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VP Shein: Agro-processing path to wealth...
2008-05-07 09:24:05
By Perege Gumbo
The Vice-President Dr Ali Mohamed Shein has said that for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states to address the problem of unemployment and wealth creation they should embark on agro-processing for value addition.
Dr Shein made the remark when he officiated at the 2008 Agro-Industry Conference yesterday in Dar es Salaam.
Addressing delegates from more than 21 SADC and Eastern African countries, he said the participating countries needed to change the current habit of exporting raw commodities.
Citing Tanzania as an an example, he said that currently 98 per cent of cashew not production was being exported in raw state, which was also the case with 80 per cent of the cotton, and various other commodities.
``But in order to achieve greater employment and wealth creation in Tanzania, and within the SADC region in general, we must develop greater competency and scale in agro-processing and valued addition,`` he stressed.
He said that building agro-processing was possible and could be achieved in partnership with commercial business interest with a view to promoting greater integration along the supply-chain to ensure greater quality, continuity of supply and improved marketing and trade.
Dr Shein said that the role of SADC initiative in the value addition under the European Union (EU)-SADC Investment Promotion Programme (ESIPP) was very essential in developing the agro-industry sector.
He further said that the current situation where there is increasing shortages of food, rising agricultural commodities and food prices, changing weather pattern and emerging trends towards bio-fuel, it was critically important for the region to develop a well coordinated agro-industry sector.
``I`m particularly interested to see investment sector in agro-processing and value-adding activities and initiatives that promote increased regional and international trade with our region`s neighbours as well as global partners,`` he added.
In his welcoming speech, the head of Micro-Economics, Trade and Regional Integration at the European Commission, Douglas Carpenter, said that the objective of the Agro-Industry 2008 had to do with development of trade and investment partnership with SADC.
He said that an improved business climate and sustained economic growth was not just good for the balance sheets of individual companies, but also for the export-lead growth which was one of the country`s Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Carpenter said that export-lead growth was important in the delivery of effective social services like health and education which underlined the EU's external policies-trade and development as a single package.
He said the concept of EU`s external policy centered on pro-poor trade which was of specific importance in many least developed countries` context.
With over 80 per cent of citizens in Tanzania engaged in agriculture, he said, it was clear that success in the sector was an openning key to unlocking the potential of the country`s economy.
Recently, more than Euros 6.5m was allocated to the development of the sugar sector in Tanzania targeting small holder development and environmental management at the five sugar factories in the country.
The meeting which is being sponsored by the EU and SADC runs from May 5 to 10 and brings together producers and processors as well as market experts with a view to have as many one-to-one discussions as possible.
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