Yara and partners launch blueprint for major African development project:Agricultural Growth Corridors are an innovative public private partnership that can be used to encourage investments in agricultural development to the benefit of African smallholder farmers. Yara, Infraco, AGRA, the World Bank, the governments of Mozambique, Tanzania and Norway and Prorustica have come together to promote the implementation of agricultural growth corridors in Africa.
Thorlief Enger, Yara Foundation Chairman, stated The blueprint unveiled today shows that Agricultural Growth Corridors are a tangible means for delivering much needed support for agricultural development, particularly for smallholder farmers. In this project, governments, businesses, donors and the local community will all work together in partnership to achieve the goals of poverty alleviation and economic growth in Africa.
The blueprint outlines planned investments by Yara International in the Port of Beira to develop a fertilizer terminal, it also highlights the planned commitments of the Mozambican Government to support the rehabilitation of the Sena rail line and planned investments at Moatize coal mine and irrigation programmes for farmers. Another potential Agricultural Growth Corridor is being discussed for Tanzania, starting in the port of Dar-es-Salam.
The current plans for Agricultural Growth Corridors in Southern and Eastern Africa will support the fast tracking of agricultural development and enhance economic growth in the region. These potential developments can also act as models for similar developments throughout Africa and show the importance of strong public private partnerships to drive development projects.
The Agricultural Growth Corridor concept will be supported by actual large scale investments in a number of economic activities along a strengthened infrastructural route. This will support smallholder farmers access finance, fertiliser and seeds more easily. It will also improve their access to markets and warehouses for storage. This together will help alleviate any future food crises and the impact of the economic crisis on African smallholder farmers.
The blueprint for the Agricultural Growth Corridor will be finalised in September 2009, after input from all relevant stakeholders. This will be followed by the mobilising of activity in Autumn 2009 around the second Agricultural Growth Corridor planned in Tanzania.
Post published in: Zimbabwe News