The Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme was a project of the colonial British government to cultivate tracts of what is now Tanzania with peanuts. Launched by the administration of British prime minister Clement Attlee, the project was abandoned in 1951 after considerable cost to the taxpayer when it did not become profitable. Groundnuts require at least 500 mm (20 inches) of rainfall per year; the area chosen was subject to drought.