The African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed to support Côte d'Ivoire in building agricultural value chains to create more jobs and make economic growth more inclusive.
Particularly, the bank will support the Ivorian government in the creation of agricultural value chains in banana, mango, palm oil, cashew, coffee and cocoa products.
“There will be investments to transform rural areas into areas of wealth for the people,” says AfDB president Dr Akinwumi Adesina.
The AfDB has, since 2015, invested in Côte d'Ivoire to the tune of $2.7-billion.
"Côte d'Ivoire was in an exceptional trajectory with an average growth rate of 7% from 2016 to 2019. Unfortunately, because of Covid-19, growth dropped to 2% in 2020.
“But with the economic recovery and vaccinations helping, the tourism, services, transport and manufacturing industries are recovering. We expect the Ivorian economy to rebound by 6.2% this year and 6.5% in 2022," Adesina notes.
Côte d'Ivoire Prime Minister Patrick Jerome Achi has welcomed the bank’s continued support.