Introduction - Le Hub Ruralhubrural.org/IMG/docs/PARMAO_EN.docx · Web viewThe priority programmes under the NAIP address regional issues, which surpass national prerogatives and

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources

Accelerate the implementation of ECOWAP/CAADP

Regional Programme to Support the Regulation of West African Markets

December 2012

With technical support from:

Supporting rural development stakeholders in Western

and Central Africa

( Hub Rural)

Sacré-Coeur III Extension n° 10406, Dakar Sénégal site web : wwww.hubrural.org

ECOWAS COMMISSION

Contents1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3

2 Background and justification...........................................................................................................4

2.1 Analysis of background.............................................................................................................5

2.2 Justification...............................................................................................................................6

2.3 Lessons for framing the programme.........................................................................................8

3 Programme strategy......................................................................................................................11

3.1 Programme scope...................................................................................................................11

3.2 Purpose of the programme.....................................................................................................11

3.3 Overall objective.....................................................................................................................11

3.4 Specific objectives, outcomes and activities...........................................................................12

4 Justification for intervention..........................................................................................................13

5 Stakeholders and beneficiaries......................................................................................................30

6 Complementary measures.............................................................................................................30

6.1 Conditions to be met..............................................................................................................31

6.2 Linkages to set up upon implementation................................................................................32

7 Risks and assumptions...................................................................................................................33

7.1 Risks and assumptions underpinning the programme’s feasibility.........................................33

7.2 Risks and assumptions underpinning the programme’s implementation...............................34

7.3 Risks and assumptions underpinning the programme’s impact..............................................34

8 Programme implementation..........................................................................................................34

9 Programme budget........................................................................................................................35

10 Logical Framework.......................................................................................................................42

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1 Introduction

1. In January 2005, the Economic Community of West African States adopted the agricultural policy, ECOWAP / CAADP after an extended participatory and inclusive process that consulted a range of stakeholders in the region. The policy is both a framework designed to bring about profound transformation in the region’s agricultural sector, as well as a mechanism for regional economic integration.

2. Indeed, the overall objective of the regional agricultural policy is to "contribute in a sustainable way to meeting the food needs of the population, to economic and social development, to the reduction of poverty in the Member States, and thus to reduce existing inequalities among territories, zones and nations."

3. The vision is one of “modern and sustainable agriculture based on effective and efficient family farms and the promotion of agro-businesses through the involvement of the private sector. Once productivity and competitiveness on the intra-community and international markets are achieved, the policy should be able to guarantee food security and secure decent incomes for agricultural workers."

4. The policy goes beyond the implementation of an innovative framework; ECOWAP is operationalized through two initiatives: National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIP) and the Regional Agricultural Investment Programme (RAIP).

5. The priority programmes under the NAIP address regional issues, which surpass national prerogatives and those of the RAIP.

a. It presents a coordinated approach to investments and policy mechanisms (regulatory frameworks, incentives, etc.);

b. It federates approaches developed under the different RAIP sub-programmes around a set of shared key issues.

6. The policy mechanisms are formulated to support regional agricultural transformation and to gear agricultural development to support public choices and strategic guidelines for agriculture policy. They are designed to support productive investments and in particular to create incentives and an enabling environment for agricultural development. Three categories of policy mechanisms have been selected in order to implement the RAIP: (i) production intensification mechanisms, (ii) mechanisms for market regulation and (iii) mechanisms to improve access to food for vulnerable populations.

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7. This programme addresses the regulation of the regional agri-food market. It has two main elements:

a. Management of the interface between the international and regional market;

b. Improved flows and regulation of the regional agri-food market.

8. These two facets of market regulation are typically a matter of regional sovereignty. Given the extent of regional trade and cross-border interdependency of production regions and agropastoral products, mechanisms for regulating the regional market are crucial for ensuring the harmonization and convergence of national initiatives in these areas.

9. This programme is part of a somewhat unique institutional context, given that trade issues in ECOWAP fall under the remit of the Department of Trade, Customs, Mines, Industry and Free Movement. A programme such as this therefore requires strong partnership between the Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources Department and the Trade Department.

10. This programme falls under the RAIP’s first specific objective, which focuses on promoting strategic products, and the second objective, on promoting an enabling environment for the agricultural sector.

11. The programme is organized around two closely related specific objectives. First, the regulation of agro-food imports through ECOWAS trade policy management, and second, the organization and regulation of the West African regional market. Both objectives address the second objective of the RAIP.

12. To implement the RAIP policy mechanisms, ECOWAS has decided to consult with all of the regional stakeholders involved in the different programme areas. Several task forces will be created to cover the entire RAIP, and to clearly define the different regional programmes. To date, the “regional stocks” task force has primarily focused on creating a proposal for regional food security stocks, which has been adopted by the ECOWAS Specialized Technical Committee on September 27 2012. The task force has been given the overall responsibility for the ECOWAS food stock strategy, and will serve as a discussion platform for the present programme.

2 Background and justification

13. This section sets out the strategic priorities for this regional programme. It is organized as follows:

A brief discussion of the current situation in terms of price volatility, intra and inter-annual price differentials, and their impact on food security;

Justification for the two approaches chosen in this regulatory support programme: (i) border protection through a trade policy adapted to the particular features of agro-food

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products and (ii) enhancing market fluidity/regulation of the domestic market by supporting socio-professional and private sector initiatives.

Identification of the key challenges associated with this choice on the basis of international, national and local experiences at the State, PO, private sector and NGO level, and how the programme’s proposed intervention strategy will address them.

2.1 Analysis of background

14. The 2007-2008 food crisis, which was caused by a steep rise in international prices for agricultural raw materials (cereals, oils, sugar, milk, etc.), heralded a new paradigm in agricultural markets, whereby relative stability and downward trends gave way to extreme instability and a surprising rising trend in global prices. This new international reality stemmed from various factors (demographic growth and changing food needs, the limits of the green revolution in Asia, the conversion of agricultural lands, agricultural markets shifting into the energy market with bio-fuel, speculation on agricultural futures markets). This had a major impact on the food security of West African countries, particularly due to their heavy dependence on the international rice market, which was the source of the greatest shift in West African demand.

15. This international grain price spike amplified the usual causes of the West African food crises, which have multiplied since the 2000s, particularly in the Sahel Belt. These crises stemmed from a number of interrelated factors, including climate change, sustained demographic growth, and strong anthropic pressure on arable lands resulting in land saturation, the occupation of marginal agricultural lands, natural resource depletion, higher crop vulnerability to climate hazards, etc. These issues highlight the limits of the extensive agricultural model, although the vast majority of producers have almost no access to the intensification means. The great majority of these rural households are highly vulnerable structurally.

16. The price of cereals has risen sharply since the 1990s, and remains highly volatile intra and inter-annually. Intra-annual price instability is an outcome of cereals saturating the market during harvest periods, farmers’ inadequate storage capacity, flawed funding mechanisms for storage, and the resultant impossibility to delay releasing goods onto the market, all in a context where farmers have high short-term cash needs. Meanwhile, inter-annual instability is a consequence of major fluctuations to supply and production from one year to the next, predominantly due climactic conditions.

