Growth in Burundi is low, due to the low productivity of the subsistence agriculture on which the majority of the population depends, reveals the analysis presented on 13 July in Bujumbura by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
Andrew Mold, Acting Director of the UNECA Sub-regional Office for East Africa presenting Burundi profile in Bujumbura
On the occasion of the publication of the Burundi profile, the UNECA, which conducted an analysis on economic and social performance in Burundi with a focus on recent developments after the socio-economic crisis of 2015, reported that the country’s growth rate was -3.9% in 2015, but is expected to reach 2% by 2017.
This relative resilience of the Burundian economy is due to the fact that the Burundian economy relies mainly on the subsistence agriculture, reveals to UNECA analysis.
Andrew Mold, Acting Director of the UNECA Sub-regional Office for East Africa, shows that Burundi’s major challenge is the lack of structural transformation.
Per capita agricultural production has decreased by 28% since 1982 as the population increased, UNECA report shows.
“Yields in Burundi are 20 to 40 percent lower than in neighboring countries. Erosion, land pressure, the impact of climate change, land conflicts and lack of modern inputs are the main obstacles to agricultural modernization, “says Mold.
For him, agricultural modernization is necessary for the reduction of poverty and acceleration of structural transformation.
The UNECA country profiles (CPs) were launched in April 2017, in Dakar-Senegal in the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Economic and Development Planning. CPs are key data and forecasting tools designed to provide African decision-makers with an independent analysis of their countries’ economic and social development, as well as the progress being made to achieve regional integration.
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