The primary sector, a strong potential
The primary sector accounts for about 20% of GDP and provides a living for more than 60% of the working population. It is mainly based on agriculture, especially cocoa, coffee and palm oil production. However, with poor infrastructure, non-existent public services and a large number of smallholders, productivity is low. As a result, the country has to import much of its food, especially rice. Foreign investors are helping to diversify and increase agricultural production, such as the French company Hénaff, which imports all the organic pepper it needs from 250 local producers, amounting to more than 12,000 tonnes per year. The production of certified organic cocoa is rising, having increased from 40 tons to nearly 1,100 tons between 2006 and 2015. The sector offers producers a price more than six times higher than that of conventional cocoa. However, cocoa production suffers from the parcelling out of land, which strongly constrains its development, and also from climate change, with more and more droughts recorded. Today, some private initiatives are trying to diversify crops to compensate for the lower profitability of cocoa and coffee: vanilla, pepper and palm nut crops are among these experiments. Fishing offers real economic prospects and could prove decisive for employment, income, food security and diversification. While locals practice small-scale fishing, industrial fishing has been agreed with the European Union (EU) to allow trawlers, mainly from Spain, France and Portugal, to ply Santomean waters. Palm wine production is also a typical local product, as is coconut for its pulp and oil.
Tourism, a developing sector
Tourism offers strong growth potential, and the government is counting on it to become the driving force behind the country's development. The number of visitors is rising steadily, in line with the increase in accommodation capacity, and is expected to reach 15,100 by 2021, compared with 8,000 in 2010. The archipelago's formidable tourism potential is based on its unique cultural and natural heritage. But structural constraints remain, such as the high cost of air travel, which is still high due to the limited number of air links, even if the number of rotations is increasing. Large-scale projects are in the pipeline and should be coming on stream soon, such as the creation of a tourism and hotel school in the capital.
Hydrocarbons, São Tomé's dream
Offshore oil and gas production in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) could transform the economy of São Tomé and Príncipe. In 2001, the establishment of a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) between Nigeria and the archipelago enabled the two countries to obtain rights to exploit this oil-rich area. The prospects for drilling are still uncertain and are marred by contractual disagreements over profit sharing, which is considered unequal. Drilling has begun, but the process is long and the financial windfall is slow in coming. Hopes are now turning to the creation of a Special Joint Exploration Zone with Equatorial Guinea, signed in March 2020, where São Tomé will be able to benefit from its neighbour's experience in the field of hydrocarbons.
