News

Washington, May 20, 2021 - A record 18.6 million people are currently in need of food aid in West Africa, according to the Food Crisis Prevention Network. While urgent and immediate humanitarian action is needed to protect vulnerable populations, the new publication from the World Bank and FAO sheds new light on the challenges and opportunities associated with increasingly prevalent long-term phenomena: climate change, population growth, urbanization, changing consumption habits and technological advances. 

The report, whose conclusions were jointly adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CLISS), the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), reflects a broad consensus among regional players.

The Blueprint for increasing the resilience of food systems in West Africa identifies three priority areas of intervention at regional level, whose simultaneous implementation is essential to provide the population with sufficient, affordable and nutritious food in the medium and long term: strengthening the productive base of the food system, by promoting climate-smart agriculture at farm and landscape level; promoting an enabling environment for intra-regional value chain development and trade facilitation; and improving the regional risk management architecture and decision-support tools for farmers. 

For each area of intervention, the report proposes a series of regional flagship initiatives, detailing recommended activities, implementation mechanisms, the role of different partners and other operational aspects. A virtual conference actively attended by 400 representatives of West African stakeholders helped identify these initiatives. These could, for example, focus on :

• Accelerate the transformation of the regional agricultural innovation system, following on from the West African Agricultural Productivity Program, by developing regional expertise in cross-cutting areas such as mechanization and natural resource management to complement the existing network of specialized institutions;
• Establish a mechanism to monitor countries' capacity to implement trade policies within the ECOWAS framework, in order to increase mutual accountability and create incentives to reduce persistent barriers to agri-food trade and expand outlets for producers and traders; 
• Strengthen institutional capacity and public-private cooperation to provide farmers with agronomic advice and weather information tailored to their needs, taking advantage of the widespread use of digital technologies in the region.

Several flagship initiatives are already being considered for funding through operations currently under preparation, including the West African Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), to be financed by the World Bank. Other partners are expected to provide financial support for other regional initiatives.

What the experts say:

Alain Sy Traoré, Director of Agriculture and Rural Development, ECOWAS Commission :

"West Africa, with its solid experience of regional and international cooperation, has been remarkably successful in mitigating the effects of food crises caused by climatic, health and economic shocks. Nevertheless, more financial and human resources are urgently needed to address the long-term challenges of food security, such as rapidly rising food demand, climate change and environmental degradation."

Souleymane Ouedraogo, General Manager, CILSS/AGRHYMET :

"The spread of digital technologies in West Africa could accelerate the region's progress towards achieving the resilience goals set by the African Union. For example, improved digital early warning systems and agrometeorological advisory tools could enable many producers, currently underserved by agricultural extension systems, to better adapt to increasing climate variability."

Abdou Tenkouano, Executive Director, CORAF :

"An unprecedented convergence of disruptive factors is increasingly weighing on the entire value chain of West Africa's food and agricultural sector. The region faces the dual challenge of maintaining its capacity to meet immediate food security needs, while stepping up efforts to prepare for future shocks with sufficient foresight."

Robert Zougmoré, Africa Program Manager, CGIAR/CCAFS :

"While the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragilities of West Africa's food system, concerted efforts to promote its recovery offer a unique opportunity to give the region the means to provide sufficient, nutritious food for all. Key measures should aim to: 1) capitalizing on increased investment in food systems in the context of the pandemic; 2) adopting innovative practices such as climate-smart agriculture; 3) making regional trade policies fairer; 4) investing in early warning systems; and 5) fostering a healthy agricultural workforce."

Alberta Mascaretti, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Service, FAO Investment Centre :

"Future interventions should continue to focus on the productive investments needed at the farmer level, but also pay greater attention to downstream links in the value chain. Adopting an integrated approach to food systems and leveraging the local knowledge and experience of various categories of stakeholders, including small farmers and their organizations, as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, will enable more sustainable progress towards resilience."

Chakib Jenane, Head of the World Bank's Global Agriculture Expertise Cluster for West Africa :

"Improving agricultural productivity and food system resilience is essential to mitigate future shocks in the region. This requires: (i) substantial investment in inputs and capital for climate-smart agriculture; (ii) accelerating the use of digital innovations that can help smallholders cope with future crises; (iii) developing market infrastructure to enable the region to benefit from production increases; and (iv) increased mobilization of private capital to promote agribusiness and stimulate long-term sustainable growth in the sector."