Discrepancies between targets and achievements in industrial forest production and export in Tanzania

Abstract

It is important to revisit our plans and compare what was ideally targeted against what was actually achieved in implementation. In comparing the achievements with targets, strengths or weaknesses of established strategies can be accepted or corrections implemented since a plan also outlines some strategies for achieving the targets set. In this study, achievements in production and export of industrial forest products, i.e., sawn wood, plywood, chipboard and fibreboard, paper and paperboard and industrial round wood, are compared against targeted figures for 1996 for Tanzania. Discrepancies were obtained by subtracting targeted from achieved values and expressed both as absolute and relative differences in terms of the targeted values, with a negative sign for production where achievements were less than targets and a positive sign when achievements were higher than targets. Values achieved ranged from 4%–100% of the targeted values, depending on the product, and were only higher than the targeted value for industrial round wood. Possible causes of the discrepancies are inefficiency of parastatal companies, low private investment, sub-maximal industrial operation and plant inefficiencies. Discrepancies could also result from unrealistic data used in planning due to difficulty in data availability and poor intra- and inter-sectoral coordination. The implications of these discrepancies are low contributions of the wood-based industry to the national economy, increased import substitution of wood-based products, increased socio-economic and environmental degradation and decreased integrity in planning and policy making.