Irish plan to aid Third World produce

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Mr Walsh today initiated the "Seed Fund", a project of Self Help Development International.

The fund aims to raise £1 million over five years from Irish foodcompanies and financial institutions. The money will be used toinstall basic food processing facilities to handle surplus productionof fruit and vegetables in Africa.

The planned processing facilities will provide local communities inEthiopia, Malawi, Eritrea, Uganda and Kenya with a capability to secure their own futures.

The chairman of IBEC's Food and Drink Federation Mr Larry Murrinendorsed the project on behalf of the Irish food industry.

He said: "The fund is intended to develop a basic food-processing capability.Thisreflects the success of previous self-help initiatives which havetaken the local community from a subsistence to a surplus food-producing situation.

"Through this `Seed Fund' initiative, supported by Irish foodcompanies, it is intended that these countries can now develop beyondself-sufficiency to processed food consumption."

Mr Walsh said the aim was to create a fund for long-term development work in Africa.