Scaling up note: Gabon

Rural development in Gabon depends largely on growth in the agro-sylvo-pastoral subsector, but the development of the country’s agricultural potential remains incipient. The various strategies adopted by the Government since independence have not succeeded in revitalizing the sector. Currently the agriculture sector employs about 40 per cent of the country’s rural population, although it contributes just 5 per cent of GDP and represents just 0.7 per cent of the government budget. Agricultural land occupies 20 per cent (5.2 million hectares) of the country’s territory, contrasting with the small share of sector activity taking place on less than 10 per cent of arable land. The rural population, which accounted for 20 per cent of the Gabonese people in 2000, is falling steadily as the urban population grows, and represented just 13 per cent of the population in 2013.