SPECIAL FEATURE
The project was set up in a spirit of inclusiveness to ensure a sense of ownership among the various beneficiaries.
Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Côte d’Ivoire
OPEC Fund Quarterly : How will the 2 PAI-Nord project help Côte d’Ivoire to modernize and professionalize its agriculture sector, while maximizing added value for the broader economy? Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani: The 2-PAI Nord project is laying the foundations to transform agriculture in the northern region of Côte d’Ivoire. We aim to modernize work practices, improve communication and involve more private sector actors within the broader context of agricultural industrialization. As it develops, the project will attract infrastructure investments that are crucial for reducing waste and losses while accelerating the distribution of products in markets operating at local, regional and even international levels. The project’s holistic approach will enable more efficient and inclusive contracting between all stakeholders via the smoother functioning and transparency of markets and via greater accessibility to goods and services. These important aspects will be supported by a regulatory framework that is more conducive to contracting and more respectful to the rights of farmers, while firmly establishing social, health and – above all – environmental standards.
OFQ : How will you ensure greater sustainability and socio-economic inclusion of the local population, while preparing for climate change? KKA: The project was set up in a spirit of inclusiveness to ensure a sense of ownership among the various beneficiaries. The sustainability of the project rests on the latest climate adaptation measures, based on innovative technologies that contribute to resilience. It will also rely on improved access to agricultural insurance and on sharing or raising awareness of climate information that is relevant to agriculture. The value chain approach will enable the integration of all sectors, smoothing relations between the actors that operate in the area. It will facilitate access to financial and non-financial services, while rolling out high-quality services on a new digital platform. The effective involvement of the local private
Kobenan Kouassi
OFQ : How will the project help your country to become more self-sufficient, especially in terms of food imports? KKA: In terms of crops, the project will mainly target essential staples, which are a priority for attaining food security. But we aim to go beyond that in the long term: because food security and self-sufficiency are not the same as food sovereignty. The project will mainly focus on the production and processing of rice, maize and vegetables. But we will also discuss animal products and involve different ministries because that is a sector in which we struggle at present. Once we overcome those hurdles we will be able to speak in more detail about food sovereignty.
sector, including young entrepreneurs, will also be crucial for the viability of the project within increasingly competitive markets.
Africa has a lot of wealth, but it’s not able to unlock that wealth.
Akinwumi Adesina President of the African Development Bank
OPEC Fund Quarterly : How do special economic zones help improve flows of private capital for climate and development projects? Akinwumi Adesina: Africa has a lot of wealth, but it’s not able to unlock that wealth. And if there’s a wealth that it has, it’s in agriculture. That’s why the AfDB has been investing in so many special agro-industrial zones, completely dedicated to agriculture. Africa has 65 percent of the uncultivated or yet to be cultivated arable land in the world, so what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world – including feeding up to 9 billion people by 2050. But for that to happen, rural
areas need to have reliable infrastructure. Rural areas need irrigation, logistics and transport; they need companies and the private sector coming in to process and add value to food; and they need efficient value chains to help Africa compete in local, regional and global markets. Achieving all that will create countless jobs while also reducing rural to urban migration. That’s why we’ve put in almost US$870 million to develop these special economic zones in various nations across Africa. We’ve mobilized over US$650 million of co- financing and one of our great partners in this endeavor is the OPEC Fund for International Development.
Akinwumi Adesina
The advantage of special agro- industrial processing zones is that they combine private capital with specialists in food processing, who are able to produce and package the food efficiently. We then work with organizations including the OPEC Fund to support long-term structured supply contracts, taking finished food from Africa to Gulf countries in particular. We’re currently investing in 25 of these special economic zones, which are fueling structural change across Africa.
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