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The River Raika and other major rivers of the Republic deposit silty material around their alluvial plains and valleys. Making may of the areas near the gentle meanders of the rivers possess good loamy soil for agricultural use. These relatively flat areas are the breadbasket of the Republic and much of the North-West Ailivian Continent.
The flat and fertile West traditionally host the majority of the population and agricultural output, while the frigid North and Barren East mostly consists of wide, open pasture lands between the rolling hills and few farms that feed the population centers.
The three main staple crops in the Republic are wheat, potatoes and rice.
Wheat farming has the longest history in the Republic. Evolving from simple slash-and-burn fields to the 3-year crop rotation cycle practiced today in many state-owned and communal farms. The fodder created from the rotation process also helps feed farm animals, both for drafting and animal products. Which is a departure from the historical role of the West as being almost a purely horticultural producer that imports cattle from the East, as a part of the epic cattle drives along the banks of the Raika. As the population grew in the East, more land are converted to farmlands as more efficient ways of cultivation, where potatoes are featured heavily alongside other cereal crops like buckwheat and spring wheat. Although the East was described to have sandy loams, which were only productive for potatoes, some grasslands away from the rivers had developed mollisol, suitable for both planting and pasturing. These factors while differentiating East and West less and less in terms of agricultural output, did allow the population to grow and prosper in the previously improvised East.
In the West especially, impressive irrigation and drainage systems, consisting of canals reinforced with bricks controls the water level before seeds are sown. These irrigation systems are increasingly used for sedentary pastures in the West for the Diary, Wool and Meat industry in the West. Near the Hoshiyomian border, however, the coastal regions are suitable for rice growing. As such, similar systems are modified to supply water for rice paddies, and they are exported to the East and North, along the navigable rivers.
