From 4 to 7 March 2025, in Accra, more than 70 participants from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Ni-ger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad and Togo, as well as from CILSS, CORAF, ECOWAS and the World Bank, met to examine the progress made in implementing the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), identify the challenges encountered and propose appropriate so-lutions to optimize the impact of interventions.  

As part of the management of FSRP, two biannual meetings are planned each year to assess the progress made and make the necessary adjustments to achieve the programme's objectives. The Accra meeting is the first of the year 2025 for the regional wrap up of the support missions for the implementation of FSRP.   

Activities related to digital advisory services for the prevention of food crises, the sustainability and adaptation of the productive base and the facilitation of intra-regional trade in West Africa were reviewed at both regional and country levels. Discussions also focused on consolidating coordination between the regional and national levels, to maximize synergies and strengthen mutual learning between PRSP stakeholders.

Despite a difficult context for the implementation of activities on the ground resulting from socio-political and security challenges, major achievements were noted.

Overall, the actions carried out in the countries and at regional level reached a total of 2,344,411 direct beneficiaries in 2024, 35% of whom were women, who have been affected by the actions of the programme since its implementation in 7 countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Chad and Togo.

There has also been a reduction in the number of people living with food insecurity of almost 22.2% compared with the base year of 2022, in the intervention zones of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Togo.

These results were welcomed by partners at all levels, who reiterated the need to strengthen exchanges between national and regional players, a specific feature of the programme, as emphasized by the ECOWAS Director of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alain SY Traoré: ‘The integrated approach of the FSRP, involving CILSS, CORAF and ECOWAS, as well as the entry of countries by phase, creates synergy between regional and national actions to strengthen food resilience in the region’. 

In-depth discussions made it possible to capitalize on good practice and encourage better integration of innovative approaches aimed at improving food security, the resilience of farming systems and access to markets.

By bringing together the main stakeholders, ECOWAS, CILSS, CORAF and the World Bank have helped to strengthen the alignment of actions implemented by the various institutions and countries, thereby promoting a more coherent and effective approach to the resilience of the food system in West Africa.