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The Commissioner for Agriculture of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called on West African players to be innovative in the supply of agricultural inputs to smallholders.

Commissioner Sekou Sangare spoke at the closing ceremony of an annual forum of West African agricultural input players in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Wednesday, February 12, 2020.

ECOWAS now requires its partners to dialogue, understand each other, align and complement their interventions, and take advantage of limited resources to better provide inputs to small-scale farmers.

Following an initial partner forum held in Dakar, Senegal, in early 2019, nearly 55 organizations, including private sector companies, policymakers, research institutions and development partners met in Abuja, Nigeria, from February 10 to 12, 2020. Their primary objective was to better understand where, when and what the different players are doing, with the overall aim of improving coordination of input supply to farmers.

"Our ambition is to produce enough food to be able to feed our population by 2025. This deadline is just a few years away," said Sekou Sangare, the ECOWAS Commission's Commissioner for Agriculture.

The ECOWAS Commissioner stressed the urgency of acting quickly and innovatively to produce enough food to feed the region.

"We are starting a difficult year, particularly in the Sahel. 12 million people are suffering from insufficient food due to insecurity and climate change".

For the senior ECOWAS official, this means that business as usual is not a viable option. He stressed farmers' willingness to innovate as long as the options available to them are practical and affordable.

"Farmers are willing to contribute to the purchase of quality inputs. If farmers receive a bag of inputs at the start of the planting season, they will be ready to pay back after the harvest. We should design inclusive seed delivery systems," he said.

Commissioner Sangare singled out a number of players in the inputs sector for their level or organization and their contribution to the supply of inputs in West Africa. The West Africa Fertilizer Association (WAFA) brings together the main players in the sector.

"One of our main objectives is to have professional organizations like WAFA to deal with issues specific to each agricultural input sector," said the Commissioner.

West Africa is currently striving to strengthen private-sector agricultural input traders, producers and processors so that they can better supply inputs to farmers. WAFA has made substantial progress in this respect - setting up a system where members pay their dues and thus putting the organization on a sustainable trajectory.

"I encourage stakeholders to professionalize the input industry so that our farmers can have access to the essential inputs they need."

"If the public systems don't work, the private sector steps in," said the ECOWAS official, to encourage private players to take ownership of supplying inputs to those in need.

West Africa's use of agricultural inputs is remarkably low compared to the rest of the world. This is slowing economic growth, blocking the agricultural sector's ability to feed its growing population, and making it more difficult to combat poverty.

For decades, a myriad of players have been involved in supplying quality inputs to farmers. But, according to the experts, lack of coordination and duplication of effort have hampered progress.

With funding from the US Agency for International Development, CORAF is leading an inclusive process aimed at getting stakeholders to work better together. This process has involved the reform of policies and regulations relating to seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as the launch of the design of a new regional strategy addressing agricultural inputs in an integrated way. The strategy is due to be validated in early April 2020.

More photos of the meeting here

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Final stage in discussions on agricultural input reform in West Africa