17. In addition, most farmers are net buyers of food products. Increased consumer costs have partly carried over into the prices paid to farmers, helping boost the production rates of farmers with access to production factors, especially for rice and maize. Given the impact of prices on poor populations’ ability access to food (particularly farmers with a production deficit), there is an urgent need to stabilize prices within a fixed range (or price tunnel) that represents an acceptable compromise for producers and consumers.

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18. A vicious circle tends to set in, whereby price instability penalizes investments in agricultural production, making the sector appear risky to banks, which then causes them to invest less and thus increase instability. It is therefore essential to fight price instability in internal and imported goods via market regulation for agricultural development programmes to succeed.

19. The programme addresses the following ECOWAS policies:

a. Trade Department-led negotiations for a Common External Tariff to bring a customs union to the region, and EPA negotiations for a new trade agreement with the European Union in line with WTO regulations;

b. The second RAIP (ECOWAP/PDDAA) specific objective of creating a favorable trade, physical, informational and institutional environment for massively transforming production systems and agricultural sectors.

20. During the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, the Environment and Water Resources held in Accra on February 3, 2011, the Ministers give priority to “the implementation of support systems for storage, warrantage and group marketing for organizations and farmers, and the promotion of value chains within regional trade areas”. Moreover they “invited the Commission to strengthen efforts to convince the Member States to agree on the CET to meet the challenges faced by the agricultural sector, and to decide on complementary measures for reducing the impact of world market instability on regional markets”.

21. The CET negotiations co-chaired by the ECOWAS and WAEMU Commissions are close to reaching a regional agreement that will be submitted to statutory decision makers in early 2013. EPA negotiations are continuing with the European Commission, but there are major ongoing disagreements between the two parties over access to markets (degree of liberalization) in West Africa and a range of technical issues. The Member States have committed to WTO negotiations (Doha Round) in a process that has experienced a number of deadlocks, but which has currently has begun again. The process will be crucial for defining the rules for governing storage, and more generally how key products for food security, livelihoods and rural development are handled, for LDCs and developing countries.

22. RAIP SO2 is tackling the regional market at a time when numerous initiatives for cross-border trade fluidity (trade flow and trade barrier monitoring, linking up sub-regional operators and stakeholders in value chains, etc.), and initiatives to support producer organizations with storage and delayed marketing are already underway.

23. Finally, ECOWAS has committed to setting up the Regional Food Security Reserve. The Reserve aims to support the region in the event of a food crisis, but also to support efforts in other areas. Notably it will help to safeguard producers’ market channels through direct PO sales contracts. Product supply and stock rotation mechanisms have also been developed to help regulate the market rather than increase its instability.

2.2 Justification

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24. Improving the trade conditions of farmers and, more broadly, of actors in the agropastoral and food sectors should consist of:

a. An intensification strategy that addresses the remuneration of producers and marketing agents;

b. A food security strategy that addresses food availability and economic access for consumers.

25. Agricultural markets regulation once again rose to become an important public policy goal in the wake of the 2008 food crisis. The majority of States tried to keep global price hikes from encroaching into local markets through various mechanisms: partially or totally suspending customs duties and VAT, price fixing, monitoring traders’ profits, releasing stocks onto the market, etc. These emergency measures to address volatility of import prices called into question regional sovereignty on trade issues and were only moderately successful. The mitigated success of these measure stemmed from the choice of mechanisms and the questionable suitability of national measures for regulating a regionalized market.

26. Various investment efforts have attempted to regulate domestic markets over the past few years. Several countries have developed investment stocks with the goal of reducing falling prices during harvest periods, and price hikes during slack periods. Producer organizations have undertaken a variety of initiatives to enhance the value of products, developing storage capacities and delaying marketing, via credit lines and guarantee mechanisms with support from the banking sector.

27. A number of initiatives were taken, primarily at the national level, for organizing value chains. They adopt a variety of approaches ranging from contractualisation between buyers and producers, to approaches centered on protecting interests and bringing together various stakeholders in a given sector. There are a number of ongoing efforts to structure trade organizations, particularly in the livestock-meat and cereals sectors. A specific policy framework brief has addressed the question of trade organizations.

28. Regional intervention can be justified given the regionalization of markets and the particular workings of trade networks. ECOWAS and WAEMU Member States transferred their trade policy sovereignty to their regional organizations, which are currently submitting a single CET project to the statutory authorities for the 15 countries in the region and Mauritania. A group of agricultural products in direct competition with exports were categorized at 35% in the fifth customs tariff band. Complementary protection measures are to be finalized in the first semester of 2013. Indeed, the stakes are high when it comes to the regulation of agricultural and food products, and the availability of regulatory tools for tackling imported volatility from global markets.

29. In terms of the regulation of internal markets, governments have focused on increasing trade flows within the ECOWAS territory. Many studies have addressed the costs of irregular practices on the region’s borders and along regional corridors. These practices harm the competitiveness of regional products against imported products, and penalize producers and consumers. These barriers are all the more costly and disruptive to market integration, given

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that they pertain to perishable goods. This question has been taken on by the Trade Departments of the ECOWAS and WAEMU Commissions and by the Member State ministries concerned (Trade and Customs, Interior, etc.)

30. RAIP/ECOWAP has decided on a variety of means to tackle the problems of market regulation and price instability:

a. The promotion of warrantage in cross-border production areas through contracts with regional operators (warehouse receipts);

b. Support for storage, collective marketing, and delayed marketing by producer organizations;

c. The promotion of interprofessional organizations in sub-regional value chains;

d. Funding for storage facilities;

e. The development of information systems on price and trading opportunities through ECOAGRIS

f. Setting up a regional stock exchange for food products in partnership with WAEMU;

g. Cooperation with trade institutions through the Inter-Departmental Committee for Agriculture and Food: (i) promotion of free trade of agricultural products within the region; (ii) creation of trade protection mechanisms on the borders of West Africa to reduce the encroachment of international instability into internal markets;

31. The storage strategy set out by the relevant thematic Task Force proposed to combine two objectives and two mechanisms, in line with RAIP:

a. Market regulation mechanisms for reducing price instabilities which are harmful to producers and consumers;

b. The Regional Food Reserve as a complement to national stocks, to support Member States and to foster regional cooperation in the event of a major food crisis.

32. The Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Water has addressed this final component regarding food crisis management in a detailed feasibility study. In terms of storage, the present proposal focuses on the first component.

2.3 Lessons for framing the programme

33. This programme draws on the major lessons of cross-border trade policy, and the storage and marketing strategies of producer organizations.

34. As regards trade policy on ECOWAS borders, the major lessons learned from WAEMU customs tariffs were taken into account while formulating ECOWAS-CET. Agricultural stakeholders were influential in the decision to create a new tariff band (35%) for “goods specific to economic development”. The DAERE and agricultural stakeholders will need to

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closely monitor the new classification to ensure it meets ECOWAP objectives. The mechanism the CCG CET has proposed for sugar (a gradual increase in customs duties over 5 years) could also be adapted to strategic products such as rice.

