Tanzania, March 14 -- Despite having 60 percent of the world's arable land, huge freshwater reserves, and at least 300 days of sunshine a year, Africa produces only 4 percent of the world's agricultural output.

The continent is a net food importer with an import bill of over $60 billion a year. This is unsustainable, irresponsible, and unacceptable.

Yet barely a stone's throw away from the Indian Ocean lies a region which the German colonisers thought had the potential to be a food basket of all of Africa.

It is the region that boasts a diverse and stunning geographic tapestry.

Towering mountain ranges with their lush green slopes and rich rainfall provide a dramatic backdrop, while vast savannahs stretch out in the lower altitudes. ...