The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), ‎Akinwumi Adesina has asserted that Agriculture must lead in Africa’s acceleration of industrialization in order to create jobs, reduce poverty and promote inclusive economic growth.

Stating the Bank’s position at the launch of the 2018 African Economic Outlook‎ in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on Wednesday, stressed that the infrastructure projects were among the most profitable investments any society could make as they sustain countries’ economic growth.

“This significantly contribute to, propel and sustain a country’s economic growth. Infrastructure, when well managed, provides the financial resources to do everything else,”‎ he said.

Noting that economic diversification was key to resolving many of Africa’s difficulties, Adesina urged African governments to encourage a shift toward labour-intensive industries, especially in rural areas where 70 percent of Africa’s population resides.

“Agriculture must be at the forefront of Africa’s industrialization,” he said, adding that integrated power and adequate transport infrastructure would facilitate economic integration, support agricultural value chain development and economies of scale which drive industrialization.

He reminded the audience of policy-makers and members of the diplomatic corps in Côte d’Ivoire that economic diversification via industrialization with tangible investment in human capital would enable Africa’s rapidly growing youth population to successfully transit to productive technology-based sectors.

Adesina also highlighted the relatively unknown win-win situation that Africa’s industrialization could generate within the developed world while citing the report which notes that “increasing the share of manufacturing in GDP in Africa (and other Less Developing Countries) could boost investment in the G20 by about US $485 billion and household consumption by about US $1.4 trillion.”

He enumerated various innovative ways in which African countries could generate capital for infrastructure development and what the Bank was doing through its ambitious ‎development agenda to address the issues raised in the report.

Adesina announced that the Bank would organise the Africa Investment Forum on November 7-8, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa to mobilise funds for infrastructure development in order to bridge an estimated funding gap of $130-$170 billion a year, up from previous estimates of US $100 billion per year.

New infrastructure financing gap estimates and innovative ways through which African countries could raise funds for infrastructure development were among the highlights of the 2018 edition of the report, which was launched at the Bank’s headquarters for the first time in the publication’s 15-year history.

The African Economic Outlook was first published in 2003 and launched mostly in various African capitals outside the Bank’s headquarters in May each year.

The Bank’s Chief Economist and Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, Celestin Monga said the African Economic Outlook had become the flagship report for AfDB, which provides data and reference material on Africa’s development that were of interest to researchers, investors, civil society organizations, development partners and the media.

This year’s edition focuses on macroeconomic development and structural changes in Africa as well as outlines economic prospects for 2018.

The report emphasizes the need to develop Africa’s infrastructure, and recommends new strategies and innovative financing instruments for countries to consider, depending on levels of development and specific circumstances.

Acting Director, Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research, Abebe Shimeles said the Bank would publish Regional Economic Outlooks for Africa’s five sub-regions.

The self-contained, independent reports, to be released at the Bank’s Annual Meetings in May 2018, would focus on priority areas of concern for each sub-region and provide analysis of the economic and social landscape, among other key issues.

Participants at the launch session, moderated by the Bank’s Director of Communications and External Relations, Victor Oladokun, included members of the diplomatic community in Côte d’Ivoire, representatives of international organisations and multilateral development banks, civil society and the media.