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Visiting Senegal with a team of collaborators to present the production model of the agropoles which is supported and supported by the operational office of monitoring of Pse (Bos), Mr. Dato Sri Idris Jala, Malaysian entrepreneur, animated workshops that launch the agropolis process. Between two workshops, he took the time to explain his concept of development already tested in Malaysia.
Would you like to explain the reasons for your presence in Senegal?
Pemandu associate I manage is a private company consultant who works for different states. Originally, we were a government entity that was set up in 2009, under the name of Pemandu. We were the distribution structure that assisted the Malaysian government in its transformation program. So, after 7 years of implementation, we thought it was now time to move on. And in March of last year, we decided to cede our activities to the ministries and their departmental agencies. We are now a private company.
Thus, in fifteen years, my team and I have accomplished a great deal for several governments. Senegal is almost the last. We have worked with the Sultanate of Oman, Nigeria, Tanzania, the State of Maharashtra in India, South Africa, Russia, as well as Botswana. And the work we have done is so rewarding, because it shows how different countries are allowed to grow their people. And we consider it a privilege for my team and myself to work with the Bos (Operational Bureau for Monitoring PES) in the implementation of the agropoles.
Would you like to expand a little on the work that Do you do with the Bos?
In 2016, Ibrahima Wade and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Kuala Lumpur to seal our commitment to the agropolis. We have identified the agropoles as pilot projects, and over the past three weeks we have brought together the most important private sector actors interested in the agropoles, with the main actors of the government, and made them work full time in a laboratory. And in just 3 weeks, we have made considerable progress.
During this period, the private sector has identified about 18 projects to be put in place for the agropoles, for an investment of 100 million euros (about 665 million CFA). The site has already been found and the City Council has agreed to donate the land, and we believe that these projects will generate 8,000 jobs. All this is a good start. And for the next 3 weeks, we will see in detail the different steps to achieve these projects. We had discussed with the banking sector and all bank managers pledged their support to enable the private sector to implement this project. The Minister of Pse was also present and he too was really excited about what we had just done. He pledged that at the end of this session we will be able to make a public presentation of the results we have obtained, so that people realize what we want to do in the agropolises. [19459006ItwouldappearthatatthehighestlevelsofgovernmentthereistalkofcreatinganagropolisforthenorthandanotherforthecenterofthecountryIfthisisdoneitisameansofmakingthesestructuresofdevelopmentcatalysts
Concretely, what should be produced in these agropolises?
The present orientation of the agropoles is to do agricultural transformation. We mainly focus on two products, cashew and mango. Both fruits can become world-class. I can assure you that the mangos of Senegal, as well as those of Ethiopia, are truly among the best in the world. We have mangoes in Malaysia, but yours are absolutely world class. They are big, sweet, full of juice and aroma, and there is no doubt in my mind that if they are properly produced, they will become unbeatable.
Let me tell you a story about Malaysia. In 1970, 49% of the population lived in poverty. According to the latest statistics confirmed by the World Bank, poverty in Malaysia has fallen below 0.4% of the population. And one of the most important things to achieve this level of poverty eradication, apart from education and health, is the emphasis on agriculture. We focused on two agricultural products, the oil palm and the rubber tree. We planted very large quantities, to the point that these two plants covered 20% of the country's area. This has brought the rural world out of poverty. What you are doing in Senegal is a good step. Start with pilot projects which, if successful, could extend over a large part of the territory. It is the extension which makes it possible to combat poverty effectively.
How could your project be integrated in the PSE which is the major plan of the economic development of Senegal?
The PSE already includes, the origin, the concept of agropoles. In fact, through my work in several countries, I notice that many countries have excellent plans, but the problem lies in the implementation. So what we're doing here is introducing an 8-step process that improves the implementation of the Plan. The first step was to get the highest authorities of the state, including the President and the Prime Minister, to agree on the priorities, and among them there are the agropolises. The second point, once we agree on the priorities, we organize workshops like the one I explained. You put together all the stakeholders, they discuss together. Nobody works on his side, and ideas clash. This is 6 weeks of intense, full-time discussions. The third step is an open house. This is to present the ideas and recommendations from the workshop to the public, in order to win the support of everyone, because if the government fails to gain public support for its ideas, things will be very difficult. The fourth step will be to produce a public document that will outline the government's commitments, what it intends to do with these 18 projects, how many jobs it intends to generate, with which private sector players, what is it? that they intend to invest and when … in short, all the details of the project. In point 5, at the beginning of each year, we will assign performance target indicators to all key ministries and agencies so that everyone knows what they are supposed to achieve, including the private sector. The sixth point concerns implementation. Every day, every week, you update a dashboard, and you monitor progress, problems, and remaining goals. In point 7, at the end of the year, the results must be validated externally by a firm such as, in our case in Malaysia, by Pricewaterhouse cooper (Pwc). So if it had been said that so many jobs were to be created, they would go on the ground and see if the jobs were really there. If such private was to invest so much money, the firm must attest that it was really invested. And in point 8, we publish an annual report that evaluates the scores of departments, agencies, etc.
From my point of view, this 8-point process leads to a truly transformational way of working. It helps to ensure that the Pse is actually implemented and ceases
to be just a plan.
Where are you with this project?
We have just completed stage number 1 , and are in the process of doing the second step. The Minister of PSE told the media that they will soon move on to the third stage. I find it very encouraging
Will you be involved in monitoring the process?
Yes, my team and I will have the privilege of working with the Bos and the government to advance the process.
You spoke about the willingness of the bankers to finance this plan.
How is it going to work in a practical way? How will the relationship be between the public and the private?
This is how things will happen. Currently, you have a large amount of mangoes in Senegal, as well as large quantities of cashews. But most of these products are not processed and not valued, so the country does not derive value from them. Now, within the agropolis, we have found a way to collect all these products from their places of production, bring them to the sorting center. Once the prices of different products known, can then begin the process of transformation. Once done, they are presented in a good package to sell, either inside the country or outside. And since there has been value added through processing, producer incomes will also increase, and they will be able to recruit more staff. In our mind, if this process is well done, it's a good way to take advantage of what you already have.
Once this is done, it will be about seeing how you can do to plant even more, because you still have a lot of land available. In Malaysia, when we realized that palm kernels and rubber trees were good for us, we identified the available land to plant more and started. In your case, for me, this is a pilot project, and when it works well, you try to take it a step further. This allows you to grow and become even bigger. In Malaysia today we have planted palm trees on 4.5 million ha of land. And for rubber, we planted 1.5 million ha of land. That's 6 million ha of land. Do you realize this area? It is 31% of the area of Senegal. And that's 20% of our land, in Malaysia. It is enormous ! That's what I mean by becoming big. We are the world's second largest exporter of palm oil. For the record, the first oil palm we had in Malaysia was donated by Nigeria. And that, many years before. And it had been offered as an ornamental tree. Nobody knew the value. But we could do great things with it. It was from scratch that we were able to create a tire industry, oil palm and its derivatives. Do you realize that most of the creams and sweets that are consumed in Malaysia are palm oil. You can do the same thing with mango if you start the agropolis. Already, just now, you can already produce vinegar from these mangoes. Not to mention many other derivatives. But everyone must be associated. The business community, the banks. To answer your question, it is a private project, but one that will need state membership in order to see the light of day. The government provides land for the agropoles, it establishes an incentive tax for all products and encourages the private sector to invest. This is a very exciting time for Senegal.
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