§ Lord BROCKWAYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are co-operating in Zambia's 10-year plan, Operation Food Production, to establish national farms in nine provinces and to assist the white farming sector in order to make the country self-sufficient in food production; and, if so, what conditions are attached to loans and what interest is being charged.
§ Lord CARRINGTONBritain's £10 million agriculture loan to Zambia, signed in January, is available for this purpose. Three million pounds of this is being devoted to agricultural development, including improvements in crop production, in north-eastern Zambia. The remaining £7 million is as yet uncommitted, and we await the Zambian Government's proposals for its use.
The £10 million loan is repayable over 25 years at 2 per cent. interest with an initial grace period of seven years. Up to 60 per cent. of the loan is available for local cost expenditure in Zambia, the remainder being tied to the provision of United Kingdom goods and services.