"He saved my father's life at grave risk. This is an act of kindness the Jordan family will never forget. Regardless of how time may pass, there will always be someone who remembers Steve Trevor."
Finally, Diana could not hold back her tears any longer. Her eyes turned red, and Clark walked up to hug her, lightly patting her back.
After a while, the incredibly strong princess managed to gather herself again. When everyone sat back at the dinner table, their bonds were all the more strengthened. Not only did they share secrets, but also emotions. It confirmed them as allies, with no outsiders present.
"I'm here to share some good news. Although you'll hear about it on the news in a few days, I thought it was important to tell you about Oliver's hard work as soon as possible."
Hal cleared his throat and said, "We've achieved great success in the west of Guadalajara, Jalisco. We've occupied approximately 200 square miles of land in the Ameca River Basin, repelled the drug cartel that had been entrenched there, and completely reclaimed over 70,000 acres of prime farmland from them."
"How much?!" Clark stood abruptly from his chair.
"70,000 acres! Prime farmland!"
Clark took a sharp breath in, Diana looked at him and asked, "How big is the Kent Farm?"
"About 3,000 acres."
Diana gasped as well, Clark's voice rising, "Hold on, Hal. To be clear, you're talking about prime farmland, not total area, right?"
Hal nodded, and Clark's eyes grew wide, "The 3,000 acres of the Kent Farm includes woodland, water veins, roads, warehouses, and other unplovable land, as well as a large portion of housing land. Despite its name, the Kent Farm is multi-industry complex that includes farming, animal husbandry, and foresty. It's not just farmland."
"Also, not all farmland can be deemed 'prime' farmland. By the standards of American big farms, the Kent Farm at most owns 1,000 acres of prime farmland. And a third of that land is fallow. This means the actual output of prime farmland is just over 700 acres."
Maintaining his surprise, Clark slowly sat down and said, "And now, they own 70,000 acres of prime farmland. My gosh!"
Hal sighed and said, "However, this number is actually not that large. In fact, it could be considered somewhat small given that the Ameca River Basin is located near the center-west of Mexico, in the reach of Guadalajara. The farming conditions there are not as favorable as the northwestern region."
"Mexico has substantial farmlands and excellent natural conditions, hence the plentiful prime farmland. Most of it is concentrated in the northwestern region bordering America. The terrain there is flat, with a long history of farming, and largescale mechanized agriculture is predominantly practiced."
"So, are you saying the region you've occupied isn't a flat plain?" Diana asked.
"No, the area we've occupied is also a plain, and it's rich in water veins. The point is it has been occupied by the drug cartel for a long time because of historical problems."
"Is it the Mexican Government's problem?" Clark asked, with his brow furrowed.
Hal gave a wry smile as he glanced at them and said, "You might all think that the current awful situation in Mexico is entirely the government's fault, but that's actually not the case."
"You should know, Mexican agriculture had a long period of brilliancy and was referred to as a role model for agricultural development in developing countries."
"During the '10s and '20s, Mexico began largescale land reforms, seized land from big landowners and farmers, and distributed it to peasants. They also established village societies, or cooperative farms, with about 20 households each. The farmlands were assigned to individuals and all other production-related land was made collective property."
"Since 1940, the Mexican Government began to focus on developing the northwest, improving irrigation to resolve watering problems. The agricultural output in the northwest rapidly increased, and due to various agricultural subsidies, the central and southern regions also benefitted."
Clark widened his eyes slowly, while Diana, with her background in history, scratched her chin and said, "I seem to remember, it's indeed that way; I studied that Mexico was one of the few countries in the world that experimented with collective ownership when I was studying agricultural history."
"So, how did they end up in the present situation?" Clark asked.
"The issue lies in the process of industrialization." Hal took a deep breath and let out a sigh, "The success in agriculture made the Mexican Government think they could speed up industrialization."
"Mexico wanted to become an industrialized country, but they mistimed it and moved too quickly. The previous agricultural reforms hadn't addressed the fundamental issues. In its current state, Mexico is utterly stagnant."
"To push for industrialization, the Mexican Government abandoned many agricultural policies. In less than 30 years, agriculture's contribution to the total output value dropped from 15% to around 7%. This is a direct halving of the contribution, we don't need to delve deeper to understand the disastrous effects."
Clark opened his mouth wide. His facial expression changing several times, it seemed as though he found the outcome surprising. However, Bruce saw it more clearly. He said directly, "A poor example set by America."
Bruce used his fork to pick up a piece of fish onto his plate and began to cut it as he spoke, "The entire world wants to replicate America's success and embark on the journey towards the golden path. But there is no gold on this path, just a mouthful of grit."
Hal nodded and said, "Carbon copying doesn't work. Pursuing full industrialization only wastes Mexico's superior natural conditions and squanders the achievements from previous reforms and development."
"Hasty reform has plunged the population into chaos as they struggle to decide whether to firmly hold onto their farmland or follow the wave of industrialization. This confusion has provided opportunities for crime industries."
"However, because their transition was unsuccessful and the internal contradictions were too sharp, the economic crisis triggered by policy failures leaves the Mexican Government without the capacity to combat crime. And so, the country gradually slid into its present condition."
Diana sighed and said, "We shouldn't negate the significance of exploring just because we fail, and we certainly shouldn't ignore the suffering of the people on this land because of it. Drug-related crime is a common enemy worldwide."
Hal nodded emphatically. He glanced around at everyone, with his fingers pinched in hesitation, and said, "I have another mission for this visit. It's to seek your help. Oliver has encountered a big problem that he can't solve."
"What problem?"
"We don't know how to farm!"