§ Mr. Paul Deanasked the Minister of Overseas Development what requests for technical assistance Her Majesty's Government have received in relation to the World Meteorological Organisation agro-meteorological project situated in Niamey, the capital of the Republic of Niger; and what response will be given to such requests.
§ Mr. TomlinsonI refer the hon. Member to the reply given today to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston-upon-Hull, Central (Mr. McNamara).
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Minister of Overseas Development what assistance Her Majesty's Government are giving or have been requested to give to the development of the Agri-Hy-Met Inter-Regional Centre at Niamey, Republic of Niger; and what importance she attaches to this centre in bringing aid to the poorest of the poor.
§ Mr. TomlinsonNo requests have so far been received but we have agreed, and indeed encouraged, co-operation at the technical level between the centre at Niamey and an ODM-supported project on agro-climatology at the University of 39W Reading. Despite the importance of the project to regional rural development, our ability to respond bilaterally to any future requests will be limited by language problems and the fact that there is no resident British representation in Niger.
§ Mr. Paul Deanasked the Minister of Overseas Development what recent requests have been received by Her Majesty's Government from the Republic of Niger for emergency supplies of food; and what response has been given for any such requests.
§ Mr. TomlinsonLast December the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Niger asked for our help in building up cereal stocks, for which the need from all donors was assessed at 47,000 tonnes. We replied that we had had so many requests for food aid for immediate consumption that we could not help at that time. We are, however, in touch with the situation in Niger and may be able to assist later in the year.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Minister of Overseas Development (1) what is the total amount, and for what purposes, of British assistance to the Republic of Niger;
(2) what is the extent of British technical assistance at the moment, or planned for the future, for the Republic of Niger.
§ Mr. TomlinsonBritain's current technical co-operation programme, amounting to approximately £20,000, comprises one English language teaching adviser and six awards for training facilities in the United Kingdom. An incubator and oxygen unit are being supplied to the general hospital in Niamey under the heads of mission gift scheme. Funds matching half of the respective voluntary agencies contributions have been approved for two market gardening projects under the auspices of the joint funding scheme. An expert from the Ministry of Overseas Development's Centre for Overseas Pest Research and a technical co-operation officer, togther with related transport and equipment, are being provided for a three-year regional crop protection project based in Niamey, but covering Niger, Mali and Upper Volta, which is undertaking ecological research on grasshoppers40W and developing a survey and intelligence system to improve strategy and methods of control. Niger also benefits from assistance from the European Development Fund, to which Britain contributes 18.7 per cent., for projects in the rural development, road communications, education and training, and public health sectors.
There are no plans to expand the current programme of assistance to Niger.