35. The reclassifications which had to be carried out in the second semester of 2012 as a result of WTO incompatibilities (tariff resetting by some countries) illustrate how important it is for ECOWAS member countries to be more closely involved in the negotiation of multilateral trade rules, with a robust coordination of negotiating positions by the ECOWAS and WEAMU Trade Departments.

36. Complementary trade protection mechanisms to customs duties are also very important. The primary lesson concerns the special protection tax, which is similar to the SSM, and is meant to boost regional protection in particular circumstances. Experience has shown the WEAMU mechanism to be rigid and slow to respond. The first trimester of 2013 will be key for influencing the CET Joint Management Committee’s proposals. In particular, measures for managing import price volatility primarily concern agricultural products and should be influenced by the DAERE.

37. Finally, the adoption of a new trade policy should include a monitoring mechanism to assess impacts on the various sectors and food security: (i) to inform interior political dialogue with the ECOWAS Commission and socio-professional stakeholders, (ii) to gradually adjust trade policy to ensure consistency with regional integration and agricultural policies.

38. The regulation of the domestic agropastoral and food market through capitalization is mainly a matter of centralized (public) and decentralized storage initiatives carried out by producer organizations, and delayed marketing.

39. The development of public intervention stocks from the early 2000s has proved ineffective, as low budgets prevented a sufficiently sizable impact on market prices. Market analyses have shown that sales at subsidized prices, even when applied to several dozen thousand tons, could not tangibly or sustainably quell price rises during the agricultural lean season. The fact that traders lack up-to-date knowledge further explains the difficulty in developing efficient market and price regulatory mechanisms, particularly through public-private contracts.

40. At the producer and PO level, cooperative storage operations have multiplied thanks to funding schemes for collection and storage, infrastructure, and warrantage with or without third party holding, etc.

41. Studies have nonetheless shown that volumes marketed by cooperatives have remained very low (amounting to several dozen thousand tons across the region). They do however bring value to products and improve the wages of the producers involved, by capitalizing on the price difference between the harvest period and the lean season. They also show that this gap has to be high enough to offset storage costs, which are high owing to interest rates on bank loans. Storage operators are also vulnerable to fluctuations in the market.

42. Although warrantage practices have been developing, they are still only used for very small volumes. The practice remains vulnerable to price risks and the absence of risk-coverage mechanisms.

43. The development of credit lines and guarantee funds would increase business volumes and reduce price risks by lowering interest rates.

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44. The development of warehouse receipts systems, already widely used in East and southern Africa, has a strong medium term potential:

a. By externalizing stock management to private professional operatorsb. By investing in the construction of large warehouses in major and secondary urban

centers.45. Such third party holding mechanisms are also key for establishing permanent regional

commodity markets, which would help encourage price stability (see the experience of southern and East Africa).

46. Generally speaking, storage infrastructure is underdeveloped and POs are poorly organized in terms of optimizing their harvests, storage and marketing mechanisms. Considerable growth and scaling up are required to truly influence market regulation.

47. These lessons raise several questions:a. How to promote professional warehousers and investment in storage facilities in an

economically viable way?b. How to promote contractual agreements within value chains? c. How to secure banking sector involvement in financing storage and

commercialization via warrantage, so as to create structural funding opportunities for collecting /storage/marketing?

d. How to enhance the visibility and predictability of public action without interfering in stakeholder participation, or fuelling speculation and wait-and-see strategies?

e. How to develop storage and warrantage systems via appropriate legislation (cf. OHADA regulations), both at the level of producers’ cooperatives and private professional warehouses?

48. The research conducted prior to formulating this support programme for marketing and local storage facilities has yielded a number lessons and a series of recommendations, which this programme has taken into account.

49. A study of PO strategies and practices has thus shown that internal solutions do exist for developing local storage mechanisms in West Africa, and that they have a strong growth potential provided they are rigorously managed.

50. Nevertheless, in light of the challenges, many of which surpass a micro-economic framework, there is a need for national and regional investment in local storage support policies and the development of a favorable institutional, legal and financial environment for large scale local storage development, to make a real impact on market regulation and food security.

51. Local storage mechanisms face systemic and covariant risks (price risk in surplus areas, price and harvest risk in deficit areas). Broader contingency mechanisms, such as security stocks and safety nets (futures, or stock recovery in exchange for social operations) are therefore necessary. Developing guarantee funds and credit lines at favorable rates would also lower price risks.

52. Local storage strategies are poorly coordinated with food security and trade policies. Local stakeholders are poorly informed and national legislation is often obsolete, inappropriate or incompatible with the OHADA directives. There is a need for a comprehensive review of

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stakeholders and existing regulation, to achieve a monitoring system and revise current regulations.

53. Numerous experiences in the field show it is possible to vastly improve storage mechanisms via technical support, high-quality training, and the pooling of certain functions. It will however be difficult for POs to take on this capacity building alone. Given the strategic importance and scale of the task, regional action will be key to encourage operators to form local storage networks, share experiences and engage in technical training.

54. Warrantage has great potential to increase local storage capacities in surplus producing areas (formalization, a direct link to the financial sector, the possibility to coordinate with complementary activities), and should therefore be given particular attention, particularly through the development of refinancing lines and a guarantee fund.

55. A more complex form of warrantage, warehouse receipt schemes have great medium term potential (flexible individualized contracts, professional handling of stocks to facilitate contractualisation with processors and institutional operators, externalization of stocks management for POs, economies of scale…). This system has had wide success in East and southern Africa, but is not yet used in West Africa. It would be relevant to develop pilot operations in this area, provided that regional legislation for warehouse receipt systems is clarified and implemented.

3 Programme strategy

56. The programme builds on the principal observations from the diagnostic phase, and applies lessons learned. It has two complementary components designed to help the region move forward in terms of regional market regulation: border trade policy, and the organization of the regional market.

3.1 Programme scope

57. The programme covers several areas: (i) regulation and standardization; (ii) the harmonization of policies, strategies and negotiation positions in international arenas; (iii) financial instruments; (iv) investments; (v) risk hedging tools; and (vi) training, information and skill development.

3.2 Purpose of the programme

58. The Regional Programme for the Regulation of African Markets (RPRAM) falls under the overall objective of the regional investment plan to “modernize agriculture to support food sovereignty in view of regional integration”. The objective the latter is to accelerate economic growth in order to boost incomes of the various stakeholders, reduce poverty and ensure the protection of natural resources and the environment.

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3.3 Overall objective

OO. Contribute to achieving food sovereignty by improving the intra-regional trade flows and market regulation of agro-food products.

3.4 Specific objectives, outcomes and activities

SO1: Establish border trade mechanisms to manage the impact of international price volatility on regional markets.

