The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) announced plans to invest in four agricultural projects in Tanzania totaling GBP 20 million.
Justine Greening, the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development made the announcement during her visit in Tanzania this week.
The project will inject 7.5 million into Southern Highlands tea farming; 6.7 million into the Kilombero Plantations (East Africa’s largest rice producer); 3.3 million into Equity for Africa, a small-scale agriculture financer; and 2.5 million into the construction of hydropower plant via TANESCO.
The investment scheme is part of a UK plan to cut back on foreign aid and increase private sector involvement in economic development in Tanzania by investing in local entrepreneurs, and increasing the number of UK companies doing business here.
The UK is Tanzania’s largest provider of Foreign Direct Investment, and second largest in foreign aid. In 2013 DFID invested a total of GBP 150 million in Tanzania.
