§ Mr. Dodds-Parkerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether in view of the large sums of money being spent, awing to the recent drought, by Northern Rhodesia in purchasing grain from overseas at inflated prices, he will now stimulate action in constructing modern storage facilities for grain in those African Colonies liable to re-occurrences of drought or famine.
§ Mr. Rees-WilliamsThe availability of storage is not, of course, a complete remedy when the main problem is that of actually producing enough for consumption in a particular area in periods of adverse weather conditions. The construction of new stores is, moreover, expensive both in money and in scarce building materials. Nonetheless, various Governments in Africa have in hand measures for improving local storage facilities. In Nyasaland, the Government has given provisional approval for the erection of two maize stores, each with a capacity of 2,000 tons, in the Central and Southern Provinces. Since the maize needed for employed labour is of the order of 12,000 tons annually, the storage to be provided is considered a reasonable contribution towards an emergency reserve. Certain of the larger employers of labour have already made storage provision. A scheme of communal grain stores on a mall scale has also been started in Northern Rhodesia.
In Kenya, as stated in my reply to a Question by the hon. Member on 17th July, the storage facilities with capacity of 100,000 tons are regarded as adequate. In Tanganyika arrangements have been made for the storage of grain in native areas and loans to assist farmers to provide their own storage are being granted. In Uganda provision has been made in the Development Plan for the expenditure of £60,000 on permanent food stores.
250WIn West Africa silos are to be erected in various parts of the Gold Coast. Following a preliminary inquiry over the last few months, arrangements are now being made for a team to study storage problems from the infestation angle over the next two years