Dr Adesina warns against Africa’s raw agricultural exports as quickest route to poverty
Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) says the key to Africa’s prosperity lies in exporting value-added agricultural products.
He made these remarks during the 2023 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) marketplace in Marrakesh, Morocco with a theme centred around ‘Unlocking Africa’s Value Chains.’
During the inauguration of the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), Adesina stressed that Africa must contribute to global food security by becoming a major player in food and agriculture on the global stage.
”To do so, Africa must end the export of raw agricultural commodities. We must recognise that the fastest way to poverty is via the export of raw commodities, while the highway to wealth is from the export of value-added products,” he said.
“And that is why SAPZs are important. They provide critical infrastructure to support agro-industrial development in Africa. The aim is to unleash the power of its agricultural potential, with the establishment of food processing and manufacturing companies within the zones,” he added.
Adesina noted that the zones will facilitate the transformation of the agricultural sector, enhancing productivity and efficiency in food and agricultural value chains.
He stressed that SAPZs provide infrastructure-enabled platforms for Africa to unlock the economic potential of its vast agricultural lands, turning them into significant sources of wealth.
Adesina revealed that the bank has contributed $853 million and mobilized over $661 million from other development partners to support the establishment of SAPZs.
“Our collective effort has mobilised $1.5 billion in support of the establishment of 25 SAPZs in 11 African countries,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Benedict Oramah, the president of Afreximbank, cited political instability in Africa as a significant obstacle to financing major projects.
He said that budget financing posed a substantial threat to enabling financing and the successful implementation of projects, underscoring the critical importance of effective resource allocation.
“There should be continental regulations that countries should respect and justify for anything good for business. It is important to sign constitutional agreements and concessions. It is also important to support products with high profitability,” he noted.
