The African Agri Investment Indaba 2017, with the stated aim of providing a gateway to investment opportunities in Africa’s agri sector, began at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Monday.
The three-day indaba, sponsored by the Western Cape Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (Wesgro) and the Western Cape provincial government, welcomed leaders in the agricultural economy from around the world, with speakers and representatives from 30 countries.
Speaking at the event, Wesgro CEO Tim Harris said Agri-processing is a key strategic priority of the Western Cape Government’s Project Khulisa, while Wesgro houses the Agribusiness Investment Unit, supported by the provincial Department of Agriculture.
“Our trade team also works hard to assist exporters in the agricultural sector access international markets,” Harris said. “In the 2016/17 financial year, Wesgro’s AgriBusiness Investment Unit helped facilitate over R700 million of investment in the sector. I am proud to say that we have already helped secure committed investments amounting to R566m in the current financial year, in challenging economic conditions.”
According to Wesgro, between April and June, the agricultural sector in the Cape supported 180,000 jobs. The Western Cape, as per the recent stats from StatisticsSA, is the largest employer among all provinces in the agricultural sector, accounting for 19.63% of the sector.
All in all, the Western Cape’s agricultural sector was valued at R11.3 billion in 2016, with the province’s food sector valued at R10,6 billion.
– African News Agency (ANA)
