Haja B. Koroma, a single mother, moved to Makeni from Freetown after getting married. However, her husband abandoned her with her two children, both enrolled at university, leaving her stranded in Makeni with no relatives nearby. Faced with increasing responsibilities, Haja began breaking stones to support her children.

The following year, she met Med-Tula Agro Rice Processing Center, a trader in agricultural products who introduced her to farming. Med-Tula, which was then contracted by the Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP), provided agricultural inputs and mechanisation services to farmers as part of the programme.

Thanks to FSRP's support, Haja received seeds, fertilisers and mechanisation services, including ploughing, harrowing and harvesting, all free of charge. This intervention has transformed her life. Before receiving this aid, Haja relied on non-performing loans to finance her farming activities and often struggled to pay her children's university fees. But last year, for the first time, she did not need a loan and was able to pay their school fees easily.

Reflecting on her journey, Haja said: ‘I felt like I was dead alive when my husband left me. Being a single mother in a city with no family, with two children at university, was overwhelming. But meeting the FSRP gave me hope. The smiles on my face when I realised that I could repay my loans and that I still had enough money were priceless’.

One of Haja's children graduated last year, which was a proud moment for her. She now supports her family independently through farming, which she sees as a business. With enough seeds for the current season, Haja plans to expand her crops and increase her rice production. Her aim is to generate more income and build a stable future for her family.

Haja's story is a testament to the transformative impact of FSRP and the power of resilience in the face of adversity.

The 9ᵉ edition of the National Livestock Day, held in Kaolack (Central Zone) in February 2025, highlighted the challenges and opportunities of the sector in Senegal. The event, which brought together various stakeholders from the rural world, particularly livestock farmers, provided an opportunity to take stock of the livestock sector and propose sustainable solutions. Among the structuring initiatives, the Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) is positioned as an essential lever for transforming livestock farming in Senegal in a sustainable manner and strengthening the resilience of the food system.

Livestock farming plays a key role in Senegal's economy, contributing to both food security and job creation in rural areas. The discussions and recommendations arising from the 9ᵉ Journée de l'Élevage highlighted the need for a strong commitment to the sustainable development of the sector. Indeed, several major challenges were raised by stakeholders in the sector, including livestock theft, inadequate pastoral infrastructure, the scarcity of fodder and water resources, the need to improve health cover, the low genetic potential of animals and limited access to finance for livestock farmers. The FSRP provides a response to these challenges by improving access to infrastructure, animal health, livestock feed, production and processing and marketing capacities through community-based agricultural cooperatives (CACs) and the funding of sub-projects through the Matching Grant (MG) and Integrated Landscape Management (GIP) sub-projects, etc.

Strategic investments in livestock farming in Senegal

The FSRP is a regional programme funded to the tune of US$230 million by the World Bank and IFAD. Through its actions, it aims to strengthen the resilience of the food system by supporting livestock farmers, improving animal health and modernising infrastructure.  Ultimately, the FSRP's actions in Senegal should directly affect 600,000 beneficiaries, including 240,000 women, and will result in the financing of 1,144 sub-projects in the livestock sub-sector, the construction of 20 veterinary posts, 2 border inspection posts (PIF), and the construction of 100 vaccination parks to ensure effective control and combating of priority animal diseases. There are also plans to build 5 fattening platforms for cattle and pigs.

To help bring the livestock sector up to standard, the FSRP Senegal plans to rehabilitate the Centre d'Application des Techniques d'Élevage (CATE) and set up an incubation centre for animal products equipped to encourage innovation and processing. Support is also planned for the national veterinary research laboratory (LNERV), the vaccine production unit and the Dakar veterinary school.

In order to strengthen the modernisation of the sub-sector, 4 Centres d'Impulsion pour la Modernisation de l'Élevage (CIMEL) will be rehabilitated and equipped. The programme also includes the upgrading of national laboratories and the acquisition of 2 Border Inspection Posts (BIPs), which will be built at Kidira (border with Mali) and Karang (border with Gambia) to strengthen livestock health controls.

Livestock CACs’ to improve productivity

The National Livestock Day highlighted the importance of structuring animal value chains to ensure better value for livestock products, the provision of appropriate infrastructure, access to water, and the promotion of technological innovation and good practice.

