News

• The Comité régional des semences et plants d'Afrique de l'Ouest (CRSPAO) will hold its seventh statutory meeting in Cotonou from June 08 to 10, 2022;
• The meeting will provide members with an opportunity to learn about the progress made in implementing harmonized regional seed and seedling regulations in the seventeen (17) member states;
• Other strategic issues relating to agricultural inputs will be discussed and a new instrument adopted.

[Cotonou, 06 June 2022] CORAF is inviting the main players in the West African and Sahelian seed sector to the seventh statutory meeting of the West African Regional Seed and Plant Committee (CRSPAO) in Benin's economic capital, Cotonou, from June 08 to 10, 2022.

Under the aegis of the Commissions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), and the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the meeting will provide an opportunity to review the implementation of the conclusions and recommendations of its sixth iteration, held in Conakry from June 06 to 08, 2021, and to examine and discuss the status of implementation of harmonized regional seed regulations in member states.

"Member states of the ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS region are making commendable efforts to implement harmonized regional seed and plant regulations. The seventh meeting of CRSPAO will provide an opportunity to take stock of the progress made in this direction, identify the challenges encountered and determine the paths to follow for full implementation and the emergence of a strong seed industry in the region", declares Dr Abdou TENKOUANO, Executive Director of CORAF. 

Harmonized regional seed regulations have been adopted and implemented in the fifteen (15) ECOWAS countries, plus Mauritania and Chad (ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS area).

CORAF has been mandated to act as the permanent secretariat for CRSPAO, and is responsible for facilitating and coordinating its implementation in member states. 

"Member states are not all at the same level in implementing harmonized regional seed regulations. This annual meeting will enable countries to capitalize on their experiences, to accelerate the development of the seed industry in the region", says Dr. TENKOUANO.

Harmonization ofseedimport andexportprocedures

The Cotonou CRSPAO meeting is also expected to adopt a new instrument, the Manual of Harmonized Regional Procedures for the Import and Export of Seeds in West Africa and the Sahel, to facilitate the circulation of seeds between member states.

Initiated at a previous meeting held in Ouagadougou in 2021, the draft manual was recently validated in Lomé, in May 2022.

"One of the objectives of the annual CRSPAO meetings is to adopt complementary executive regulations. In this sense, it is expected that the manual of harmonized regional procedures for the import and export of seeds in West Africa and the Sahel will be adopted at the Cotonou meeting", says Dr. TENKOUANO. 

"The manual of harmonized regional procedures for the import and export of seeds in West Africa and the Sahel aims to remove barriers to the movement of seeds between member states, due to the divergence of regulations hitherto observed at national level".

This new regulation will complement and reinforce all the protocols already in force in the Member States.

In addition to the adoption of this new regulation, participants will be discussing other strategic issues relating to agricultural inputs that are common to all member states.

Over fifty players will be taking part in the meeting, including representatives of the National Seed Committees of member states in the ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS region, representatives of the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions, representatives of regional farmers' organizations and several other key players in the seed sector, including the private sector.

The meeting is organized within the framework of the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development in West Africa(PAIRED) program, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Read also:

• Paving the way for quality seeds within the ECOWAS-CILSS zone
• The West African Seed Committee takes steps to strengthen the seed sector
• The 6th CRSPAO meeting in pictures
• Implementing harmonized seed regulations in West Africa: What's the way forward?