The African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Wednesday that its next five year plan would focus on economic growth for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals on the continent.

Addressing the official opening session of the AfDB's 43rd annual general meeting in Maputo, Donald Kaberuka, the bank's president noted that economic growth of the past decade had not resulted in poverty reduction on the African continent but instead had often led to inequalities which created social tensions.

He said the bank's five year Medium Term Strategy 2008-2012 sought to locate the bank's role "within the new international aid architecture, articulating the need to focus, attempting to identify zones of lead roles and those of complementary roles.

"There are no quick fixes, and some of the issues are profound and will take time. But I am confident," said Kaberuka.

He said roundtable themes held ahead of the annual general meeting had sought to identify strategies for shared growth.

Kaberuka said 2008 would be a year of added hurdles for the continent --as it would have to tackle food and energy crises and the accelerating impact of climate change on farming systems.

"Africa's ability to manage existing risks and overcome the new threats will be put to the test," he said.

He also said the food crisis, the likely effects of which had been extensively analysed, could be overcome.

"Perhaps, for our rural farmers, if given quality support, this could turn out to be an opportunity which they have been waiting for -- where farming both large and small, finally, becomes a viable business rather than a way of eking out a meagre livelihood," he said.