Together with its partners, the FSRP is implementing a major programme to address these challenges through the establishment of fifty (50) modern agricultural farms, dedicated to Community Agricultural Cooperatives (CACs) for farming and livestock production. Worth USD 22.5 million, the modern farms for the CACs will be spread over a total area of one thousand (1,000) hectares and should, among other things, promote fodder farming, access to water, cattle, sheep, goat, pig and poultry rearing, processing of livestock products, etc.

Livestock co-operatives will also benefit from training in modern livestock techniques, genetic improvement of livestock and efficient use of water resources. These initiatives aim to increase productivity and reduce the vulnerability of livestock systems to climate shocks.

The FSRP also includes support for the organisation and structuring of livestock sectors in order to improve producers‘and breeders’ access to local and regional markets, in addition to sustainable land management initiatives, in particular the fight against desertification and the preservation of pastoral rangelands and ‘nature-based solutions’ (NBS) practices in GIPs. By integrating these practices, the FSRP contributes to better adaptation of the livestock sector to climate challenges.

Convergence of objectives between the FSRP and the Senegal 2050 vision

By integrating targeted actions and strategic investments, FSRP is actively contributing to the modernisation and resilience of the livestock sector in Senegal. Thanks to these efforts, the programme is not only helping to secure livestock farmers' incomes, but also to improve the country's food sovereignty and combat unemployment among young people and women.

The lessons learned from the National Livestock Day confirm the convergence of objectives between the FSRP and the Senegal 2050 vision. They also reflect the relevance of the FSRP's actions in modernising the livestock sector in Senegal. Through its targeted interventions, the programme is helping to secure livestock farmers' livelihoods and guarantee sustainable and competitive livestock production. Its role remains crucial in ensuring a resilient and inclusive food system in Senegal.

The low level of fertility of most soils in Burkina Faso is mainly characterised by a low level of organic matter and a lack of nutrients. This is a constraint on increasing soil productivity.

To remedy this situation, synthetic chemical fertilisers are commonly used, with their limitations: pollution and loss of biodiversity, degradation of farming systems, high costs for producers, high demand for organic manure, production constraints.

With a view to strengthening the resilience of ecological and food systems, the PRSA-BF is supporting sixteen (16) micro-project promoters in setting up organic manure production units.

Mr SIMBORO Rachide, a promoter in the Centre-East region, runs an organic manure production unit enriched with Trichoderma.

Support from the Programme has enabled him to make the following investments: (i) the construction of 24 compost production areas, (ii) the construction of 03 organic residue storage areas, (iii) the construction of an organic manure storage warehouse, (iv) the installation of an irrigation system for compost maturation from a borehole, (v) the acquisition of a multifunction crusher, a heavy-duty tricycle, a compactor, a digital scale, a bag sewing machine, handling materials and equipment and personal protective equipment.

Mr SIMBORO's production unit employs 15 women and 04 men. In two (02) months of operation, the unit has been able to produce more than 36 tonnes of organic manure, 23 tonnes of which have already been delivered to the tune of 2 million 300 thousand CFA francs, and contracts have been signed with rice producers in Bagré and Kouritenga for the delivery of 60 tonnes of organic manure thanks to the support of the FSRP. 

The recurrence of climatic disturbances, pest attacks (army worms and others) and plant diseases, coupled with a fragile security climate, are factors that expose many people every year to the risk of food insecurity and malnutrition.

The major consequence is the decapitalisation of communities' livelihoods, with the corollary of a deterioration in the nutritional status of the most vulnerable groups. Faced with this situation, the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme, Burkina Faso Component (FSRP-BF), in collaboration with the Executive Secretariat of the National Food Security Council (SE-CNSA), has undertaken to implement the Resilience Basket (RB).

The PdR is a package of interventions designed to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable populations. It improves the food and nutritional security of vulnerable households by strengthening their livelihoods.  The programme has supported 102 vulnerable households, 18 of which are headed by women and 07 by young people. These households come from 09 villages in 03 regions. Each household received: i) 30kg of maize seed; ii) 10kg of cowpea seed; iii) 80g of vegetable seed (tomato and onion); iv) 750kg of fertiliser (200kg NPK, 550kg Urea); v) ploughing of 3 ha; vi) 01 kits of vegetable production equipment (wheelbarrow, watering can, hoe, etc.); vii) local technical supervision. This support enabled each household to plant 01 ha of cowpeas, 02 ha of maize and 0.25 ha of market gardens.

These households will be supported over a period of 03 years, and the aim of the support is to get them out of their vulnerable situation.

At the end of the first year, the beneficiaries recorded an increase in their production, yields and income. This has enabled the households to adequately meet their food and nutritional needs and to diversify their sources of income through related activities (small-scale livestock farming and others) following the sale of their surplus production, all of which contributes to improving their livelihoods and strengthening their resilience.

Mr BOUGMA Piraogo Marcel, is one of the beneficiaries of the PdR in the village of Nassoulou in the commune of Kindi, in the province of Boulkiemdé in the Centre West region. He describes the benefits of the PoR as follows: ‘Before the support, we used to grow small quantities of maize behind our cages so that we could eat fresh maize as soon as it was harvested. We didn't know that our soils were suitable for growing this crop over such large areas. So, for lack of means, we never tried. This experiment has shown us that maize production is profitable, and I intend to continue. My production of cowpeas and market garden produce wasn't as developed, but the advice and grants I've received have improved it a lot’.

Mrs KIEMTORE Jeanne, a beneficiary from the same locality, said she was pleased with the initiative and described it in these terms: ‘I wasn't producing maize because I didn't have enough resources to do so. So we didn't eat any. I only produced a small portion of cowpea. This didn't allow us to cover our food and other needs. The support I received enabled me to grow large quantities of maize and cowpeas that would enable me to meet my household's food requirements for several years. I'm going to work to maintain this momentum.
 

The key success factors are the commitment of the beneficiaries and their community to the success of the initiative, the integration of maize into the eating habits of vulnerable households, the coverage of their food and nutritional needs, the adoption of good agricultural practices by the beneficiaries, and the support of technical services and local authorities.
 

35 Agricultural Trade and Development Experts from Chad, Ghana, Niger, Sierra Leone, Togo, and ECOWAS Commission assembled in Lomé from February 24 to 28, 2025, to analyze and re-port on 2024 data on trade flows in agricultural products in the region.

The meeting is part of the implementation of Component 3 of the West Africa Food System Re-silience Programme (FSRP), which focuses on the integration of regional food markets and trade. Within the framework, an analysis tool, the ECOWAS Agricultural Trade and Markets Scorecard (EATM-Scorecard) has been developed with the support of AKADEMIYA2063 to facili-tate the documentation of intra-regional trade in agri-food products, identify gaps in trade pol-icies and strengthen their implementation at regional level. Through this tool, ECOWAS aims to provide decision-makers with strategic data to guide policy reforms and promote intra-regional trade.

Since February 2024, seven countries – Ghana, Niger, Sierra Leone, Chad, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Mali began implementing the Scorecard. Data collection has been completed in Ghana, Niger, Sierra Leone, Chad, and Togo, marking a crucial step toward the data analysis and vali-dation phase of the project.

The workshop was an opportunity to provide support to the national technical teams. Specifi-cally, participants assessed the data collection process and analyzed the data to identify gaps and missing information, familiarize themselves with the Scorecard platform, and appropriate data analysis tools developed.

In parallel sessions, country and ECOWAS communication specialists worked on adapting the communication strategy and tools linked to the initiative.

The entire process was conducted with oversight from the ECOWAS regional Scorecard team comprising experts from the Trade Directorate, the Agriculture and Rural Development Direc-torate, and the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF/ARAA).

Speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission at the opening of the workshop, Mr. Christo-pher Mensah-Yawson, Program Officer for Trade Development at the Trade Directorate and Manager of the Scorecard at the regional level, stressed the importance of this tool in helping to facilitate intra-regional trade in West Africa, which is still weak between countries, and called for the extension of this tool to other ECOWAS countries not yet involved in the FSRP.

This initiative represents a decisive step towards better integration of agricultural markets and strengthening agri-food trade policies in West Africa. In addition, the Scorecard shall improve the communication of data on agricultural trade, with recommendations for countries to en-hance their performance in the context of agricultural trade.

The first report to be generated using the Scorecard is expected to be published in June 2025 in recognition of 50 years of the existence of ECOWAS

Subsequent to the workshop, the country teams will organize national workshops to validate the Scorecard implementation process and data with the support of the regional team.

On the initiative of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), some thirty young researchers from the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in West Africa were trained in meta-analysis in Lomé/Togo. This regional meeting, held from 29 October to 02 November 2024, brought together researchers and teachers from countries benefiting from the Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP) and doctoral students sponsored by the said Programme, from some fifteen West African countries.

Participants were trained in the fundamental concepts of agricultural data management and analysis, with a view to mastering the tools and techniques that will enable them to carry out metadata analyses.

Thanks to this training, participants have an exportable database that they can use to write scientific articles and capitalise on the results for CORAF and their respective NARS.

This training course in Lomé/Togo initiated by CORAF is a response to the needs expressed by its members in terms of capacity building on emerging themes and practices in the agricultural sector.

Experts agree that meta-analysis of data has become an essential part of scientific research, particularly in the field of agriculture. It represents a quantitative assessment of knowledge on a given subject, making it an essential skill to acquire, over and above the traditional skills of literature review.

Indeed, the application of metadata analysis in the field of agriculture could facilitate the identification of data gaps and formulate new and robust research questions to be addressed to achieve food security. By combining the results of individual or national studies, meta-analysis produces summaries and conclusions that can be used to explain regional mechanisms or phenomena.

As part of the implementation of Component 1 of the West African Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), AGRHYMET CCR-AOS/CILSS, in collaboration with Walker Institute, organised a workshop from 21 to 26 July 2024 in Dakar (Senegal) for the co-development of training modules and the validation of training impact assessment tools. Walter Institute is affiliated to the University of Reading and is based in England. Modules have been co-developed to update the AGRHYMET CCR-AOS Training and Research Department (DFR) training courses, and online forms have been designed to enable the training courses to be evaluated.

This face-to-face workshop is the culmination of several virtual collaboration sessions with Walker Institute. It helped to strengthen the AGRHYMET CCR-AOS Centre's training programme by co-producing final content. The experts also formulated recommendations with a view to setting up a long-term AGRHYMET CCR-AOS/CILSS programme, including the organisation of summer schools.

Participants from the two institutions at the Dakar meeting defined a roadmap for their future collaboration. As a reminder, component 1 of the FSRP is entitled "Digital   advisory services for the prevention and management of agricultural and food crises" and is financed by the World Bank. The training component is integrated into Component 1 and plays a key role.

Component 1 of the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FRSP), under the coordination of AGRHYMET CCR-AOS/CILSS, organised two regional technical meetings from 1 to 6 July 2024 in Accra (Ghana), with the French-speaking and English-speaking beneficiary countries : Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Chad, Togo, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Around fifty people took part in these two meetings.

The two regional meetings reviewed the implementation of component 1 of the FSRP, which concerns digital advisory services for the prevention and management of agricultural and food crises. At the official ceremonies of these meetings, the Head of the "Climate, Water and Weather" department of AGRHYMET CCR-AOS emphasised the importance of these frameworks, which provide an opportunity to meet both the PRSP coordinators (regional and national) and, above all, the technical services responsible for implementing the project. "These meetings will enable the PRSP coordinations to better understand the needs of the technical services and to take them into account in their planning", said Dr Abdou Ali. The host country's PRSP National Coordinator, Osei Owusu Agyeman, stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together: "We must all join forces to combat food insecurity. This is why we have come together".

Through plenary sessions and group discussions, these meetings enabled countries to share their experiences. It emerged from the presentations that some successes have been achieved, but that there are still challenges to be met. The discussions also provided an opportunity to learn more about the activities of AGRHYMET CCR-AOS through the presentation of the "Guide to services" brochure by the Coordinator, Dr Agali Alhassane. The discussions provided a common understanding of the programme's monitoring and evaluation indicators.

