Togo seeks to ramp up its soybean output to 500,000 t per year by 2028. The target is set in a five-year strategic plan recently validated in Lomé. 

By boosting its production, the country hopes to consolidate its position as the leading exporter of organic soybeans to Europe. The new plan emphasizes key areas such as developing local processing, enhancing the export of organic soybeans, and strengthening human resources.

"We must reach an annual production of 500,000 tons by 2028. This will allow us to ensure a maximum stock for local processing and export the rest," declared Komlan Kadzakade, president of the soybean sector's professional committee.

Focusing on local processing and generating added value should allow Togo to leverage its competitive edge in organic soybean production. This, in turn, should increase farmers' and stakeholders’ revenues, as well as make Togo more competitive in international markets.

Nearly 30,000 farmers, 200 sellers and exporters, and around 100 firms operate in Togo’s soybean industry. The country has been actively working to advance local processing, notably by setting up processing centers at the Adetikopé Industrial Platform.

Amid a deficit balance of payments and a rising oil bill, Togo's net foreign assets with the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) dropped significantly in 2022.

Togo's net foreign assets with the BCEAO were in a deficit of CFA410.2 billion in 2022, against a deficit of CFA23 billion in 2021, and a surplus of 70.5 billion in 2020. The substantial drop is attributed to a series of global crises over the past three years and an increased dependency of the Togolese economy on external resources.

Balance also greatly contributed to the situation. Indeed from a surplus of CFA121 billion in 2021, it plunged to a deficit of 19 billion last year. Then, there is the oil bill, which rose by 59%, from 162.8 billion in 2021 to 259.2 billion FCFA in 2022. 

The higher oil bill, in part driven by a stronger dollar, hit Togolese importers and the country's finances. Togo, a non-oil-producing nation, saw its imports rise by 20% in a year, further deepening its trade deficit, which expanded by 24% to reach 514 billion FCFA.

Togo is not the only country in the sub-region to face economic headwinds. Others like Benin and Burkina Faso, also non-oil producers, face similar issues. The appreciation of the dollar against the CFA franc impaired import costs. And while it had a positive impact on exports, this was insufficient to offset the impact on imports.

Regardless, being a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) somehow benefited Togo in these hard times. Indeed, other WAEMU members including Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Niger, and Guinea Bissau recorded positive net foreign assets in 2022. They thus produced a buffer effect that cushioned external economic pressures.

For instance, Côte d’Ivoire, despite a decrease in its foreign assets, posted a robust balance of 2,303.6 billion FCFA, mostly resulting from its cocoa export revenues. Senegal and Niger also maintained substantial net foreign assets despite a downward trend. They both benefited from a burgeoning oil windfall. 

Nevertheless, the WAEMU is in a less than ideal position marked by an overall fall of 3,064.1 billion FCFA in its net foreign assets, but still robust enough amid these uncertain times.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Banks in Togo had their net foreign assets standing at 1,487.8 billion FCFA in 2022. According to the BCEAO, WAEMU’s Central Bank, which disclosed the figure, it is 32.8% higher than that recorded in 2021. 

Banks’ net foreign assets reflect the value of claims on non-residents and obligations to non-residents, as well as claims on the Central Bank.

The upward trend started in 2020. From 905.1 billion FCFA that year, the lenders’ net foreign assets jumped to 1,119.7 billion FCFA the next year, and 1,487.8 billion FCFA last year.

Over this period, claims on non-residents increased steadily, from 1,118.3 billion FCFA in 2020 to 1,811.3 billion FCFA in 2022. This shows that banks in Togo trust foreign borrowers. 

Conversely, claims on the central bank slightly declined over the three years, dropping from 219.7 billion FCFA in 2020 to 188.3 billion FCFA in 2022.

As for the total assets of Togolese banks, they grew from 2,484.8 billion FCFA three years ago to 2,638.9 billion FCFA in 2021, and 3,239.3 billion FCFA in 2022.

In contrast with the banks’ situation, the State’s net foreign assets declined relative to the Central Bank, as the balance of payments deteriorated amid pressures that affected some essential imports like oil imports.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Togolese Ministry of Grassroots, Youth, and Employment, launched earlier this week a tender for backing youth-led micro-projects. The call was launched on World Youth Day.

