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Implementation of the Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) Projects and Programmes: Working in Synergy for a better Ownership and Coordination at Regional Level

As part of the promotion of collaborative work, the 2023 meetings of the regional steering committees of ECOWAP projects and programmes will be held in an hybrid format (online and face-to-face in Lomé) from 20 February to 3 March 2023 under the leadership of the ECOWAS Commission.

The implementation of these projects and programmes at regional level mainly involves the following four (04) regional institutions: the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions, CILSS and CORAF with the sup-port of technical and financial partners.

For a better ownership and coordination at regional level, stakeholders in the project and programme steering committees recommended in 2019 that the four (04) regional institutions should further pro-mote institutional synergies and collaborative work in the implementation of the projects and pro-grammes of the regional agricultural Policy, ECOWAP. 

Since 2021, the steering committee meetings have been held in this format. Discussions are organised around the nine (09) priority thematic areas of the projects and programmes which are: i) livestock and pastoralism, ii) fisheries and aquaculture, iii) agricultural productivity and competitiveness, iv) adaptation to climate change and agroecology, v) environment, forestry and biodiversity conservation, vi) pesticide management, plant pest control and SPS, vii) resilience, food security and nutrition, viii) youth employa-bility and ix) institutional and organisational capacity building.

For 2023, the conclusions of the preliminary discussions of the technical monitoring committees of the projects and programmes held from 26 to 30 September 2022, should facilitate i) the validation of the 2022 activity reports of each project or programme, ii) the validation of the 2023 annual work plan and budget (AWPB) proposals of each project or programme, iii) the analysis of the state of implementation of the recommendations of the 2022 steering committees, and iv) the proposal of new recommendations and exchanges on synergies, convergences and complementarities between projects/programmes work-ing in the same thematic area.

The opening ceremony will be chaired by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agricul-ture, Mrs. Massandje Litsé Touré. It will be marked by an introductory panel which will allow the main intergovernmental organisations in the region to address the challenges of food and nutrition security.

“Beyond the strengthening of synergies, the Steering Committees remind us that the current context of multidimensional crises (civil and health insecurity, climate change, continuous degradation of arable land, scarcity of resources, Russia-Ukraine conflict, etc.) does not leave us any choice but to take action in working together, combining efforts, and pooling resources to ensure the food and nutrition security of our fellow citizens”, Commissioner Touré, says.

This is where lies the essence of the Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) adopted in 2005 and revised in 2015.