswana.
It can be said that Botswana does not have the conditions for agricultural planting and production in terms of climate or soil, and even in today's scientific and technological progress, Botswana's own agricultural production can only meet 20% of the needs of the people. Imagine how poor Botswana could have been in the '50s, when even food was a problem.
With an annual output of 15 million carats of diamonds, a branch becomes a phoenix
▲ Botswanans in the 50s of the last century
While South Africa is the world's largest producer of diamonds, Botswana is the world's largest producer of diamonds, producing more gem-quality diamonds than South Africa.
Rumors of underground diamonds in Botswana have been around for a long time, and the first exploration of the Ngamiland area was carried out around 1896, followed by Anglo-American exploration of the Bechuanaland area in 1932, and the first diamonds were discovered in 1938.
However, the moment that changed Botswana's fortunes came in an agreement signed in 1959 that allowed CAST access to the Bamanwato Tribal Reserve and found some diamonds in the Motloutse River, only to conclude that the diamonds were reworked and exploration rights were abandoned.
▲Botswana's already mined diamond fields
It may be that God favored Botswana and CAST gave up its mining rights, which is where Botswana contains diamonds. In 1967, after independence, Botswana officially established this kimberlite rock field with huge diamond reserves, which changed the fate of Botswana.
Today, Botswana is home to three world-class diamond mines, Orapa, Jwaneng and Karowe, all of which are highly profitable, with three-quarters of annual diamond production being gem-quality. In 2015, the second largest diamond ever discovered from the Karowe mine, the 1109 ct Les; In 2021, another third diamond in the world was discovered.
▲The third largest diamond in the world found in Botswana
Diamond discovery, mining and sales have become Botswana's largest source of income, with diamond exports accounting for more than 80% of it.
Today, Botswana's per capita GDP is about $16,000, and it has suddenly gone from being the poorest country in the world to the richest country in Africa.
The output of fruits and vegetables can only meet 1/5 of the population, and 80% depends on imports
Although diamonds have brought great wealth to Botswana, it has not abandoned agriculture, growing fruits and vegetables on limited arable land.
▲UNESCO World Heritage Site Okavango
However, only a few areas in the north-west are available for cultivation. For example, the Okavango Marsh, the world's largest inland delta, and the Limpopo River basin through which Botswana flows, are important rivers throughout southern Africa, and their tributaries run through four regions of the territory, allowing them to have the possibility of agricultural cultivation and production.
▲ Botswana farmer working in the fields
It is home to agricultural producers and a small number of large producers in Botswana. The main vegetable crops grown are cabbage, onions, tomatoes, spinach and other leafy vegetables. Fruits grown include oranges, peaches, grapes, mangoes and bananas. Most predominantly citrus is produced on a commercial scale.
Although it seems that Botswana can still produce some fruit and vegetable food, these foods only meet 20% of the country's needs, and the rest of the fruits and vegetables need to be imported from South Africa.
Read more: Watermelon and other non-mainstream fruits that originated in Botswana
Watermelons are thought to have originated in the Kalahari region, which includes Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. It only reached China between the 10th and 12th centuries, and then spread through China to Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Australia.
Since watermelon originated in Botswana, other melon fruits are indispensable, such as lerotse melon, which has an orange melon, and some melon varieties that grow in the wild.
▲ Orange melon of Botswana lerotse
Botswana also offers homemade refreshing drinks using watermelon, mulberry and ginger powder. As well as the habit of storing it with melon and kefizer.
In addition to melons, Botswana's wild is home to non-mainstream fruits such as marula, baobab, six-leaf clover, kafir orange, eland, wild apricot, carob, plum fruit, and plum. (The introduction of various fruits has been introduced in different countries in the previous fruit tour - Africa chapter, if you are interested, you can pay attention to click to understand.) ）
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▲Botswana, a paradise for wild travelers and explorers
Botswana, which made its fortune on diamonds, did not sit back and sit on its laurels, as some countries did, but began to protect the natural environment. Although there are not many fruits produced locally, the oasis dominated by the Okavango Delta has long become a paradise for wildlife growth, and even desert areas have become a popular place for many travelers and explorers because of their pristine natural environment.
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