2012年-世界发展银行全球_Cote_dIvoire_-_The_Growth_Agenda___Building_on_Natural_Resources_and_Exports_85页_1mb

Summary of Report No. 62572-CI: Côte d'Ivoire - The Growth Agenda: Building on Natural Resources and Exports

Core Content

This report, prepared by the World Bank, analyzes the potential for growth in Côte d'Ivoire by focusing on resource-based exports and key sub-sectors. It aims to support the new government in developing a medium-term growth strategy and improving the investment climate to promote inclusive and sustainable development.

Main Points and Key Information

Economic Context

• Côte d'Ivoire was an economic success story in the first 20 years of independence but experienced a sharp economic reversal starting in 1980.
• Per capita incomes were back to 1960 levels by 1993.
• The political crisis starting in 1999 and the 2011 crisis significantly impacted the economy, resulting in a negative GDP growth in 2011.
• Poverty increased from 10% in 1985 to 43% in 2008.
• The country urgently needs rapid and inclusive growth to reduce poverty, create jobs, and restore social stability.

Investment Climate

• Côte d'Ivoire is ranked 169th out of 183 countries in the Doing Business rankings, far behind Ghana (67th).
• Political instability is the main obstacle to growth, but other issues like customs procedures, lack of competition, and ineffective regulations also hinder the private sector.
• Cross-cutting reforms are important to stimulate investment and growth, but they may not address the specific constraints in resource-based sub-sectors.
• The report focuses on resource-based sub-sectors due to the existing broader investment climate reports.

Key Sectors and Sub-sectors

1. Agriculture

• Staple food crops and livestock: Still the foundation of the economy.
• Declining sub-sectors: Pineapples and coffee are in decline due to smallholder withdrawal and market challenges.
• Stagnant sub-sectors with potential: Bananas, sugar, and cocoa have potential for growth, especially in regional markets.
• Maize: Shows the best potential for growth among staple crops due to regional demand and improved yields.

2. Agro-Industry

• Value-added transformation is a central policy element, but each sub-sector must be analyzed in the context of national objectives.
• Processing is essential for some commodities (cotton, sugar, palm oil, rubber), but not for others (pineapples, tuna).
• The cost of creating jobs in agro-industry varies significantly between sub-sectors, with cashew processing being more cost-effective than cocoa liquor production.

3. Energy

• The energy sector is crucial for both exports (crude oil, petroleum products, electricity) and as a key input for other sectors.
• The electricity sector is in a critical state, requiring large investments in maintenance, private sector participation, and renegotiated gas contracts.
• Offshore exploration is needed to confirm new reserves and maintain the supply of natural gas for the industrial sector.

4. Transport and Trade Facilitation

• Transport facilitates exports and access to essential imports, and is a service export for land-locked neighboring countries.
• The focus is on "soft" infrastructure (procedures, regulations, services) rather than hard infrastructure.
• Issues include cumbrous customs procedures, excessive documentation, lack of competition among forwarding agents, and ineffective road and rail maintenance.
• Road maintenance is under-funded and undermined by overloading, which will continue until liberalization.
• The Shippers' Council and truckers' unions are accused of taking commissions without justifying their services.

5. Telecommunications

• The sector has not kept pace with global developments despite some competition.
• Old regulations and lack of legislation inhibit the development of a modern ICT sector.
• The country has the potential to become a regional ICT leader with new laws, converging services, and improved access to computers and education.

Promising Sub-sectors

• Cashew: Côte d'Ivoire is the world's largest exporter of raw cashew. Transitioning to domestic processing is crucial to create over 100,000 jobs, especially in the north. Processing should be incentivized without penalizing farmers or protecting inefficient enterprises.
• Rubber: Booming due to strong world prices linked to oil. The interprofession is functioning well and needs more authority. Support for small farmers is essential.
• Cotton: Recovering due to high world prices. Requires a pro-active program to rebuild confidence and stakeholder agreement.
• Oil Palm: Stagnated but now showing renewed private sector interest. Needs to compete with Asian suppliers by lowering costs.
• Rice: Offers high growth potential through import substitution, but requires coordinated state support.

Challenges and Recommendations

• Fisheries: Faces governance issues and risks losing its position as a major tuna exporter. Needs improvements in port infrastructure and attention to artisanal fisheries.
• Wood Industry: Requires reform of the parastatal SODEFOR and better management of natural forests and plantations. Importation of logs from Liberia could help increase supply.
• Energy: Needs political will for reform, including investment in exploration, gas pipeline connections, and electricity sector improvements.

Institutional and Policy Recommendations

• Agriculture and Agri-business:

  • Adopt a differentiated approach to value addition based on competitiveness and cost-benefit analysis.
  • Enact a new law on agricultural inter-professions to strengthen self-regulation.
  • Restructure cooperatives and other entities, build capacity, and align with regional initiatives like OHADA and ECOWAS.
  • Legal texts on quality of reproductive material and nursery profession should be adopted.
  • Simplify rural land access procedures.
  • Propose a funding mechanism for rural road maintenance through synergy between sub-sectors.
  • Develop new financing mechanisms, including a credit guarantee fund and a central database for financial transactions.
  • Establish market information systems for regional trade in staple foods.

• Specific Recommendations for Secondary Value Chains:

  • Pineapple: Promote out-grower schemes and renew planting materials.
  • Coffee: Encourage differentiated and high-quality production, support non-competitive producers to exit and reorient.
  • Banana: Develop quality, standards, and marketing to access niche markets.
  • Sugar: Reduce costs and expand sales in the regional market.
  • Cocoa: Support less productive farmers to exit and encourage replanting with high-yield varieties.

Conclusion

The report emphasizes the importance of leveraging natural resources and exports for growth, with a particular focus on improving the investment climate and promoting value addition in key sub-sectors. It highlights the need for institutional reforms, policy coordination, and public-private collaboration to ensure sustainable and inclusive development.