Developing the downstream timber industry is a central element of Gabon’s strategy to achieve economic diversification and long-term growth through domestic processing of its natural resources. With 85% of the country under tropical forest cover, the timber sector benefits from an extensive raw materials supply. It is also a major employer, and absorbs more of the...
The ratification of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (Programme Détaillé pour le Développement Agricole en Afrique, PDDAA) by Gabon in May 2013 is a step towards increasing output in one of the government’s priority sectors. Introduced in 2003 by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the PDDAA is an African...
With a tropical climate and arable land to spare, Gabon has significant potential to expand agriculture, yet the sector remains largely underdeveloped. At present production is dominated by cassava and plantain, the output of which reached 300,000 tonnes and 285,000 tonnes, respectively, in 2012. The World Bank estimates that value-added agriculture contributed 4% of GDP...
An historic staple of West and Central African agriculture, palm oil production on the continent began to decline in the 1960s as African governments prioritised oil and mineral extraction over agriculture. At the same time, the establishment of large-scale oil palm farms in Asia pushed down the price of imported palm oil products, prompting a further decline in Africa’s...
Gabon is the fifth-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa and oil dominates the economy, accounting for roughly half of state revenues and more than 80% of export revenues. Over the last decade, however, output has declined as the country’s larger oil fields mature, prompting Gabon to encourage activity in smaller blocks expand offshore exploration in new blocks, and...
The offshore oil potential in Gabon has generated significant interest among oil companies in recent years due to the area’s geological similarities with Brazilian pre-salt layers, to the success of offshore blocks elsewhere in the Gulf of Guinea and to indications that it may contain analogous hydrocarbons systems. The large number of companies...
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