By Nkiruka Nnorom
ECOWAS Commission has received 18 million euro in financial support from the French Development Agency (AFD) to implement two flagship regional projects for the sector.
These projects are part of the implementation of the Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) and the regional strategy for livestock development and securing pastoral systems in West Africa and the Sahel.
The projects were launched yesterday by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr Omar Alieu Touray, together with the French Ambassador to Nigeria and to ECOWAS, H.E. Marc Fonbaustier, and the AFD Country Director in Nigeria, Mr. Jacky Amprou.
One of the beneficiaries, West Africa Milk Offensive Support Project (PAOLAO), received a total of €11 million to support to promote local milk value chains in West Africa.
Termed ‘Milk Offensive’, and adopted in 2020, the region aimed to maximise its enormous potential to double its production volume by 2030, on the one hand, and to increase processing and consumption by raising the incorporation rate of local milk to between 20 percent and 25 per cent by 2035.
The project, scheduled for five years (2023 – 2028) would directly support 15 local collection initiatives and nine projects
promoting quality labels in the region.
PAOLAO aims to contribute to a significant reduction in imports of dairy products enriched with vegetable fats, on the one hand, and to create conducive conditions for youth employability, on the other. Specifically, AFP aimed to support ECOWAS in leading the implementation of the dairy sector strategy, support the structuring of the local dairy sector, promote the consumption of local milk, and initiate a dialogue for greater mobilisation and commitment from technical and financial partners in favour of the sector.
The event also provided platform for signing the Financing Agreement for the Regional Project to Strengthen a Platform of Solutions in Support of Pastoralism and
Livestock Farming in West Africa (PEPISAO II) between the ECOWAS Commission and AFD.
With a budget of €7 million, PEPISAO II would consolidate the positive results achieved during its first phase which ended in late 2024. Phase 2, which would run from 2025- to 2029 aimed to contribute to social cohesion, development, climate resilience and the resolution of territorial conflicts in West Africa and the Sahel by operationalising the Regional Strategy for Livestock Development and Securing
Pastoral Systems, as endorsed by the Nouakchott+10 Declarations of November 2024, and approved by all West African and Sahel countries.
In a statement, ECOWAS Commission said the projects reinforced its efforts to fully take advantage of the economic, social and environmental potential of livestock farming systems in general and pastoral farming in particular.
It noted that contribution of the French Development Agency, which also acts as lead donor for ECOWAP, came at a crucial time for regional integration in West Africa. “Livestock farming systems are not
only the backbone of food and nutrition security for populations, but also the second largest source of intra-community trade in local products. They facilitate the densification of regional economies through the operation of numerous livestock markets, collection centres and mini
dairies, thereby contributing to strengthening the resilience of populations.
“Any action that contributes to consolidating and securing the foundations for the development of the livestock sub-sector and making it a source of decent jobs and income for young people,
and a tool for strengthening social cohesion among communities in line with the current
ECOWAS vision of “An ECOWAS of the Peoples, Peace and Prosperity for All by 2050″, is strongly encouraged in the current context of security, economic and socio-political crises,” it said.
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