Agribusiness East Africa to showcase region’s potential
By Godfrey Olukya 6-12-2013
An agribusiness congress is to be held in Dar-es Salam to showcase
the region’s agricaulture potential.,the orgainzers have revealed in
a press release.
Stakeholders are expected to benefit a lot from the event.
Agribusiness Congress East Africa is taking place at in Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania, from the 28 – 29 January 2014. The programme is stimulating,
the stakeholders are engaging, and the setting is conducive to driving
innovation in agricultural development in East Africa.
According to the release,Agriculture in Africa is fast becoming the new
frontier. Every day the business interests of large investors and
multinational companies are realized in the potential of agriculture
in East Africa. The business opportunities in East Africa are growing
daily.
Continued political and economic stability in the region is further
accelerating development in the East African region.
The region has the resources, the people have the drive, and the
leaders have the will – the one critical missing link is the experts,
inputs and solution providers. The expertise of the South African
farming community is world renowned. Agriculture in the East African
region is worth over $176billion and in Tanzania alone the sector will
see investments exceed $4billion over the next 20 years. With the
respectable reputation that South African farming experts, input
suppliers and solution providers revel in, it is surprising to find
that the East African market has not yet been capitalised on.
Ready for the agricultural revolution
With average GDP growth of more than 5%, East African countries are
ready for the agricultural revolution. Tanzania saw their Gross
Domestic Product grow by 7.5% during the first quarter of this year.
Agriculture was said to be the main contributing factor to this
immense growth. The drive from the entire region to move from hand-hoe
to tractor technology, this growth can only intensify.
There are tens of thousands of commercial farmers in Tanzania, Kenya,
Uganda and the surrounding East African countries – tens of thousands
of business opportunities which can be realised by our
agri-businesses. The problem faced by most entrepreneurs is meeting
their international business partners. Links need to be made and
relationships need to be developed – and that is where Agribusiness
Congress will make all the difference.
Sound partnerships for stakeholders
In 2012 Agribusiness Congress was launched in Lusaka, Zambia. The
difference between Agribusiness Congress and other related events lies
in the strength of the team behind this initiative. Spintelligent, an
internationally acclaimed corporate events company with over 2
decades’ worth of experience. The Spintelligent team is committed to
delivering top quality events which generates business opportunities
and develops sound business partnerships for its stakeholders.
The 2012 event and its outcomes were so successful that the government
of Tanzania approached Spintelligent to bring this
business-to-business focused conference and product showcase to Dar es
Salaam. After months of research and planning very strong ties have
been forged with the main agricultural stakeholders in Tanzania and
Agribusiness Congress East Africa is well on its way to become the
region’s top agricultural conference and product showcase.
Top speakers
Interest in the conference has surpassed expectations, and the theme
Driving Innovation in Agricultural Development in East Africa has
attracted both national and international speakers, sponsors and
exhibitors. Top speakers include; Anne Mbaabu, Market Access Programme
Director from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA); Hugh
Scott, Director of Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF); Keith
Palmer, Founder of AgDevCo; Dr James Kinyangi, Regional Programme
Leader for CGIAR. H.E Dr Kikwete, President of Tanzania has also been
invited to deliver the keynote address.
Agribusiness Congress East Africa is the first in the 2014 calendar,
and numerous agricultural businesses have leapt at the opportunity to
start 2014 with a bang. From finance and consulting service,
conservation products and services, soil cultivation, sowing and plant
protection, pre- and post-harvest technologies, irrigation and large
equipment manufacturers, the agricultural value chain is wholly
represented in the product showcase area.
According to Janet Bitegeko, Executive Director of the local host
association, the Agricultural Council of Tanzania, “The Agribusiness
Congress East Africa 2014 is vital to all of us because it provides an
opportunity to the agricultural stakeholders in the region to
critically examine issues such as accessing affordable finance,
infrastructure development, the role of the public and private
sectors, fostering multiple stakeholder partnerships, expanding
knowledge and sharing of best-practices, as well as access to regional
and international agricultural markets.”
END