Word: sisal
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...part because Tanzanian farmers lacked incentives to cooperate. As a result, production of Tanzania's key export crops (coffee, cotton, tea, pyrethrum and sisal) is 40% lower than it was in 1970. The manufacturing sector, which was also taken over by the state, has fared no better. Mainly because of a lack of foreign exchange to buy raw materials and spare parts, many factories are now operating at less than 20% of capacity. That has sparked a vicious circle of economic decline. Without consumer goods to buy, farmers produce only enough food for themselves, which in turn means even...
Reagan has given the General Services Administration $100 million to start buying as many as 15 materials for the National Defense Stockpile. In addition to high-temperature metals used in jet engines, such as cobalt, titanium and columbium, the Government will consider buying oddities like sisal fibers, a key ingredient for rope; castor-bean oil, a high-quality lubricant; and pyrethrum, an insecticide. While the amounts are not yet great, they represent a new direction in policy. Said Congressman James Santini, a Democrat from Nevada, "This is both a substantive and symbolic beginning. It's long overdue...