New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) With East Africa reeling under a severe drought, India offered all possible help and assistance in spurring a green revolution in Tanzania.
Tanzanian Prime Minister Mizengo K. Pinda, who is on a four-day visit to India, held wide-ranging discussions with the External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Tuesday, where the issue of agricultural cooperation was discussed in detail. Tanzania has offered to lease land to Indian private companies for a period of 99 years, as it pitched for increased investment in the agricultural sector. Indian companies have been looking for land in Africa, especially for cash crops like sugar cane and oilseeds, of which India faces a severe shortage. There had also been training capsules for African agricultural workers to familiarise them with best farm practices in India with similar conditions of soil and climate. The Tanzanian leader’s India visit comes at a time when the East African region is going through its severest drought in a decade. This naturally dictated the main theme of his visit to be agricultural cooperation and food security. MEA spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said that Krishna had apprised the visiting leader about India’s experience in green revolution in the ’60s, which led to it being self-sufficient in foodgrain. The visiting Tanzanian delegation visited the Indian Council for Agricultural Research in Pusa Monday. After the talks afternoon, the delegation left for Ahmedabad Tuesday, where it will go to the Gujarat State Fertiliser and Chemical Company, as well as visit a farmers’ cooperative institute. Incidentally, Tanzania is home to about 40,000 people of Indian origin, most of them coming from Gujarat. Besides, India has assured Tanzania assistance in human resource development and capacity building. It will also gift a supercomputer to the East African state and set up a centre for IT excellence in its capital Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s robust and steady economic performance, coupled with stability and strong institutions, have attracted considerable Indian business and investment. According to Tanzanian government statistics, during 1990-2006, 118 companies with “Indian interest” have invested $825 million in Tanzania. Reliance Industries Ltd has acquired a majority stake and management control of major oil company Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation. Other major Indian companies with a presence in Tanzania include Bank of Baroda with branches in Dar es Salaam and Arusha; Air India; Tata International, which has a MoU with the National Development Corporation of Tanzania for setting up a soda ash factory at Lake Natron; and National Mineral Development Corporation.
