News

Countries and regional institutions (CORAF, ECOWAS, CILSS) recently shared progress made in implementing the West African Food System Resilience Program (PRSA/FSRP) at the second summary meeting of support missions held in Saly Portudal, Senegal, from May 16 to 19, 2023. The aim of the meeting was to present the progress of program activities at national and regional level, and to discuss the challenges to be met in the second half of 2023.

The meeting was attended by some 80 participants representing regional institutions, beneficiary countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Togo, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Chad) and the World Bank. The PRSA/FSRP is designed to strengthen risk management in regional food systems, improve the sustainability of agricultural production in target areas and develop regional agricultural markets.

" I remain convinced that the successful implementation of the Food System Resilience Program will also strengthen the capacities of national agricultural research systems and the large-scale dissemination of agricultural innovations and technologies in the region. CORAF and its various partners thus have a key role to play in this process by helping to identify the most appropriate technologies for the region, facilitating the dissemination of these technologies and innovations, and mobilizing the necessary resources to support their adoption and wide-scale use ", said Dr. Abdou Tenkouano, Executive Director of CORAF in his welcoming remarks to the meeting.

Over the course of the five-day meeting, plenary presentations were followed by discussions, enabling the main results achieved, lessons learned and challenges encountered in different areas to be shared. These areas included the development of digital advisory services for the prevention and management of agricultural and food crises, the strengthening of the sustainability and adaptability of the food system's productive base, and the development of regional integration to reinforce synergies between implementing actors.

Specific technical meetings were also organized to facilitate coordination between the heads of national and regional centers of specialization, environmental safeguard and social development specialists, as well as monitoring and evaluation experts and coordinators. The aim was to define appropriate mechanisms and approaches for monitoring and documenting the results and experiences of the PRSA/FSRP.

The meeting provided an opportunity to identify the institutional and technical needs of countries in order to better coordinate support from regional institutions. Participants also stressed the importance of greater collaboration and cooperation between national and regional players to meet the challenges and accelerate the implementation of activities for the benefit of beneficiaries.

Alongside the classroom discussions, participants had the opportunity to visit the Centre d'étude régional pour l'amélioration de l'adaptation à la sécheresse (CERAAS) in the Thiès region, which is an ECOWAS regional center of excellence for dry cereals. This center is part of the PRSA/FSRP scheme for innovations and technologies linked to climate-smart agriculture. The technologies developed by CERAAS can be scaled up for integrated landscape management. The third synthesis meeting of the PRSA/FSRP supervision missions is scheduled for October 23-27, 2023 in Niamey, Niger. This meeting will be organized by CILSS/Agrhymet and the PRSA/FSRP National Coordination in Niger.