59. This objective falls under the purview of the Trade Department and the Inter-departmental Committee on Trade for the commercial activities that involve other departments of ECOWAS. DAERE will therefore carry out strategic monitoring and decision-making support role with the CIAA in the area of agricultural trade policy, so that regional trade strategy is aligned with regional agricultural policy. This function will become operational after the implementation of the activities designed to meet outcomes 1.1 and 1.2.

Outcome 1.1. - ECOWAS has effective border mechanisms adapted to the specificities of the regional market for agricultural products.

Activity 1.1.1 - Formulate proposals for reclassifying products currently under-protected by the CET

Activity 1.1.2 – Formulate proposals for support measures to meet agricultural and food security challenges in the region

Activity 1.1.3 – Formulate proposals for special safeguards to cope with short-term eventualities such as price volatility

Activity 1.1.4 – Ensure consistent monitoring of the implementation and impact of border mechanisms relating to agricultural products

Outcome 1.2 - Border mechanisms are recognized in the international agreements to which the region is signatory.

Activity 1.2.1 – Contribute to drawing up regional submissions in areas where WTO stakeholders may challenge ECOWAS CET.

Activity 1.2.2 – Contribute to boosting the visibility of ECOWAS at the WTO in order to defend regional interests as regards agricultural products and food security.

Activity 1.2.3 – Monitor EPA negotiations and its potential impact on agriculture and food security.

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SO2: Promote initiatives and mechanisms to regulate and improve the trade flows within the regional market.

Outcome 2.1. - The region’s strategic and regulatory environment enables private sector and socio-professional initiatives.

Activity 2.1.1 - Develop a market regulation strategy for the region and support its transposition into concerted, harmonized national strategies.

Activity 2.1.2 - Adapt regional regulation and transpose it into national regulations in the fields of (i) cooperative laws, (ii) warrantage, (iii) warehouse receipts, (iv) securities, (v) agricultural product norms.

Activity 2.1.3 – Develop an accreditation scheme for socio-professional and private operators of warrantage and warehouse receipts.

Outcome 2.2 - The region has economic and financial mechanisms for promoting storage and marketing initiatives.

Activity 2.2.1 - Promote the dissemination of warrantage through POs by setting up storage facilities, risk hedging mechanisms and financial mechanisms for commercial banks and MFIs (guarantee funds, refinancing lines…).

Activity 2.2.2 - Promote the development of professional warehouse receipts systems through pilot projects and concessional rate loans for new warehousers.

Activity 2.2.3 - Promote the development of a regional commodity exchange for agricultural products, in particular cereals.

Activity 2.2.4. - Promote value chains and interprofessional initiatives across regional production areas for strategic regional products.

Outcome 2.3 – Capacity-building of stakeholders involved in market regulation mechanisms

Activity 2.3.1 – Support for the creation of a network of operators for implementing market regulation mechanisms.

Activity 2.3.2 - Implementation of a training programme for relevant operators: Peasant Organizations, Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce, private operators, banks and Decentralized Financing Systems (DFS).

Activity 2.3.3 – Improve access to information through Information Systems on price, trade flows and business opportunities.

4 Justification for intervention

Outcome 1.1. - ECOWAS has effective border mechanisms adapted to the specificities of the regional market for agricultural products.

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60. The need to clearly set out support and protection systems for the particular challenges of agricultural and food security: During discussions to finalize the ECOWAS CET, the ECOWAS Commission initiated reflection on protection measures to tackle increases in imports that are likely to compete with regional products. The ECOWAS and WAEMU Commissions were mandated to develop proposals for safeguard mechanisms to put to Member States. At present, the proposals set out four support measures for protecting the agricultural and industrial sector from the risk of heavy competition from imports with the introduction of the CET. These are: (I) the Digressive Protection Tax (DPT), (ii) ECOWAS Compensatory Levy (iii) ECOWAS Safeguard Tax on Imports (STI); (iv) ECOWAS “inverted” Safeguard Tax.

61. ECOWAS Digressive Protection Tax (DPT) is a temporary safeguard measure that can be adopted by countries experiencing tariff dismantling due to the new CET and whose production sectors could be disadvantaged by their poor competitiveness with imports. It is intended to allow strongly disadvantaged activity sectors to restructure and adapt to the growing pressure of competition from imports caused by external tariff dismantling. The DPT will be gradually reduced over ten years.

62. ECOWAS Compensatory Levy (ECL) is a transparent mechanism for alleviating the negative effects of high levels of protection, support and export subsidies that ECOWAS partners give their producers. The ECL will be applied where it is clear that protection, support and/or subsidies allocated by partner countries is harming, or risks harming ECOWAS producers in agriculture, livestock, fishing and food processing sectors.

63. ECOWAS Safeguard Tax on Imports (STI): Unlike the two other taxes, the STI is a short-term measure for protecting local production from sudden drops in international market prices or a sharp increase in imports. It is triggered if food product imports from an outside country harm or risk seriously harming local production in an ECOWAS member State. There are currently several proposals regarding the application of this short-term tax, however, and no clear regional position has yet been defined. The different options concern trigger thresholds, amounts, and scope (applicable products and duration). In particular, at recent WTO ministerial meetings, the “G33” negotiation group proposed a more flexible Special Safeguard Mechanism than the Special Safeguard Measures set out in article 5.1 of the Agricultural Agreement. One issue raised is thus the relevance of aligning the planned trigger thresholds in the region with the SSM currently under negotiation at the WTO.

64. ECOWAS “Inverted” Safeguard Tax: The proposed mechanisms above only partially address the question of price volatility, given they are only triggered in the event of a price crash. As a result, they are not effective for dealing with dramatic price hikes. The food crises that hit many Western African countries in 2008, and more recently 2011, showed how urgent it is to find a mechanism that can manage both sudden price drops and increases. There is no apparent tariff mechanism at present for managing price volatility. In the absence of a functional regional mechanism, countries are taking unilateral steps to reduce or suspend customs duties, in violation of community rules. To address this shortcoming, it is important to study the feasibility of an “inverted safeguard mechanism”. This automatic safeguard mechanism would lower customs duties on imported products in the event of a sudden rise in import prices, a rise in the dollar or a fall in import volumes. It would thus amount to a “reverse” method symmetrical to the STI. To the extent that this measure would be aimed at reducing customs duties rather than raising them, it would not need the validation of the WTO.

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Ultimately, the price volatility reduction mechanism would be associate the STI and this inverted safeguard mechanism, to regulate prices in the event of a fall or rise in imported product prices.

65. At this stage, several questions remain as to which complementary measures are appropriate for the region, and what their implementation modalities should look like. The final choices will be key to meeting the objectives of the regional agricultural policy.

66. The need for continuous monitoring of the implementation and impact of border mechanisms: After the implementation of the external trade regulation policy, in the event that it is clearly established that the policy fails to offer suitable protection given the agricultural and food challenges of the sub-region (inability to address price volatility, insufficient protection for particular strategic sectors, etc.), it is important that DAERE propose reforms to the CIAA. The ECOWAS CET tariff structure looks for “progressiveness” in customs duties, which leads to higher taxation of end-use consumer products and eases taxation on raw materials and intermediate goods. The goal is to encourage industry and processing activities. As a result, some products classified as processed, such as powdered milk, are categorized as inputs and placed in the second tariff band (5%) of ECOWAS CET, although they may compete with local sectors. In the same way, the designation of rice as a “social utility good” puts it in the third tariff band (10%), which could undermine the goal of regional food sovereignty for this product. This is why it is important to regularly monitor CET compatibility with developments in the agricultural sector and in relation to food security, so as to propose adjustments if necessary.

