Agribusiness event to showcase investment opportunies in East Africa

Business opportunities in the East African
agriculture sector will be high on the
agenda at the Agribusiness Congress East
Africa, which will take place in Tanzania in
January 2014
Agribusiness Congress East Africa programme
director Amore Swart said that interest in the
conference had "surpassed expectations", with
the theme 'Driving Innovation in Agricultural
Development in East Africa' attracting both
national and international speakers, sponsors and
exhibitors to the event.
The exhibition and conference, which will take
place in Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam from 28–
29 January 2014, will look to promote discussions
on agricultural development and innovations in
the East Africa region, with a host of agricultural
professionals and business leaders set to speak at
the event.
Among the speakers set to appear will be Anne
Mbaabu, market access programme director
from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
(AGRA); Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)
director Hugh Scott; AgDevCo founder Keith
Palmer; and Dr James Kinyangi, regional
programme leader for CGIAR. Tanzanian
President Dr Jakaya Kikwete has also been invited
to deliver the event's keynote address.
According to Swart, agriculture in the East African
region is now worth more than US$176 billion,
with investment in Tanzania alone set to exceed
US$4 billion 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," Swart remarked.
"With average GDP growth of more than five per
cent, East African countries are ready for the
agricultural revolution. Tanzania saw its GDP
grow by 7.5 per cent during the first quarter of
this year," she added. "Agriculture was said to be
the main contributing factor to this immense
growth. With the drive from the entire region to
move from hand-hoe to tractor technology, this
growth can only intensify."
Swart said that the show would look to help
visitors and delegates realise the business
opportunities presented by the tens of thousands
of commercial farmers in Tanzania, Kenya,
Uganda and surrounding East African countries.