HC Deb 09 September 1942 vol 383 cc146-7
41. Mr. Harvey

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the results obtained from the dried vegetable factory established by the Kenya agricultural department at Kerugoya, steps are being taken to inaugurate similar factories in other Colonies, both in Africa and the West Indies?

Mr. Harold Macmillan

The drying of vegetables for storage has long been practised in the Colonies; for instance, a substantial plant has been operated by the Government in Jamaica for some years. The latest information regarding the dry- ing (or as some prefer, dehydration) or vegetables by the most modern methods has been furnished to the appropriate authorities in the West Indies and in British West Africa, so that the possibilities of utilising those methods may be explored, and the Government of Nigeria have lately sent one of their officers to Kenya to investigate the plant there. No actual manufacture on the same basis as in Kenya has, however, yet been started elsewhere.

Mr. Harvey

Will, grants from the Colonial Development Fund be available for opening factories?

Mr. Macmillan

Yes, but as always the difficulty is not money, but other difficulties.