16th Multidisciplinary Team Meeting of the FAO sub-regional office for West Africa

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Subregional Office for West Africa (SFW) is hosting its 16th annual Multidisciplinary Team Meeting (MDT16) from 19 to 22 November 2024, at the Praia Mar Hotel in Praia, Cabo Verde.

This annual meeting will be held in a hybrid format, focusing on the theme: “Bridging Sectors: Enhancing the Resilience of Food and Nutrition Security through Social Protection in West Africa”.

Social protection measures play crucial roles in protecting against poverty, preventing risks, and improving livelihoods and food security, especially during crises. When well-designed, they can improve diet quality, contribute to gender equality and education, and develop productive and social infrastructure to galvanize the rural economy.

Despite commitments, social protection coverage in West Africa remains low, with only about 16% of the population covered by at least one benefit. Average government expenditure on social protection stands at less than 1% of GDP.

Under the presidency of Mr. Gilberto Silva, Minister of Agriculture and Environment of Cape Verde, this 16th edition will bring together technical experts and senior officials from ministries of agriculture and rural development, livestock and fisheries, and ministries responsible for social protection from member states in the subregion, as well as representatives from economic communities and specialized subregional institutions (ECOWAS, CILSS, UEMOA, CORAF, AES, etc.), UN agencies, civil society organizations, beneficiary groups, and other key actors from the public and private sectors, providing a platform for reflection.

The primary goal of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Meeting is to establish a robust framework for dialogue among the FAO Sub-regional Office for West Africa, Country Offices, governments, sub-regional economic communities, specialized institutions, civil society, and the private sector.
The specific objectives are as follows:

• Exchange on the implementation of the recommendations of the 15th meeting of the MDT and discuss the activities of the country offices and the sub-regional office for the year 2024.
• Share experiences and lessons learned related to the implementation of the FAO Strategic Framework – the 4Bs.
• Discuss the status and challenges of social protection in agrifood systems in West Africa and the Sahel.
• Provide opportunity for discussions between member states and stakeholders on emerging issues and trends in social protection systems in West Africa to address rural  vulnerabilities  and  risks  and  promote  inclusive  rural  and  agrifood  systems transformation.
• Identify priority actions for delivering on social protection for West Africa and for the revised Strategic Framework 2022-2031 and the Medium-Term Plan (MTP).