Activity 1.1.1 - Formulate proposals for reclassifying products currently under-protected by the CET

As a result of efforts, particularly of DAERE, to reclassify products according to the five ECOWAS CET tariff bands, most strategic agricultural and food security products are now indeed categorized in the fifth tariff band. Nonetheless, certain products classified under various strategic priorities were subject to arbitration. It is thus DAERE’s responsibility to verify that the latter do not clash with ECOWAP objectives. The expected outcomes of this process are:

Expected outcomes:

A study of the CET tariff structure to identify any products which may lack sufficient protection

Drawing up a fact sheet for the DAERE to inform its negotiations in the CIAA

Coordination through strategic monitoring and assistance with decision-making in the DAERE

Budget: 75,000 USD

Activity 1.1.2 – Formulate proposals for support measures to meet agricultural and food security challenges in the region

DAERE must also be able to state its position on proposed complementary measures to the CET, ECOWAS Compensatory Levy and ECOWAS Digressive Protection Tax, and propose new measures if necessary. Expected outcomes of this activity are:

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Expected Outcomes:

Simulations using Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) or Partial Equilibrium models of the different application modalities of the support measures to assess their impact on the different economic aggregates, looking beyond fiscal impact to break down impact by household category.

Submission to the CIAA via DAERE a duly justified argument as to the choice of complementary measures and their application modalities for the agricultural sector.

Coordination by the strategic monitoring and decision-making support function housed within DAERE

Budget: 150,000 USD

Activity 1.1.3 – Formulate proposals for special safeguards to cope with short-term eventualities such as price volatility

67. The current state of the proposals for safeguard measures, the TSI and the “inverted” safeguard tax indicates that much work remains to be done before the CIAA can make proposals for the appropriate measures to adopt. Expected outcomes are:

Expected outcomes:

Simulations using Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) or Partial Equilibrium models of the various economic aggregates, looking beyond fiscal impact to break down impact by household category.

Submission to the CIAA via DAERE a duly justified argument as to the choice of complementary measures and their application modalities for the agricultural sector.


Budget: 150,000 USD

Activity 1.1.4: Ensure consistent monitoring of the implementation and impact of border mechanisms relating to agricultural products

68. The definition of the ECOWAS CET, accompanying measures and safeguard measures is only the first step in devising an effective border policy. To meet the stated objectives of this policy, mechanisms must be both effective and adjustable. Thus the expected outcomes of the strategic monitoring and decision-making support function are as follows:

Expected outcomes:

Monitor compliance with regulations for border protection mechanisms addressing agricultural products.

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Monitor the impact of border mechanisms on the development of sectors, intra-regional trade, and food security. The analysis group must assess the effectiveness of the CET and the complementary measures to be introduced, to meet ECOWAP objectives.

To effectively monitor and evaluate the border protection measures, the DAEDR’s strategic monitoring and decision-making support function should rely closely on the information of the integrated EcoAgris system for monitoring and piloting the regional agricultural policy, and the monitoring of food and nutritional conditions across ECOWAS.


Budget: 625,000 USD

Outcome 1.2 - Border mechanisms are recognized in the international agreements to which the region is signatory.

69. It is essential to utilize the region’s negotiation windows to negotiate the key elements of its border protection policy: Given the structure of ECOWAS CET and the planned safeguard measures, ECOWAS trade policy risks facing two potential cases of incompatibility with WTO rules:

70. Exceeding bound tariffs: For agricultural products, the application of a 35% rate will pose WTO compatibility problems for countries with lower bound rates. They will then be exposed to the admittedly slight risk of a WTO partner country filing a complaint. While the bound tariffs of countries in the region are generally rather high and almost always exceed the planned 35% for agricultural products, particular countries risk facing problems: Senegal has a bound tariff rate of 29.8%, and in principle cannot automatically apply the new CET without a prior revision procedure. Côte d’Ivoire also has a bound tariff rate of 14.9% and is not only in the same position as Senegal, but has a rate so low that even a regional CET capped at 20% could not be applied.

71. WTO law does however leave some scope for negotiation. Failure to respect bound tariffs is not entirely prohibited. It only requires payment of compensation in the event of a complaint and a subsequent condemnation. The region could thus opt to pay the compensation that may arise from other products. The GATT agreements moreover state that when determining compensation, due account will be taken of “the compensation that would already result from the corresponding tariff reductions of other constitutive territories of the union”. But bound tariffs for agricultural products are well above the CET ceiling rates on average, such that in a compensation system within a customs union (ECOWAS, in this case), the assets would be higher that the liabilities. If ECOWAS succeeds in negotiating as a region, it cannot be made to pay compensation, even if some of its bound tariffs are lower than the CET.

72. Of the protective measures that are potentially incompatible with WTO regulations, the Safeguard Tax on Imports currently under discussion in ECOWAS clearly differs from the Special Safeguard Clause planned for under WTO agreements in the event of a sudden rise in imports and a drop in import prices. Compared to these two other mechanisms, the STI is more flexible as regards the trigger threshold, eligible products and countries, and additional customs duties authorized.

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73. Even here however, there is room for negotiation with the WTO. As previously discussed, a new Special Safeguard Mechanism is currently under negotiation with the WTO, and although the current proposal offers less flexibility than certain mechanisms currently under proposal for the STI, this new window of negotiation offers the region’s countries, as members of the “G33” negotiation group, the opportunity to lobby for and influence the current proposal if deemed necessary.

74. The risk of failing to use these negotiation windows is due to the low profile of ECOWAS at the WTO. This lack of visibility is due to two factors in particular:

75. The lack of a common position among ECOWAS members: WAEMU Member States now adopt a shared position prior to negotiations in areas where the Union is not represented as a contracting party at the WTO. The Union thus consults its Member States to establish common negotiation positions: in 1999 for the Ministerial Conference in Seattle, and in May 2001 for negotiations on agriculture. Similar work allowed the Union to speak with one voice at the multilateral trade negotiation cycle started in Doha. ECOWAS meanwhile has organized meetings to allow negotiators to speak for the region, but has not defined common positions for the current negotiations, like WAEMU.

76. ECOWAS Member Countries have not delegated power to ECOWAS to negotiate bilateral agreements in their place; moreover, ECOWAS does not have a representation in Geneva.

77. The need to advocate for the region’s common agricultural policy with trade partners. Since 2008, non-LDC ECOWAS countries that have not signed the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) with the European Union, fall under the EU’s Generalized System of Preferences:

The 12 LDCs which have not signed the EPA have not modified their tariffs for European products, and their exports to the EU are covered by the “Everything But Arms” (EBA) regime;

Nigeria is the only non-LDC country not to have signed an EPA by the end of 2007, and is covered by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which are also non-LDC countries, reached interim EPA (IEPA) national status, which involves a liberalization calendar for various groups of products according to their sensitivity.

