A positive relationship exists between economic growth and increased added-value of manufacturing, panel hears

Abstract

“Does the level of development in the manufacturing sector influence economic growth in Africa?” Marc Luc Dagebégnon Akplogan, an economist and statistician at the Institut national de la statistique et l’analyse économique (INSAE) in Benin, answered this question saying that “The relationship between the manufacturing sector and economic growth depends on the amount of natural resources in the country.” “The concentration of exports of manufacturing products has a positive impact on growth if, and only if, the proportion of natural resources among total exports is less than a certain critical value (50%of exports),” he explained. The panel heard the report by Chidozie Anyiro from Gregory University, Uturu, in the Abia State of Nigeria, called “Adoption of cassava value-added innovation and its implication for rural livelihoods: the case of rural women in the Abia State, Nigeria”. The study examined the effects of technological innovations on the consumption of cassava, a staple food for women in rural Abia. Technological innovations in the processing of cassava have had positive economic effects on the life of rural women in this Nigerian state, according to the author. The speaker urged African governments to spread the new technologies to rural populations in order to help them improve their food habits and increase their revenue.