In addition, the FSRP Component 1 mission team collected the institutional needs of participants by country. These needs focused mainly on tailor-made or long-term technical training courses on the themes covered by the AGRHYMET CCR-AOS/CILSS offers. Before the end of each meeting, participants made a number of recommendations. One of these, addressed to AGRHYMET CCR-AOS, concerned the regular organisation of regional technical meetings with the beneficiary countries. 

As part of the implementation of Component 1 of the West African Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), a capacity-building workshop was held from 24 to 26 June 2024 in Niamey/Niger for the staff of AGRHYMET CCR-AOS, a specialised agency of the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) based in Niamey. This in situ training focused on the theme: "Taking into account gender and gender-based violence (GBV), sexual abuse and exploitation (SAE) and sexual harassment (SH) in the development of food and nutrition security projects and programmes". It was organised as part of FSRP component 1 entitled "Digital advisory services for the prevention and management of agricultural and food crises", implemented by AGRHYMET CCR-AOS with funding from the World Bank. The aim is to contribute to the elimination of inequalities between men and women in activities in the agricultural and climate sectors. This important training course was attended by some twenty AGRHYMET CCR-AOS experts active in the design and implementation of projects and programmes for the benefit of West African and Sahelian communities.

At the opening ceremony, the Coordinator of Component 1 of the FSRP project, Dr Alhassane Agali, welcomed the participants. He stressed that the issues of environmental and social safeguards, in general, and GBV and AES/HS, in particular, are firmly on the AGRHYMET CCR-AOS agenda as important performance standards for the security of the stakeholders and beneficiaries of its interventions in the countries of West Africa and the Sahel. The training workshop was opened by Prof. Atta Sanoussi, Head of the Training and Research Department (DFR), representing the Director General of AGRHYMET CCR-AOS. In his speech, Pr Sanoussi mentioned the relevance of the activity, which is in line with the CILSS gender policy, and congratulated the FSRP project's component 1 on its choice of theme and pedagogical approach.

The workshop was jointly facilitated by Dr Mariame Maïga, Regional Gender and Social Development Advisor at CORAF (Senegal) and the FSRP's GBV Prevention, Response and Mitigation Expert, Ms Assétou Kaboré (Niger) based at AGRHYMET CCR-AOS. At the end of the workshop, the participants expressed their satisfaction with the new knowledge acquired in relation to gender and GBV. Indeed, the trainers clarified the concepts of gender and GBV in relation specifically to food and nutritional security, a vital area for women and men exposed to the effects of climate change in the sub-region. 

Forty (41) participants, including 08 women, all staff members of the AGRHYMET CCR-AOS Regional Centre, familiarised themselves with the concepts of "Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSSE) at work" from 6 to 9 May 2024 in Niamey, Niger. This hybrid (face-to-face and online) training course was organised as part of the implementation of Component 1 of the West African Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP) funded by the World Bank.

At the official opening ceremony on 6 May, the Head of Component 1 of the FRSP, Dr Alhassane Agali, welcomed participants and set the context for this meeting, which was part of the implementation of environmental and social safeguard activities, including Exploitation, Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment (EAS/HS). The Director General of AGRHYMET, represented by Dr Abdou Ali, Head of the Information and Research Department, praised the relevance of the theme and encouraged participants to make the most of it.

The modules focused on QHSSE regulations and risks. During the training, the head of the CILSS Management and Human Resources Unit presented the CILSS staff performance evaluation system. The training course was well attended, and linked theory and practice through a guided tour of the entomology laboratory and the AGRHYMET TELECOM room.

QHSSE refers to a set of disciplines and practices implemented in organisations to ensure a safe, healthy, environmentally-friendly and high-quality working environment.

This training will bring considerable benefits to the learners in terms of safety, health, skills and well-being, while making a positive contribution to the efficiency and reputation of the AGRHYMET regional centre. This is why the Director General of the AGRHYMET regional centre, Dr Mahalmoudou Hamadoun Maiga, did not fail to welcome the results achieved while urging the workers benefiting from this training to put into practice the knowledge acquired for the benefit of the AGRHYMET CCR-AOS centre.