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CORAF and ECOWAS review their joint initiatives

A meeting to review the joint initiatives of CORAF and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is being held in the Togolese capital, Lomé, from December 15 to 17, 2021.

CORAF is the long-standing technical arm of ECOWAS, and over the last few decades has undertaken several regional interventions, contributing to the realization of its agricultural policy, ECOWAP.

The three-day meeting should enable the two organizations to better align their activities.

"CORAF has implemented numerous interventions in the past, with resounding results in terms of its contribution to regional agricultural policy. This meeting gives us the opportunity to take stock of what has worked, while drawing lessons for better collaboration in the future", says Dr Abdou Tenkouano, Executive Director of CORAF.

The first formal cooperation agreement between CORAF and ECOWAS was signed on November 1, 2005 in Abuja, Nigeria. Under this collaboration agreement, ECOWAS expected CORAF to implement innovative research in the agricultural and agri-food sectors. Over the years, the two institutions have expanded the agreement, mandating CORAF to lead the seed regulatory reform process and implementing various collaborative programs on behalf of ECOWAS.

What's on the agenda?

On the agenda for the Lomé workshop, participants are expected to discuss the following four major points:

• National Centers of Specialization / Regional Centers of Excellence (CNS/CNE) : CORAF currently manages nine National Specialization Centers (NSCs) across West Africa. The nine NSCs were created with the idea that they would gradually evolve into Regional Centers of Excellence (RCE). Two of the nine centers have now become RCEs. These are the dry cereals research hub based in Senegal and the roots and tubers center in Ghana. Participants will assess the status of the nine NHA/RECs and determine how best to support them in the future.
• The integrated agricultural inputs strategy: Over the past three years, CORAF has undertaken an elaborate process to develop the pioneering integrated agricultural inputs strategy for West Africa. At the Lomé meeting, both parties will review and agree on the remaining steps to validate the strategy and pivot towards its implementation. CORAF has been mandated to draft the strategy by ECOWAS, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) has developed a document for an intelligent fertilizer subsidy, and CORAF has initiated a process to develop an intelligent seed subsidy strategy. With ECOWAS having suggested that CORAF take the lead in the process for both inputs, the Lomé meeting should enable stakeholders to clarify expectations of CORAF in this respect. 
• Swiss Cooperation support and the Youth Employability program: On November 30, 2020, CORAF and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) signed an agreement that will benefit around ten million people in West Africa over the period 2020-2024, constituting the first phase of a 12-year commitment between the two partners. ECOWAS has also benefited from SDC support for the implementation of a youth employability strategy. Given that the SDC is funding both initiatives, the meeting will enable CORAF and ECOWAS to exchange views on the practical arrangements for implementing the two projects.
• Multi-year cooperation framework: CORAF and ECOWAS will consider defining a multi-year cooperation framework for several initiatives of regional interest.

CORAF and ECOWAS therefore intend to seize the opportunity provided by the Lomé discussions, which will be guided by these four points, to project themselves into the future and define cooperation frameworks that would facilitate the sustainability and perpetuation of the legacies of their joint interventions. 

There's still a lot of work to be done, and if we want to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030, we'll have to step up our joint efforts and, above all, think about strategies for sustaining the gains we've made".

emphasizes Dr Tenkouano.

What should the meeting achieve?

The expected results of the meeting are as follows: 

1. Workshop participants are briefed on the vitality of each NHA and the challenges still ahead; 
2. The participants agreed on the form of support to be given to NHAs that have met the CRE accreditation criteria; 
3. A roadmap has been defined for the ECOWAS CRE accreditation process; 
4. ECOWAS and CORAF have agreed on a roadmap for the follow-up to the integrated regional agricultural inputs strategy;
5. ECOWAS has taken ownership of the SDC program and agreed to chair its regional steering committee; and
6. The regional organizations and CORAF have agreed on a roadmap for setting up a multi-year cooperation framework.

Several technical and financial partners are expected to attend the meeting. These include representatives from the World Bank, the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the SDC. Other participants include directors and representatives of CNS/CRE, UEMOA and CILSS.