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First virtual meeting of FAO Sub-regional Office for West Africa Multidisciplinary Team opens

Rising levels of food insecurity, economic slowdown, climate change, and conflict compounded by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are the backdrop for the 12th Meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Multidisciplinary Team for West Africa, which began today in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

In the presence of the Minister of rice promotion of Cote d'Ivoire, Gaoussou Touré, and the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Guinea, Roger Patrick Millimono, the opening of the multidisciplinary team meeting was held.

As part of the transparency policy between the Organization and its member states advocated by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, several ministers and permanent representatives to FAO in Rome are attending the meeting. In addition, governments, sub-regional economic institutions, technical and financial partners, civil society, and FAO Representations of the 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are meeting by videoconference over the next three days to define the actions for 2021.

"I would like to thank FAO for the choice of Côte d'Ivoire as the host country of the 12^th Multidisciplinary Team Meeting for West Africa, which has the theme of Resilient Agri-food systems: building back better," said minister for rice promotion, Gaoussou Touré. "This meeting is an opportunity to strengthen cohesion for greater collaboration and also ensure joint planning and mutual responsibility in leading actions to build resilient food systems and build back better after the Covid-19 crisis," he added.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Sékou Sangaré, said that "agriculture is a strategic sector in fighting poverty, creating jobs and ensuring the supply of food to populations."

Transforming food systems

One of the major missions of FAO Sub-regional Office for West Africa is to provide support to countries, sub-regional economic organizations, and umbrella organizations of producers. To this end, FAO has prepared, through a participatory approach, a 2020-2025 strategic programming framework built around the transformation of food systems to better meet various partners' needs.

"We need to promote a participatory and methodical process by looking back on 2020, a year that will mark humanity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a year in which FAO has brought about many changes in its way of working through new orientations which are initiatives of the Director-General that we will share during this meeting", revealed FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for West Africa, Gouantoueu Robert Guei.

In West Africa and the Sahel, nearly 17 million people are currently in need of immediate food assistance. This figure could rise to almost 24 million during the next lean season between June and August 2021 if appropriate measures are not taken in time.

The meeting is being held as we observe that measures to fight the COVID-19 crisis have seriously impacted the income sources and livelihoods of rural and urban populations by severely restricting their access to healthy food in sufficient quantities. The pandemic has also weakened access to markets, agricultural tools, and seeds for smallholder farmers.

FAO Representative in Côte d'Ivoire, Samy Gaiji, emphasized the opportunities that have emerged since the beginning of this health crisis to transform food systems.

"This is an opportunity for the country to use its values to rethink a more integrated economy, focused on transforming local products to meet the food, health, and energy needs of the population."

Participants on the first day of the meeting discussed the urgent need to build resilient agri-food systems in the face of conflict, climate change, pests, and cross-border diseases.

A moment of silence

A minute of silence was observed in tribute to the late Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, Hamed Bakayoko, who passed away on March 10.

The meeting ends on Wednesday, March 24.