The Economic Community of West African States Commission has received €18 million in financial support from the French Development Agency to implement two flagship regional projects for the agricultural sector.
These projects form part of the implementation of the Regional Agricultural Policy and the regional strategy for livestock development and securing pastoral systems in West Africa and the Sahel.
The projects were officially launched yesterday by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, alongside the French Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, H.E. Marc Fonbaustier, and the AFD Country Director in Nigeria, Mr. Jacky Amprou.
One of the beneficiaries, the West Africa Milk Offensive Support Project (PAOLAO), received a total of €11 million to support the promotion of local milk value chains in West Africa.
Termed the ‘Milk Offensive’ and adopted in 2020, the region aimed to maximise its enormous potential to double its production volume by 2030, and to increase processing and consumption by raising the incorporation rate of local milk to between 20 percent and 25 per cent by 2035.
The PAOLAO project, scheduled for five years (2023–2028), would directly support 15 local collection initiatives and nine projects promoting quality labels in the region.
PAOLAO aims to contribute to a significant reduction in imports of dairy products enriched with vegetable fats, on the one hand, and to create conducive conditions for youth employability, on the other. Specifically, AFP aimed to support ECOWAS in leading the implementation of the dairy sector strategy, support the structuring of the local dairy sector, promote the consumption of local milk, and initiate a dialogue for greater mobilisation and commitment from technical and financial partners in favour of the sector.
The event also provided a platform for signing the Financing Agreement for the Regional Project to Strengthen a Platform of Solutions in Support of Pastoralism and Livestock Farming in West Africa between the ECOWAS Commission and AFD.
With a budget of €7 million, PEPISAO II would consolidate the positive results achieved during its first phase, which ended in late 2024. Phase 2, which would run from 2025 to 2029, aimed to contribute to social cohesion, development, climate resilience, and the resolution of territorial conflicts in West Africa and the Sahel by operationalising the Regional Strategy for Livestock Development and Securing Pastoral Systems, as endorsed by the Nouakchott+10 Declarations of November 2024, and approved by all West African and Sahel countries.
In a statement, the ECOWAS Commission said the projects reinforced its efforts to fully take advantage of the economic, social, and environmental potential of livestock farming systems in general and pastoral farming in particular.
The Commission noted that the contribution of the French Development Agency, which also acts as lead donor for ECOWAP, came at a crucial time for regional integration in West Africa. The statement read: “Livestock farming systems are not only the backbone of food and nutrition security for populations, but also the second largest source of intra-community trade in local products. They facilitate the densification of regional economies through the operation of numerous livestock markets, collection centres and mini dairies, thereby contributing to strengthening the resilience of populations.”
It concluded: “Any action that contributes to consolidating and securing the foundations for the development of the livestock sub-sector and making it a source of decent jobs and income for young people, and a tool for strengthening social cohesion among communities in line with the current ECOWAS vision of ‘An ECOWAS of the Peoples, Peace and Prosperity for All by 2050’, is strongly encouraged in the current context of security, economic and socio-political crises.”
