Ms Ashwini Rekha Sebastian, Senior Agroeconomist at the World Bank, was recently appointed as FSRP Task Team Leader at regional level. From 26 to 28 June 2024, she met with the programme’s managers and experts from Component 2, coordinated by CORAF, and Component 3, coordinated by ECOWAS, in Lomé at the Headquarters of ARAA/ECOWAS. She is also in charge of the FSRP Ghana and replaces in this position of Task Team Leader of FSRP at regional level, Ms Katie Kennedy Freeman who has been called away to other duties.

The main achievements of the two components, the main challenges and the strategic orientations were discussed during the technical exchanges. With the experts and managers of each of the institutions, the work plans for the life of the PRSF were examined. For activities in 2024, the work plan and annual budget of the two (2) institutions were reviewed.

Discussions with CORAF focused, on the one hand, on consolidating regional agricultural research and extension systems for technological innovations adapted to the region’s food systems (smart technologies from the point of view of climate, nutrition, gender and youth) and, on the other hand, on Integrated Landscape Management (ILM), an approach that aims to ensure that natural resources are protected in the implementation of the FSRP.

Discussions with ECOWAS focused mainly on increasing intra-regional food trade between surplus and deficit areas, creating added value in priority regional value chains, developing the rice sector with the support of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) and regional trade facilitation issues and popularising regional regulations and measures to promote trade between countries. Emphasis was also placed on support for the Regional Food Security Reserve (RRSA) and food safety issues.

At the end of the discussions, the TTL in charge of the project noted that she had learned a great deal about the achievements and challenges encountered in the field. She urged the managers and experts of components 2 and 3 to speed up the implementation of the annual PTBAs in line with the PRSP’s key indicators to help achieve the project’s development objectives. She also stressed the need for regional organisations to be more present in the countries and to strengthen their technical support to the latter.