DAR EXPECTS HIGHER INVESTMENT INFLOW

Deputy Trade, Industry and Marketing Minister, Ms Janet Mbene

THE country's economic growth will likely reach 7.8 per cent next year from 7.2 per cent last year, with foreign direct investment increasing to over 1.4bn US dollars from 1.2bn US dollars.

Deputy Trade, Industry and Marketing Minister, Ms Janet Mbene, said in Dar es Salaam that sustained economic growth at above 7.0 per cent will help boost agriculture and tame rural poverty.

"Our government remains committed to partner with AfDB and other partners to ensure that sustained growth also involves agriculture," said Ms Mbene while launching The African Economic Outlook Report of 2014 as published by African Development Bank.

She said for growth to be felt by the majority rural people, agriculture has to be one of the major growth sectors hence the government's commitment to modernise farming through mechanisation and infrastructure development.

Ms Mbene pointed out that dominance of commodities in the agriculture sector and lack of value addition remain hindrances towards improving farmers' incomes.

She touted adoption of agribusiness model of production by the majority smallholder farmers with processing of commodities as a priority.

"As a country, we are still overreliant of commodity exports other than processed or finished goods," she noted. An economist by trade and advocate of entrepreneurship as a tool to fight poverty, Mbene said agriculture and industry need to work in tandem if growth is to improve lives of the majority rural farmers.

Resident Representative of AfDB in Tanzania, Dr Tonia Kandiero said despite sustained growth, Africa's pace of reducing poverty remains slow compared to other continents. Dr Kandiero said AfDB is committed to work with African governments in addressing equitable growth which reaches grass root level.

Presenting the report's findings, a Macroeconomist with AfDB, Prosper Charle and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) economic advisor, Rogers Dhliwayo said Africa and Tanzania remain areas of the world with the highest growth rate per annum.

"But Tanzania's growth is even higher than that of Africa at over 7 per cent against 6 per cent per annum," noted Mr Charle who echoed Mbene's calls for an equitable growth with focus on agriculture.

"This growth has not been inclusive as it seems to benefit only a few rich people," pointed out Mr Dhliwayo while revealing that poverty on the continent of over one billion people has marginally reduced from over 50 per cent to 48 per cent between 1999 and 2011.

The theme for the AEO 2014 report - "Global Value Chains and Africa's Industrialization" - is closely aligned with the theme for the 2014 Bank Group Annual Meetings.

It brings a fresh perspective to Africa's participation in global value chains and shows how the continent is adapting to increasingly fragmented production processes.

In particular, the 2014 report highlights the state of play in Africa with respect to industrialisation and what policy instruments are needed for African countries to maximise the gains that global value chains can offer, ensuring that they have a positive impact on socially inclusive development.