South Africa gave drought- stricken Tanzania a three-million-rand check (about 448,000 U.S. dollars) for food aid, South Africa's Foreign Department said on Friday.

South African Deputy Foreign Minister Sue van der Merwe said in Pretoria where she met Tanzanian high commissioner Emmanuel Mwambulukutu that the contribution of the South African government to the Tanzanian government reflected the historic and fraternal relations between the two authorities.

Mwambulukutu said: "(We are) grateful to receive the contribution of the South African government and (the money) would be used to purchase pesticides and fertilizers... a very long-term contribution to the people of Tanzania."

Tanzania experienced severe droughts in the past three years, drove nearly four million people into hunger. The country also saw severe crop devastation by armyworms --a caterpillar pest -- in the southwestern Highlands and southern region.

Source: Xinhua