10 November, Dar es Salaam – Investors, development partners, private
companies and government officials from Africa and beyond united in
Dar es Salaam this week to explore investment opportunities in
agriculture both in Tanzania and other African countries.
International and regional experts in agriculture, partnerships and
investment convened at the Grow Africa Forum, organized by the African
Agricultural Growth and Investment Task Force (AAGIT) in cooperation
with the African Union (AU), New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD) and the World Economic Forum.
The decision to host this event in Tanzania reflects the level of
recognition for the active development of the country’s agriculture,
driven by the Kilimo Kwanza framework. In opening the Forum, Minister
for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Jumanne Abdallah
Maghembe said “The Government of Tanzania is 100% committed to
realizing our country’s agricultural potential. We know that
delivering on our aspirations will mean making sure that we join up
the Government’s knowledge and commitment with the energy, experience,
expertise and financial and technological strengths of the private
sector and Tanzania’s development partners.”
Partnership is a central theme in Tanzania’s agricultural development
and was a top agenda item at the Forum where the focus was on
Expanding Partnerships, Catalysing Investment, and Integrating Best
Practice. In order to stimulate investment planning and mobilisation
to further Africa’s agricultural potential, the Forum featured working
sessions to identify agricultural investment priorities per country.
More and more investors are looking at investing in Africa’s
agriculture for guaranteed, long-term returns, but also because it is
a socially responsible investment that will help improve livelihoods.
Africa has the potential to be the world’s breadbasket and Tanzania,
in particular, has great potential.
The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) hosted
an investors’ roundtable to present the partnership and Investment
Blueprint to investors and discuss ways to further SAGCOT’s objectives
of creating profitable agribusinesses that benefit smallholder farmers
and improve food security. Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister’s
Office, Peniel Lyimo, said “Following the recent establishment of the
SAGCOT Centre and the launch of the SAGCOT Partnership Forum, this
investors’ roundtable is very timely. We are inspired by the level of
interest and commitment from our partners in the investment community,
the private sector, development partners and the farming community. It
is this spirit of partnership of collaboration in the name of our
common goal – to raise agricultural productivity and improve
livelihoods, particularly of smallholder farmers, in Tanzania – that
will be the making of our success.”
Investors will reconvene in the first quarter of 2012 in Dar es Salaam
to further explore and identify investment opportunities in SAGCOT in
order to help mobilize much needed investment in the sector.
The Grow Africa Forum is brought together under the auspices of the
African Agricultural Growth and Investment Task Force – a coordinating
platform initiated at the 2011 World Economic Forum on Africa to
support African governments in increasing private sector investment,
partnership and collaboration to accelerate sustainable growth in
agriculture.
About SAGCOT
The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) was
initiated at the World Economic Forum Africa summit in May 2010 as an
inclusive public-private partnership, which aims to rapidly develop
agricultural productivity and profitability in the Corridor region.
Founding partners include farmers, agri-business, donor partners, the
Government of Tanzania and private companies. The Partnership will
facilitate a new development process in the Corridor that will be
commercially successful, while also improving food security, raising
productivity, alleviating poverty and ensuring environmental
sustainability. SAGCOT activities are coordinated by the SAGCOT Centre
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.