ECOWAS Commission, French Development Agency Sign €20m New Financing Accord to Support Regional Agric Policy

The French Embassy in conjunction with the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS, Thursday, signed two financial agreements totalling €20 million for the implementation of two projects.

The agreements were signed in the presence of the French Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, HE Ms. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou; the Ambassador of France to Nigeria, HE Ms. Emmanuelle Blatmann; and the President of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS), HE Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, and the Director of the French Development Agency in Nigeria Mr. Xavier Muron, 

The signing ceremony was performed on May 29, 2023 in Abuja, capital of Nigeria.

The financing is dedicated to the implementation of two projects, respectively, the €11 million Support to the “Local Milk Regional Strategy” aiming at developing local dairy value chains in West Africa; and the €9 million Support to the West African Food Security Storage Strategy.

With this, the total amount of French support for critical projects have increased to €17 million 

“This additional funding is crucial in the context of a worsening food crisis in the region, HE Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, President of ECOWAS stated, adding that the various technical and financial support provided by France to the Commission through the AFD Group have enabled the region to support various areas, among which are: the implementation of the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP), the creation and implementation of the Regional Energy Market,  the Health Sector, and  the development of the activities of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID). 

He specifically commended the support the AFD Group has given over the past 10 years which amounts to a total of  €135 million including €75 million in delegated European funds to implement regional projects and programmes dealing with critical issues of vulnerabilities and crises affecting the region such as food security, livestock and transhumance conflicts, sanitary and phytosanitary, climate smart agriculture and sustainable agriculture).

He stated that the projects implementation will be performed by the ECOWAS Commission, through its Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF) while the project activities will be carried out in the ECOWAS region extended to Chad, Mauritania and Cameroon. 

Also speaking, the French Minister of State, explained: “This support from the French Development Agency, AFD, is part of our collective efforts to strengthen the regional response to food security and nutrition challenges, as well as fostering economic and social development in the region,”

Commending the extent of the ongoing partnership between AFD and ECOWAS, the Minister of State said that this support fully contributes to ECOWAP’s priority on food sovereignty, noting that the partnership is also in line with one of the priority objectives that France intends to support in Africa, as President of France, HE Emmanuel Macron stated during the French Presidential Development Council on May 5 2023 about ECOWAS’s mission which is meant to promote cooperation and integration with a view to improving the standard of living of its people, maintaining and increasing economic stability, strengthen relations between Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.

In the field of agriculture, ECOWAS works through its Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) to ensure food security and provide decent incomes for its citizens.

It would be recalled that AFDAs France’s public development bank, AFD has contributed to the implementation of France’s development and international solidarity policy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through financing of the public sector and NGOs, studies and research publications, training on sustainable development and awareness-raising in France.

The French teams have worked on more than 4,000 projects in over 115 countries, through a network of 85 agencies with financing transitions towards a more resilient and equitable world, particularly building shared solutions for populations in developing and emerging countries.