Although Cape Verde recently became a developing country, it has a minimum three-year transitional period and continues to benefit from duty-free access and quotas on the EU market, on the grounds of its particular characteristics (archipelago, insularity) and its vulnerability.

78. Given that all agricultural products are listed as “sensitive” and thus excluded from the liberalization process, signing a regional EPA should not directly impact the agricultural sector. On the other hand, this juxtaposition of tariff regimes stemming from the inability of the EU and ECOWAS to reach a regional EPA endangers the region’s agricultural trade policy and clashes with the ECOWAS CET.

Activity 1.2.1 – Contribute to drawing up regional submissions in areas where WTO stakeholders may challenge ECOWAS CET.

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79. In view of the potential incompatibility between CET and WTO regulations and the potential negotiating points the region could put forward to defend its interests, it is crucial that the CIAA is equipped with solid arguments to back its negotiation strategies for agriculture and regional food security in the region.

Expected outcomes:

Identify potential incompatibilities for agricultural products between ECOWAS CET and WTO regulations, drawing on a network with wide range of skills.

Provide the CIAA with sound arguments for developing of negotiation strategy with the WTO.


Budget: 200,000 USD

Activity 1.2.2 – Contribute to boosting the visibility of ECOWAS at the WTO in order to defend regional interests as regards agricultural products and food security.

80. Actions must essentially focus on supporting the DAERE and the CIAA in determining negotiation positions for both to meet the particular challenges of the agricultural sector and to federate the positions of member countries.

Expected outcomes:

Ongoing monitoring of changes in the strategic positioning of each ECOWAS country for agricultural products.

Prior to ministerial meetings, provide the CIAA with negotiating positions allowing both to meet the particular challenges of the agricultural sector and to federate the positions of member countries.


Budget: 400,000 USD

Activity 1.2.3 – Monitor EPA negotiations and their potential impact on agriculture and food security.

81. For trade in agricultural products with the EU, it is important that the strategic monitoring and decision-making support provide the following outcomes:

Expected outcomes:

Formulate sound arguments for the signature of a regional EPA

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During finalization of negotiations, formulate sound arguments on the most recent arbitrations carried out on the “market access offer” in view of DAERE’s participation on the CCGTEC/EPA technical committee.

In the event of the EPA is signed, contribute to the monitoring of the EPA application and its potential impacts on the agricultural sector and on negotiations, in view of potential revision.


Budget: 400,000 USD

Outcome 2.1. - The region’s strategic and regulatory environment enables private sector and socio-professional initiatives

82. The 2008 crisis drew sharp attention to the question of price volatility and how to tackle it. The debate inspired much research and persuaded decision-makers to address the issue in national and regional public policy goals, while the international community remained divided on the subject. Mechanisms for regulating and stabilizing markets continue to be difficult to set up in an open regional market. Countries in the region have generally returned to regulatory measures, in particular intervention stocks, but owing to the volumes at stake, it has been impossible to hit the desired targets.

83. A study of regional regulation practices of private actors and socio-professional entities shows that storage and collective marketing strategies are underdeveloped and insufficiently coordinated with food security and trade policies. Warrantage is starting to be recognized as a mechanism to guarantee and promote marketing of agricultural products, and food security, a trend reflected in most development policy documents. In Togo, the warrantage system has been integrated into the DSRP-C11 and the NAIP. In Niger too, warrant age is included in agricultural development policy.

84. In terms of regional market coordination and the challenges of building a free trade zone for products produced in the region, which itself has great market regulation potential (see SO2), developing harmonized national market regulation policies and price stabilization is a crucial step in the fight against price volatility. The regional approach is based on a review of current strategies and policies within Member States, and support for their gradual harmonization within a framework for regional convergence.

85. Moreover, to date there is no regulation specific to professional warehousing in terms of inspection and supervision, nor protection for private stocks if the State needs to carry out destocking operations or sales at subsidized prices when managing food crises.

86. On the other hand, national legislation relevant to new practices (warrantage, warehouse receipts…) has not been adjusted in the light of community directives for agricultural product norms, nor those of the OHADA1 for the organization of cooperatives or securities. As regards the formalization of

1 The Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHBLA) was created in 1993 out of 17 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Comoros, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Niger, Central African Republic, Senegal, Chad and Togo. Six ECOWAS countries did not join: Cape Verde, Gambia,

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collective marketing, warrantage and warehouse receipts, OHADA recently defined comprehensive regulation through two Uniform Acts, both dating from December 15 2010: “the Uniform Act on Cooperatives” and the “Revised Uniform Act on the Organization of Securities”. Several countries in the region are held to these regulations. These are complex legal and technical documents and to date, national legislatures have not been aligned with OHADA commitments. To ensure legal certainty, it is desirable to draw up simple and specific legal and regulatory texts underpinned by the OHADA regulations, notably to govern warranty and warehouse receipts on the national level. These provisions relate to the role of the various parties, conditions for carrying out activities, and the practical implementation of the legal guarantee mechanisms. It would be necessary to ensure their wide dissemination through sensitization workshops and in-house training for producer organizations, banks and MFIs, traders and professional warehousers.

87. In the same vein, it will be important to promote the work of ECOWAS Trade Department on the dissemination and national adoption of community norms on products liable to be stocked, which is an essential prerequisite to the development of warehouse receipts and agricultural commodity exchanges.

Activity 2.1.1 – Develop a market regulation strategy for the region and support its transposition into concerted, harmonized national strategies.

88. This activity covers the development of a regional strategy framework for storage that combines food security and market regulation goals and is consistent with trade and agricultural policies. This strategy framework should be developed on the basis of the market regulation framework. Using this as a basis, the region can then work to harmonize national approaches and strategies. The DAERE will pilot these initiatives with the support of the “market regulation” Task Force. This Task Force will meet once a semester to take stock of progress made under its remit. The Task Force will also ensure the monitoring of various activities for promoting market regulation mechanisms.

89. Expected results:

Terms of reference for the various projects and studies piloted by the Task Force; Carrying out studies; Piloting, validating, capitalization and dissemination of results obtained; Developing strategy, discussions, and ECOWAS executive validation

90. Coordination: DAERE, “market regulation” Task Force

91. Eligibility: The activity is eligible under “Support for the political, institutional and regulatory framework”

92. ECOWAS budget envelope: 1,500,000 USD over 5 years.

Activity 2.1.2 - Adapt regional regulation and transpose it into national regulations in the fields of (i) cooperative laws, (ii) warrantage, (iii) warehouse receipts (iv) securities, (v) agricultural product norms.

Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

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93. To facilitate the development of endogenous mechanisms for market regulation, the various stakeholders (Departments of Agriculture and Trade, OHADA, national administrations, representatives of Peasant Organizations and the private sector) will be associated with the development and dissemination of simple and accessible regional regulation for sector professionals.


