Agriculture
The Agricultural Zone, according to late statistics, covers the greater part of that section of the Republic which lies between the sea and the Orinoco Plains: about 100,000 square miles, only one third of which is tilled. The section has great fertility of soil, and with its varying elevation and climate it is adapted to the production of everything needful for man or beast. Twenty per cent of the population is employed in agricultural pursuits. With the introduction of new methods and modern machinery a vast development and great wealth should ensue. At present the chief products are coffee, cacao, and sugar, with tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat, vanilla, etc., and a great variety of fruits and vegetables.
Coffee, as in Colombia, is called a product of the temperate clime, growing at an altitude of 1500-6500 feet but best at 3000. A tree is said to live 50 years and to produce a quarter to a half a pound annually. About $16,000,000 are invested in the industry; there are approximately 260,000,000 trees. Venezuela claims to be second in coffee production, exporting over 100,000,000 pounds in 1919.
Cacao needs a warmer climate than coffee, and moist air; hence it grows well on slopes near the sea having a temperature of 80°. But it is found and cultivated in other parts, growing wild in Guayana and near the upper Orinoco. Where cultivated, 80 trees to the acre are approved, of course at first shaded. After five years two crops a year, in June and December, are expected. Trees average a life of 40 years, with an annual production of 220-250 pounds an acre. About 16 seeds are enclosed in a long red and yellow pod, which turns purple when ripe. After being gathered, they are heaped in piles on the ground, left a few days to ferment and burst, when the seeds are shelled, washed, and housed. There are two grades here, the criollo or native, of very high grade, growing in valleys near the sea, and the trinitario, imported from Trinidad. The Chuao Plantation is said to produce cacao of a particularly sweet and fine quality, which is generally exported to France. Over $12,000,000 are invested in the business. In production Venezuela is third. There are more than 5000 plantations.
Sugar. The sugar industry is rapidly developing. New mills with modern machinery have been erected and more acres are planted. A mill at Maracay can crush nearly 1800 tons of cane daily, with an output of sugar of 80 tons. Four species of cane are cultivated, the indigenous, the criolla, most largely, as being sweeter and otherwise giving good results. The reaping is arranged so that the grinding may be constant throughout the year. The canes near Lake Valencia are longer and thicker, with more juice but less sweetness. The best quality of sugar is produced near Guatire, three hours by motor from Caracas; the largest quantity on two plantations near Lake Maracaibo, each having a daily output of 800 tons.
There are four varieties of products: sugar, brown sugar, alcohol, and rum, all of which many large plantations are equipped to produce. Of the two near Bobures, Zulia, one has 5000 acres under cultivation, the other nearly as much. The total capital invested is above $10,000,000. An increasing foreign market is expected.
Tobacco is grown in many sections, thriving in humid fertile soil. It develops in six months, but requires great care. There is much variety in the quality, some being strong and heavy, some delicate with fine flavor and aroma. A little is exported to Havana and there mixed for making cigarettes. The annual production, above 3000 tons, might be increased.
Cotton grows wild in many parts of the country, and is cultivated in a number of States. The average crop is about 4,000,000 pounds of seeded cotton, half of which is raised in Aragua and Carabobo. Zulia produces the best cotton, with longer fibre, nearly one-fifth of the crop. Lara, Portuguesa, and the States of the East supply the rest. The cotton is sown in June or July and harvested in the dry season, December to March. It is freshly planted every year in connection with vegetables, the receipts from which cover the cost except for that of gathering; so that the industry furnishes a desirable opportunity for immigrants with small or no capital. About $200,000 are invested in cotton growing.
Coconuts are indigenous in Venezuela; and in the regions of Zulia, Carabobo, Bolívar, Barcelona, and Cumaná, there are broad plantations. Over $1,000,000 is invested.
Wheat is grown to some extent and fine crops are produced; but much more land is available in the high table-lands and valleys of Western Venezuela so that home consumption could easily be supplied. With improved methods, machinery, etc., it might even become a staple export.