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Tanganyika groundnut scheme
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==Takeover and railway construction== [[File:Groundnut harvesting in Malawi.jpg|thumb|Groundnut cultivation in [[Malawi]]]] In February 1948, the United Africa Company handed over responsibility for the project to the newly formed [[Overseas Food Corporation]] (OFC). It sent a new manager, Major-General [[Desmond Harrison]], to the site. He found the scheme in a state of chaos, and immediately tried to instil some military discipline, which did not endear him to the workers, but subsequently retreated to his tent to concentrate on copious paperwork in a vain effort to contain the spiralling costs. Late in the year he was ordered back home on sick leave. In 1949, the Kongwa region was struck by a terrible drought, which decimated the crop. After two years, only 2,000 tons of groundnuts were harvested, less than had been imported as seed, and an attempt to grow [[sunflower]]s instead proved futile as they were even more susceptible to drought. The scheme's managers therefore began to focus attention on the more fertile regions in the west and south of Tanganyika, but the development of both was proving painfully slow. In the south, not only was a whole new railway line needed, but a deep-water port had to be constructed from scratch at [[Mtwara]]. The [[Southern Province Railway]] was constructed first in order to transport the crops, but never had any to transport and was later dismantled. The original target of 3 million acres was reduced to 150,000 acres (607 km<sup>2</sup>) and then to 50,000 acres (202 km<sup>2</sup>). In the end only 47,000 were ever cleared. By late 1949, the scheme was coming in for robust criticism in Parliament and the press. The author [[Alan Wood (author)|Alan Wood]], who had headed the Information Unit of the Overseas Food Corporation, resigned to publish a book about the failures of the scheme, ''The Groundnut Affair'' (1950).<ref>[[Bertrand Russell]], "Mr. Alan Wood" (obituary), ''[[The Times]]'', 5 November 1957, p. 13; republished in Andrew Bone, ed., ''The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell: Volume 29 Détente or Destruction, 1955-57'' (Routledge, 2005)</ref> In March 1950, in the House of Commons [[John Boyd-Carpenter, Baron Boyd-Carpenter|John Boyd-Carpenter]] asked the Minister of Food, [[Maurice Webb (politician)|Maurice Webb]], to make a statement about attempts by [[Leslie Plummer|Leslie Plummer MP]], head of the Overseas Food Corporation, to stop the publication of the book.<ref>[https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1950-03-20/debates/10819b9c-645b-4be8-bf51-ba7088f54164/BookTheGroundnutAffair Book "The Groundnut Affair"], Hansard Volume 472, debate on Monday 20 March 1950</ref> The government persevered, but suffered for it at the [[1950 United Kingdom general election|election in February 1950]] and even more when it lost the [[1951 United Kingdom general election]]. Just before that, in January 1951, it had finally cancelled the project, the Treasury writing off a total of £36.5 million — equivalent in 2020 to over £1 billion. Mechanised production was stopped, and the cleared land handed over to African farmers, who did a better job growing tobacco and cashew nuts and herding cattle.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Westcott|title=Imperialism and Development|pages=114–188}}</ref><ref name="Panton">{{cite book |last1=Panton |first1=Kenneth J. |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire |date=2015 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-0-8108-7524-1 |pages=220–221 |url={{GBurl|WdFbCQAAQBAJ|p=220}} |access-date=17 May 2020}}</ref>
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