Review and adaptation of regional regulations to adjust them to the needs and specificities of the main stakeholders.

Development and implementation of a public awareness campaign to disseminate regulations.

95. Coordination: DAERE, “market regulation” Task Force.


97. ECOWAS budget envelope to activity 2.1.2: 1,000,000 USD over 5 years.

Activity 2.1.3 - Development of an accreditation scheme for socio-professional and private operators of warrantage and warehouse receipts.

98. This accreditation scheme will select stakeholders eligible to benefit from ECOWAS support.

99. Expected outcomes:

Defined accreditation criteria

Accreditation service and application forms in placer

Call for expressions of interest in accreditation

Delivery and monitoring of accreditations

100. Coordination: DAERE, RAAF.


102. ECOWAS budget envelope: 600,000 USD over 5 years.

Result 2.2 – The region has economic and financial mechanisms for promoting storage and marketing initiatives.

103. The development of storage and marketing initiatives has encountered a number of technical and financial obstacles.

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104. POs often lack safe, high-quality storage structures for warrantage or even just collective marketing. To change this, support actions are planned to bring existing storage facilities up to norm, and to fund new storage facilities for POs and professional warehousers.

105. Warrantage practices are exposed to price risk. If resale prices are not high enough to cover operational costs, the operation itself may be unprofitable or indeed bring losses for the PO and its members. While this unfavorable outcome may result from low technical skills or poor knowledge of market mechanisms, price risk may also stem from atypical changes in the market, which are often difficult to predict. In the worst-case scenario, a “cycle reversal” may occur, whereby prices fall between harvest time and the lean period. This scenario affects all stakeholders and cannot be offset by operator networks. Effective global risk hedging mechanisms are thus necessary to help stabilize market prices and encourage large-scale development of these kinds of activities.

106. The funding of warrantage by MFIs, the primary financial agents in this area, is restricted in volume and faces prohibitive interest rates owing to the low-risk nature of the activity due to:

Loan amounts that are less (usually 80%) than the value of the merchandise serving as guarantee; and

The fact the guarantee (in the form of the product) is secured (double locked premises for example), non-perishable and is easy to seize and sell off in the event of default. This is generally not the case with guarantees in the form of farm equipment or moveable assets.

107. In this context, the development of guarantee funds and credit lines at attractive rates will allow to increase business volumes and thus the regulatory impact on the market, as well as reduce the price risk by providing lower cost loans.

108. The development of warehouse receipt systems, already widely practiced in East and southern Africa, has great medium term potential in that it externalizes stock management to private professional operators (and hence avoids problems with the management of buildings and the stock itself), thanks to the development of large warehouses in major and secondary urban centers.

109. This model generates economies of scale, the possibility to directly involve commercial banks, improve access for buyers, and above all a greater flexibility for POs and their members: the certificate (warrant) that the warehouser issues is in fact negotiable, and its value fixed at the time it changes hands. The stock can therefore be released several times to various buyers. This system is not yet widely present in West Africa. It will be a matter of developing pilot schemes, as well as tax and financial incentives to encourage investments in professional warehousing activities.

The wide scale issuing of negotiable certificates through warehouse receipts is one of the necessary conditions for the development of an agricultural commodity exchange with permanent listings, and would encourage internal regulation of the market through the development of precise, respected product norms and effective market information systems. Experiences in South Africa, which are at a more advanced stage than sub-Saharan Africa, are very instructive in this area. In West Africa, a few embryonic initiatives exist, and should be analyzed for lessons learned to inform efforts to create regional commodity exchange for food products and develop pilots.

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Activity 2.2.1 - Promote the dissemination of warrantage through POs by setting up storage facilities, risk hedging mechanisms and financial mechanisms for commercial banks and MFIs (guarantee funds, refinancing lines…).

110. To facilitate the development of storage facilities, a support mechanism for building, renovating, upgrading and equipping facilities (weigh scales, pallets, etc.) will be developed. This mechanism will partially subsidize construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of warehousing material. Such funding will be conditional on POs adhering to well-defined technical specifications.


Development of a funding mechanism for storage facilities, to cofinance 65,000 tons of storage capacity2.

112. Coordination: RAAF, EBID.



115. To cover the price risk of POs practicing warrantage, it will be necessary to encourage the creation of contracts between the POs and institutional stocks (NSS, RFSR, WFP, etc.) or processers, in particular by developing futures purchases or purchasing options.


Design and development of a contracting system between institutional stocks (NNS, RFSR, WFP, etc.), certain processors/industrial buyers and locally held stocks.


118. Eligibility: The activity is eligible under “Support for innovation and capacity-building” and “support for regional agricultural integration”

119. ECOWAS budget envelope: 700,000 USD over 5 years.

120. With regards to refinancing, a partnership will be established with existing bank networks interested in investing in this type of activity, to set up specific credit lines, perhaps at a reduced rate.

2 At an average cost of 200$ per ton of storage capacity (source: SONAGESS)

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Development of a partnership between EBID and several banking networks to deliver US$20 million of refinancing to MFIs for warranted loans.



124. ECOWAS budget envelope: 21,100,000 USD over 5 ans.

125. In terms of guarantee funds, a specialized financial institution will be best positioned to guarantee commercial bank loans to refinance MFIs by. The guarantee fund will be housed under an existing institutionalized guarantee fund at the regional level (for example SOFIGIB, SAHFI, GARI, FSA, FAGACE, FONAGA, FGHM, FARE, etc.).


Development of a partnership between EBID and guarantee fund, to be capitalized with US$20 million.




Activity 2.2.2 - Promote the development of professional warehouse receipts systems through pilot projects and concessional rate loans for new warehousers.

130. To support the development of professional warehouse receipts systems in West Africa, which will help incentivize the traditional banking sector and encourage the emergence of agricultural commodity exchanges, two pilot schemes will be developed with a private warehouser, a para-public warehouser and ECOWAS. Startup loans for warehousers will be available from the same funding facility that will finance POs developing warrantage activities.


Development and monitoring of two pilots for large scale warehouse receipts systems with a private partner and a para-public partner.

Development of a funding mechanism for storage facilities to cofinance 50% of the startup costs for 30,000 tons of storage capacity.

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Activity 2.2.3 – Promote the development of a regional commodity exchange for agricultural products, in particular cereals.

A functional commodity exchange is an essential market regulation mechanism in liberal economies. It allows supply to meet demand, respecting the rules of perfect competition. There have been several initiatives in West Africa more or less similar to an agricultural commodity exchange. Some NGOs and cooperation agencies have started trading mechanisms for business opportunities between regional producers and economic operators. These mechanisms are called mini commodity exchanges for agricultural products and grains. One example is the annual initiative of the NGO Afrique Verte. On the fringe of the annual COPARCO meeting, CILSS has launched a day of exchanges for business opportunities. The organizers of the “Accessing the Market Programme” note that these meetings have been the catalyst for sizable grain business deals.

