A new Irish food industry aid project will enable African countries to develop basic food processing capabilities.

The "Seed Fund", a project of Self Help Development International, was unveiled yesterday by Mr Joe Walsh, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. It aims to raise £1 million over five years from Irish food companies and financial institutions.

The fund will be used to install basic food processing facilities to handle surplus production of fruit and vegetables in local communities in Ethiopia, Malawi, Eritrea, Uganda and Kenya.