Global and Regional

Agro-industries Forums

Carlos Arthur B. da Silva, Ph.D.

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division
FAO - Rome
Contents
 Why agro-industries
 Why the forums?
 Which ones so far?
 Initial outcomes
 The proposed RNE Forum
 Way forward

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Why agro-industries?
 An important driver of growth
 Occupy a dominant position
in manufacturing.
 61 % in agriculture-based
countries
 42 % in countries in
transformation
 37 % in urbanized
developing countries.

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Why agro-industries?
 Disparity among developing countries in
the distribution of formal sector agro-
industry value addition.
 Latin America - nearly 43 percent of global value
addition in 2003
 South and Southeast Asia: 39 percent.
 Africa: less than 10 percent of global value addition.

 Strong backward and forward linkages,

 promote demand for and adding value to primary agricultural
production and create employment and income along the
processing-distribution chain.

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Why agro-industries?
 Employment generation
 Agro-industries play a central role in
employment generation, being
characterized by a marked
presence of women in their
workforce
 50% to 90% in the non-traditional
sector
 According to the ILO, on average
60 % of workers in food and
beverages in developing countries
are employed in the informal
economy

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Why agro-industries?
 Growing demand for processed
foods
 Global expenditures on processed
food and beverages approached
US$4.8 trillion in 2007, a figure 57
percent higher when compared to
that of 2001, indicating a recent
average annual growth rate of 7
percent
 potential for increased trade
 Growing target of FDI flows
 Increasingly prioritized in global
development agendas

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Why holding agro-industries forums?

 Draw attention to the

development of
competitive agro-
industries as a means for
creating employment and
income opportunities, for
enhancing the demand
for farm products, and
generating the capacity
to trade higher-value
products
 awareness raising
 advocacy

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Why holding agro-industries forums?

 Develop shared vision and

partnerships to increase
the role of agro-industries
in economic development
and poverty reduction
 Learn from success stories
and key lessons emerging
from rapidly progressing
regions and countries
 Identify new dimensions of
the roles of the public
sector, multi-lateral
agencies, donors and the
private sector

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Why holding agro-industries forums?
 Outcomes
 Public sector participants
recognize that they must
be proactive to support
agro-industries
development
 Member country interests
and priorities relating to
the strategies and issues
are clarified
 Stronger partnerships and
joint activities among UN
agencies working on agro-
industrialization

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

The Global Agro-industries Forum
New Delhi, April 2008
 Jointly organized by FAO, UNIDO
and IFAD and hosted by Gov. of
India
 Participation of 500 senior level
delegates from 110 countries;
 Technical sessions and
roundtables highlighting the status
of agro-industries, its key
development drivers and main
policy issues
 Regional workshops
 recommended regional forums to
consider context specific issues
and priorities for agro-industries
and agribusiness development

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Regional Forums
 Latin-America
 Lima, Peru
 Asia
 Yangling, China
 Africa
 High Level Conference on the Development of
Agribusiness and Agro-industries in Africa (HLCD-
3A)
 Abuja, Nigeria (2010)

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

What we expected from HLCD-3A
 A programme for the promotion of agribusiness and agro-industries
development endorsed by African Heads of State and Government (HOS).

 Agreement to establishment financial modalities for agri-business and agro-

industry investment endorsed by HOS.

 Launching of the African Agribusiness and Agro-industries Development

Initiative (3ADI)

 Action plan for programme implementation and financial mechanisms endorsed

by HOS.

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

3ADI Programme Framework
Main Objective
 To increase private sector
investment flows going
into the agriculture sector
in Africa by mobilizing
resources for agribusiness
and agro-industrial
development from
domestic, regional and
international financial
systems

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

3ADI Programme Framework
 Four areas of support
 Enabling policies and
public goods;
 Value chain skills and
technologies;
 Post-production
institutions and services
 Reinforced financing and
risk mitigation
mechanisms;
 Financial Mechanism
 public and private sector
windows

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

HLCD-3A Conclusions
 3ADI received strong support by high level country
delegates
 Proposal for financial mechanism well received
 Abuja Declaration on the Development of Agribusiness
and Agro-Industries was adopted

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Middle East and North Africa Regional
Agro-industries Forum: a proposal
 OR alignment
 fits within a range of AGS led URs under ORs A, G, L

 Objectives
 Promote the development of competitive, sustainable
and inclusive agro-industries in the region
 Raise awareness of the key role of agro-industries in
regional development
 Identify key issues and priorities for technical assistance

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Middle East and North Africa Regional
Agro-industries Forum: a proposal
 Participants
 Some 60 professionals from government,
private sector, international organizations and
NGOs

 Format
 Plenary sessions
 Two lead papers addressing the opportunities and
challenges for agro-industrial development in the region
 Roundtables
 Four, focusing on technical topics identified as priority
challenges

Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division

Middle East and North Africa Regional
Agro-industries Forum: a proposal
 Venue
 Cairo, Egypt
 When?
 October, 2010 (?)
 Way forward
 identification of local partners
 secure institutional commitment
 seek additional funding support
 establish task teams
Rural Infrastructure and Agro-industries Division
Thanks !

Carlos.DaSilva@fao.org