According to the ministry’s announcement, each project could receive up to CFA500,000 (about $830). Through the move, the government wants to give a boost to youth associations, all over Togo, that are looking for financing for their projects, and enhance their civic commitment. 

Projects submitted should focus on: the fight against HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health for young people and adolescents, youth participation in community development, citizenship education, and civic training, youth leadership development, environmental protection, and gender and human rights.

Applications must be submitted only via e-mail, between June 13 and July 12, 2023.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The members of the Consular Electoral Commission (CEC) were sworn in on June 8, 2023, in Lomé. The ceremony took place at the Court of Appeal.

This 8-person commission will coordinate the consular electoral process, including the preparation and proclamation of provisional results. It will also be responsible for receiving applications from economic operators and registering them on the electoral roll.

The CEC is responsible for organizing the election of new officers of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (CCI Togo). It was set up following the reforms carried out by the Special Consular Delegation, after the Ministry of Commerce suspended the electoral process, as tension mounted between outgoing president Germain Mèba Essohouna, who was running for his succession at the time, and the Togolese Association of Economic Operators (ATOE). The two parties accused each other of not playing fair.

Esaïe Edoh

France will provide Togo €78 million to help it open up its rural areas. The financing agreement was signed last week, by Sani Yaya, Togo’s Minister of Finance, and the French Ambassador to Togo, Augustin Favereau.

The funds will be used to build bridges–thus enabling local populations to easily access basic socioeconomic infrastructures, acquire equipment and services, and bolster the government’s agricultural policy.

The French financing supports a project to develop at least 4,000km of rural roads throughout Togo’s five economic regions, in line with Lomé’s 2025 government roadmap.

In detail, the package breaks into a direct loan–€40 million–from the French treasury and a bank loan–€38 million– guaranteed by the French public investment bank, BPIFrance.

The new financing adds to another €30 million that Team Europe disbursed for Togo in May. These funds were provided for the partial financing of the Rural Roads Support Program (PAPR II).

Esaïe Edoh

Several civil protection officials of the ECOWAS member States are meeting in Lomé this week to discuss assistance mechanisms for the victims of floods that hit the region in 2022, as well as the regional food and nutrition crisis.

The officials are looking at an effective way to support and help the people affected recover, according to ECOWAS. 

The heavy rains that hit several ECOWAS countries last year had a great impact on populations, farms, and livestock. They made things harder for those affected, who were already facing food insecurity, food crises, and climate change effects.

The ongoing meeting aims to determine priorities in the gap between emergency relief and sustainable recovery from floods in member States. Participants will also define how the ECOWAS can bolster support to these States, regarding flood resilience, within the framework of an integrated and multi-sectoral approach.

The meeting takes place in two parts. The first part will focus on the impact of the 2022 floods and ECOWAS’ post-flood strategy to help its States better support the victims. The second part (Thursday and Friday) will focus on the food and nutrition crisis, especially children's malnutrition, and ECOWAS’ efforts to mitigate the issues by improving food availability and nutrition.

The roundtable was opened by the Minister of Security and Civil Protection, Yark Damehame. The Togolese official, on the occasion, praised the initiative of the Directorate of Humanitarian Affairs of ECOWAS. The latter is a sub-regional body that plays a major role in supporting governments in their efforts to improve emergency management.

The Minister also highlighted that the region was hit by devastating rains that plunged vulnerable families into a deep crisis, killing many, ravaging properties, farms, and livestock, and displacing many people.

In Togo, last year’s heavy rains killed five (5) people, left 17 injured and affected 24,889 people–with 6,717 households and more than 2,098 hectares of crops devastated.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s capital expenditures stood at CFA610.8 billion in 2022, up 60% from CFA379.8 billion in 2021. The BCEAO, WAEMU’s Central Bank, recently released the estimates.  

The funds were spent by ministries on various projects–infrastructure, energy, and transportation projects, among others–and public grants. The increase in capital expenditures translates Lomé’s commitment to fostering Togo’s economic recovery post-Covid. 

Togo's capital expenditures stood at CFA394.2 million in 2020, dipped to CFA379.8 million, and went back up significantly last year.

Overall, State expenditures experienced a similar increase, going from CFA1,139.5 billion in 2021 to CFA1,501.6 billion in 2022, up 31%, according to Central Bank estimates.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi