ECOWAS is an economic, social and political organization pursuing the vision of an integrated West Africa. The population of this vast economic block is about three hundred million. The demand for meat and milk was estimated at 3.84 million tonnes of meat (12.3 kg per capita) and 19.83 million tonnes of milk (62 litres per capita) in 2012. This demand for these products increases annually at about 4 per cent. Nigeria accounts for more than half of the population of ECOWAS and covers less than 50 per cent of its own needs for animal protein. The current Economic situation in Nigeria indicates that domestic supply of animal protein is growing at 1.8 per cent per annum while the overall demand is estimated to be rising at 5.1per cent annually. Nearly all of the ECOWAS Member States, except for Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, have to import livestock and livestock products in order to satisfy their respective demand for animal protein. This means that hundreds of millions of US dollars are spent on the importation of meat and milk to satisfy local demands. Yet the region has a significant livestock population which, if well-structured and better managed can produce products that meet local demand. For that to happen, the principles of complementarity and synergy between states have to be implemented. In the recent past, several studies identified constraints hindering the development of livestock value chains and proposed solutions which need to be tested and turned into policy instruments. Taking into account comparative advantage of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in providing technical support for the development of value chains and relevant policies, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the ECOWAS Commission requested assistance through a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) to facilitate the process. In response, FAO developed the project ‘Support to policy initiatives for the development of livestock/meat and dairy value chains in West Africa project“(TCP/SFW/3402).