17-19 Oct, 2013 - Libreville, GABON
Le Meridien Re-Ndama
Le Meridien Re-Ndama
|
|---|
On May 6th 2013, Julien Nkoghé Békalé, the Gabonese Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development, ratified the PDDAA program sponsored by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The National Pact of the detailed development of the African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) marks the joint commitment made by the national government and its partners in favor of developing Gabon's agricultural sector.
The signing ceremony of the national CAADP pact was chaired by Ida Reteno Assonouet, the Minister of Justice in place of the Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima.
Besides the government, the agriculture, private sector and development and agricultural cooperatives, have all responded to this meeting in a positive manner. This ratification would provide a platform for the steep development of the Gabonese agricultural and for future actions.
Through this the parties involved reaffirm their commitment to implement the following seven priority areas:
· sustainable improvement of agricultural production
· the development of fisheries and aquaculture,
· improving access to land and finance
· strengthening the system of collection and marketing of agricultural products
· improving the system of information management and innovation
· improving the nutritional status, institutional and human development and
· promotion of women and youth resources
Jean-Baptiste Bikalou, the representative of the private sector, claims that the success of CAADP will not only reiterate the cooperation and African integration, but at the same time also contribute to the realization of the dream of shared prosperity for all of Gabon.
More about Gabon’s policies, how finance will be available for developing African agriculture and which banks have products, will be discussed at the 2nd Palm Oil AFRICA Summit in Libreville Gabon on 08-09 Oct, 2013. For more information contact Ms Hafizah at hafizah@cmtsp.com.sg or call (65) 6346 9218.
26 Sep, 2013
As rising global palm oil demand runs into limited land availability in Asia, palm oil majors and investors are now on the lookout for greener pastures in the game of palm oil production. Gabon, a sub-Saharan nation with vast land availability and upcoming pro-agriculture program, is fast becoming the choice location for such expansions and investments.
Apart from having 5 million hectares of land available for oil palm plantations (with 1 million hectares available for immediate use), Gabon’s location is also a prime factor for investment consideration as it gives players a geographical leverage that allows them to tap on the growing West Africa demand at a lower export/transport cost.
According to Gabon’s Agriculture Minister, Julien Nkoghe Bekale, Gabon is now looking at diversifying into the agricultural sector to improve its economy. Ambitious economic development program is underway to create a conducive environment for agriculture and palm oil foreign investments as the nation looks at increasing its agriculture make-up in the GDP from 1% to 15% by 2020. Palm oil production in Gabon is expected to surge 400% from 50,000 t/y to 250,000 t/y by 2020.
Changes in agriculture sector’s foreign employment policy aside, the government is also working on creating an attractive framework via various aspects including legislation, taxation and regulation.
Industry majors and top executives will convene at the 2nd Palm Oil AFRICA conference, held with the support of the Gabon Ministry of Agriculture, in Lebreville, Gabon, to share updates and discuss about the issues and challenges of palm oil investments in Africa.
More event information and speakers’/session details are available on the 2nd Palm Oil AFRICA Event Page.
For inquiries, please contact Ms. Hafizah at hafizah@cmtsp.com.sg or Tel. +65 6346 9218.
17 Jul, 2013
