Ivory Coast earmarks over 400 million FCFA to revamp agric sector

Ivory Coast has set aside over 400 million CFA francs to revamp its livestock, fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

The strategic development plan (2014 – 2020) for the agriculture sector is expected to guarantee the country’s food security and fight poverty in the country’s rural areas. This it hopes to achieve by making jobs available for the youth and empowering women to be economically independent.

The move comes at a time when the El Nino phenomenon is threatening parts of the continent.

Ivory Coast in 1972 experienced a severe drought which affected many Sahelian countries. With the current unpredictable weather pattern and its impact on neighbouring countries from where Ivory Coast gets most of its meat, the plan should help the country become self sufficient in case of any emergency.

Ivory Coast gets most of its meat from its neighbouring Sahelian countries including Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

In spite of massive direct investments made in the livestock sector, Ivory Coast remains a net importer of meat.

The new target is for the country’s to increase its capability to meet local demand for meat and offal from the 26.69 percent recorded in 2012 to 61.62 percent by 2020.

Similarly, there are plans to increase the total annual production of fishery products from the 2007 figure of about 52,282 tonnes to 117,000 tonnes in 2020.

Aquaculture plays an important role in the Ivorian national economy, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). In 2001, fisheries and aquaculture accounted for 3.1 percent of the agricultural GDP and 0.74 percent of aggregate GDP.