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On October 26, 2022, CORAF's Executive Director, Dr Abdou TENKOUANO, was received in audience by Her Excellency, Mrs Massandje TOURE-LITSE, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission. 

On the agenda was a courtesy visit which enabled Dr TENKOUANO to present CORAF and its Strategic Plan to the Commissioner, as well as the historic partnership with ECOWAS.

After introducing CORAF, its origins and composition, and how it aligns with continental and regional policies, Dr TENKOUANO recalled some of the main achievements of the partnership between CORAF and ECOWAS. 

CORAF, the technical arm of ECOWAS

"The Agreement between ECOWAS and CORAF dates from December 21, 2005, and under the terms of this agreement, CORAF is the technical arm of ECOWAS, helping it to implement its Regional Agricultural Policy," said Dr Abdou TENKOUANO, Executive Director of CORAF.

"It should be remembered that the agreement was signed in the same year as the adoption of ECOWAP, which was chosen as the unique framework in West Africa for the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)", he added. 

CAADP is the agricultural component of the global development strategy adopted by the continent at the dawn of the third millennium: the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

A positive balance sheet

Collaboration between CORAF and ECOWAS has led to the implementation of a number of large-scale programs in West Africa, whose impact on the local population continues to be perceptible even after they have been completed.

These programs include :

• The Programme de productivité agricole en Afrique de l'Ouest (PPAAO), whose success has led to the development of another program, the Programme de résilience des systèmes alimentaires (PRSA) - financed by the World Bank to the tune of around 400 million USD and covering Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Togo;
• The Seed Program for West Africa (PSAO), in addition to its other offshoots, the Rice Offensive and the Ebola Emergency;
• Project to support the regional fruit fly control plan in West Africa;
• And many other programs and initiatives to support countries.

"All in all, we can say that the balance sheet of the nearly twenty (20) year partnership between CORAF and ECOWAS is largely positive, with numerous programs that have impacted the lives of millions of direct and indirect beneficiaries across West Africa," affirmed Dr. TENKOUANO. 

"We look forward to continuing our role as the technical arm of ECOWAS, and to implementing high-impact programs for the people of West Africa, helping to guarantee food and nutritional security and income for the population.

H.E. Mme MASSADJE-TOURE was recently appointed ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, succeeding Commissioner Sékou SANGARÉ, who was appointed in 2018.

She took up her post on July 13 and, like her predecessor, will be in charge of this portfolio at the ECOWAS Commission for four (04) years.