From 29 to 31 October, the Togolese Capital Lome hosted a crucial meeting for the stakeholders and implementing partners of the West African Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP). The workshop provided an opportunity to take stock of activities under component 3 of the programme, devoted to the integration of trade and regional agricultural markets. This mid-term review of the programme, which was launched in June 2022, was a strategic step in measuring the impact of actions taken in the region to boost food security.
The year 2024, a pivotal one for the FSRP, represents a period of evaluation and adjustment of activities with a view to achieving the objectives set for 2026. During the three-day workshop, discussions focused on analysing the progress made, the successes achieved, and the challenges encountered, paving the way for recommendations to overcome the obstacles identified.
The activities of component 3 of FSRP aim to create a unified commercial environment, by harmonising sanitary and phytosanitary standards between Member States, modernising transport and storage infrastructures, and promoting strategic trade corridors. These initiatives help to reduce transaction costs, while improving access to information on agricultural markets for better planning and more informed economic decision-making by producers.
During the meeting, and in the light of the fruitful exchanges with the countries, all the stakeholders reaffirmed their desire to benefit from ECOWAS support to better understand and facilitate the implementation of Community regulations and measures with a view to improving the quality of local products and increasing the competitiveness of producers on the regional market. Intra-regional trade in agricultural products is expected to increase, strengthening the resilience of supply chains to climatic and economic disruptions.
Funded by the World Bank, the FSRP closely links national and regional actions to ensure a coordinated response to the region’s food challenges. Component 3 plays a fundamental role in this process, aiming to stimulate agricultural trade by developing the main trade corridors and supporting priority value chains.
The joint efforts of regional and national stakeholders demonstrate a shared vision of agricultural market integration as a lever for food security and sustainable development in West Africa. ECOWAS will continue to play a pivotal role in supporting Member States in achieving the ambitions of FSRP component 3 of which remains a key driver for the future of agricultural trade and resilience in the region.
