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The Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development of ECOWAS (DARD) has a Monitoring & Evaluation Unit that became quite vibrant and effective after 2015, since it was operational on a skeletal basis up until 2015. This unit has over the years developed several tools such as the ECOWAP M&E Mechanism and Indicators handbook among others. While the Regional ECOWAP/CAADP M&E Mechanism exists and is operational, this process is fragmented because all the institutions and organizations that currently contribute to the process have their respective instruments of collection, analysis and reporting. To increase the effectiveness of the ECOWAP/CAADP monitoring and evaluation system, it is necessary to strengthen the existing mechanism so that all contributors to the ECOWAP/CAADP M&E mechanism will have a common tool for data collection, analysis and reporting.

The Regional ECOWAP/CAADP M&E Mechanism involves many actors, mainly Governments and other international organizations, and requires the possibility to manage and make available a considerable quantity of data and information that come from a wide variety of sources. This implies having a powerful technology base to be able to contain all the information and be accessible to all the interested parties. Given the wide range of sources to obtain information (Member States, International Intergovernmental Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, Professional Organizations, Private Sector, NGOs, Researchers, etc.) and to monitor the progress of the activities carried out under the ECOWAP/CAADP, the use of technology is highly recommended and probably the only way to reach as many interested parties as possible in a timely manner. Monitoring progress depends on input, process and output indicators and hence has to rely on routinely collected data from Member States and relevant regional institutions.

The M&E Unit of DARD, with guidance from the Director of Agriculture, Alain Sy TRAORE, therefore considered developing a web-based platform to be used as a tool to facilitate implementation and to provide information for monitoring and reporting, collecting validated data and linking together various information coming from different sources that would inform decisions.

During an internal consultation, the ECOWAP M&E team, in collaboration with a consultant, were able to develop a Software Requirements Specification document that describes the requirements, the architecture as well as the implementation process of the ECOWAP Web-based M&E system. More specifically, all user profiles, input interface and output results, and a proposal for deployment and management of the system were designed and available. In collaboration with the regional M&E working group, the demo of the platform was validated, and the web platform fully developed and tested.

The web-based M&E system that has been developed is intended to:

• Provide online updates to all stakeholders including the general public of all events occurring within the ECOWAP/CAADP encompassing all activities that are undertaken by individual stakeholders, programs or projects;
• Automate reports on programs and projects implemented under the ECOWAP, various impact analysis and studies carried out in the sector.
• Aid tracking of ECOWAP/CAADP implementation and systematic collection, collation, and analysis;
• Automate reporting of performance information based on agreed indicators in the Result Framework;
• Provide an electronic way of documenting and communicating results (achievements) in a timely and accurate manner;
• Help in knowledge sharing: Share media information, meetings/conferences, success stories, and best practices.
• Provide a governance mechanism to base decisions on evidence and communication instruments in order to permanently reinforce the inclusive and participatory nature of the ECOWAP/CAADP Process.
• Assists in the smooth interaction between different users.

This M&E Web System has been hosted and is available on this link: http://ecowap.ecowas.int/.

Following finalization of the platform and its launching at ECOWAP Projects and Programs’ Steering Committees on 31 March 2021, a user guide on how to interact with the platform was developed. Training on this user guide was organized by ECOWAS/DARD with the support of the PAGR-SANAD project, under EU financial support. This training took place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, for regional stakeholders from 20 to 22 September 2021.

The training focused on:

1. How experts from regional institutions would gain access to the web M&E system;
2. The various components of the system so that regional partners know where, how and when to upload and or retrieve information;
3. Uploading documents from their various institutions to ensure outstanding documents required to be on the system are uploaded.

At total, 19 participants attended this workshop. Apart from, ECOWAS (DARD and ARAA/RAAF), the main stakeholders present were: CORAF, FAO, Action Aid International, AKADEMIYA2063, IITA, Africa Rice, FEWACCI, CILSS and the African Union Commission.

After this training of actors at the regional level, the consolidation of the platform is underway. The training of ECOWAS Member States will take place in November this year and the effective use of the platform by the various actors will take place once all these