There are two other forms of stock exchanges in the region. The regional WAEMU real estate stock market headquartered in Abidjan does not operate in agricultural and food products. Those stock exchanges in Nigeria and Ghana do, however, include agricultural products and appear to be genuine initiatives worth following as part of ECOWAS and WAEMU’s efforts to adopt a regional commodity exchange mechanism for agricultural products as a whole, and food products in particular.

This work aims to support and accelerate the creation of a regional commodity market for food products as a means to improve trade flows and regulate the regional agro-food products market.


Documentation of lessons learned from existing schemes in the region, regardless of their form and scale. In this regard, the experiences of CILSS, Afrique Verte, and especially those in Nigeria and Ghana, should be studied closely.

Update of the feasibility study for a regional commodity market for food products undertaken by ECOWAS and WAEMU. This update should take into account current changes in the regional market (imminent introduction of a customs union, development of a regional food reserve and the activities of the Regional Fund for Agriculture and Food)

Identification potential stakeholders to substantially contribute to operationalizing a regional commodity exchange for food products (commercial banks, economic operators, insurers, etc.)

Study on the possibility of expanding stock exchanges in Nigeria and Ghana into certain countries, and ensuring linkages at the regional level on a trail basis (pilot scheme).

136. Coordination: RAAF.

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137. Eligibility: The activity is eligible under the regional integration window, primarily capacity-building. Basis infrastructures will be subsidized at a 50% rate. Commercial banks, insurers and private economic operators will finance the remaining 50%. Stakeholders will include ECOWAS, socio-professional organizations, chambers of commerce, chambers of agriculture, commercial banks and central banks, private economic operators and insurance providers.


Activity 2.2.4. – Promote value chains and inter-professional initiatives across regional production areas for strategic regional products.

139. There have been many initiatives to organize value chains and sectors, mainly at the national level. Given the challenges and the variety of approaches adopted, a framework has been designed and will lead to the development of a specific regional programme in 2013, whose activities will be coordinated with those of this programme.

Outcome 2.3 – Capacity-building of stakeholders involved in market regulation mechanisms

140. A study of regional practices in collective marketing and warrantage indicate that there is much room to significantly improve the effectiveness of operational systems through technical assistance, high quality training and pooling certain functions. Managing storage and marketing and, by extension, the financial viability of POs and operators, as well as their contribution to market regulation, calls for expertise in a variety of areas: collection, financial and physical management of stocks, monitoring and analysis of markets, contract negotiation with MFIs and buyers, expertise in other income-generating activities to complement revenues, etc.

141. It is difficult for the POs and private operators to acquire all these skills on their own. For this reason, regional action will focus on encouraging data collection; building operator networks; training stock managers; providing useful information on prices, stocks, flows and market prospects; peer learning and experience sharing.

142. POs are not the only ones who should benefit from specific training. Bank and MFIs managers involved in financing these activities, as well as private operators, chambers of agriculture and commerce representatives, officials from ministries of agriculture, finance and trade should also benefit from training on warrantage and warehouse receipt systems.

143. It is also crucial for the various operators to acquire the skills needed to carry out economic analyses based on reliable market information systems, to allow them to monitor changes in market prices and make informed decisions (purchase price, destocking decisions, etc.). Given the complex relationship between international and national markets, there is the need for an effective regional information system underpinned by excellent analytical capacities. The programme will therefore also target the improvement of regional information systems and their analytical functionalities.

Activity 2.3.1 - Support for the creation of a network of operators for implementing market regulation mechanisms.

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144. In conjunction with the development of a regional strategy and its national equivalents, it will therefore be necessary to carry out a survey of operators and facilitate their networking, in order to encourage peer learning and define needs in terms of advisory services and economic information. These functions will be underpinned by a Web-based communication system allowing, for example, the publication of specification guidelines, training modules, documentation, etc.

145. This autonomous professional network will be developed under the guidance of ROPPA, much like the existing PO sub-sector networks and/or consultative bodies.


Organization of statutory meetings, thematic workshops, regional stakeholder networks. Development of a functional monitoring-evaluation system based on verifiable indicators

reported on a regular basis to evaluate changes to local stocks at the regional level. Development of a constantly updated website presenting all the activities, products and

events organized within the network.

147. Coordination: RAAF, ROPPA.

148. Eligibility: The activity is eligible under the regional integration window, primarily capacity building. Basis infrastructures will be subsidized at a 80% rate. The remaining 20% of investments will be the responsibility of PO networks.


Activity 2.3.2 - Implementation of a training programme for relevant operators: Peasant Organizations, Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce, private operators, banks and Decentralized Financing Systems (DFS).

150. Alongside the regional network, a center for technical training for stakeholders and support structures for collective marketing, warrantage and warehouse receipts system will be created. Technical training programmes will be developed for residential or decentralized delivery, together with advisory missions.


A series of training modules for stakeholders. A series of technical specifications briefs for professionals. Support and advisory missions at the national level.

152. Coordination: RAAF, ROPPA.

153. Eligibility: The activity is eligible under the regional integration window, primarily capacity building. The basis infrastructures will receive an 80% regional subsidy for training sessions. Its trainees will finance the remaining 20% of investments.

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Activity 2.3.3. Improve access to information through Information Systems on price, trade flows and business opportunities.

155. Several information systems on markets and business opportunities operate in West Africa. They are coordinated either by regional integration institutions (ECOWAS, WAEMU), technical cooperation agencies (CILSS, AfricaRice), projects and programmes financed through bi-and multilateral cooperation, etc. These systems mostly focus on gathering data on prices, trade flows, and rarely on stocks and stakeholder strategies. The major limit of these systems is not only their restricted focus, but also the quality of the data they produce. Poor coordination and at times unreliable data makes it difficult for public decision-makers to make well-informed decisions.

156. Over the past four years, ECOWAS has begun to build an information system. This system needs to be strengthened in terms of its geographical scope and the design of a platform to allow small operators (family farmers and cross-border traders) to access high quality information.

157. The goal of this activity is to contribute to dynamic information systems for market and business opportunities within ECOWAS territory.


Support for strengthening existing or gestating information systems, particularly those focused on ECOWAP strategic products: rice, maize, livestock and meat. This support includes assistance for building data collection tools, financing and implementation of basic statistical operations, development, management and analysis of data;

Facilitation of network and information system integration, through the creation of operating platforms in line with rules and access principles pre-defined by the stakeholders.

Support for developing effective information dissemination tools: websites, community radios, brochures, etc.

Support for conducting exchange visits and studies on business opportunities.

159. Coordination: DAERE, RAAF, ROPPA

160. Eligibility: The activity is eligible under “Support for the regional political, institutional and regulatory framework”. Stakeholders in this activity are primarily technical cooperation institutions, socio-professional organizations, national statistics institutes and non-governmental organizations.


5 Stakeholders and beneficiaries

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162. The implementation of SO1 for the regulation of border areas falls under the prerogative of the ECOWAS Commission: DAERE in collaboration with the Trade Department.

163. The implementation of SO2 for the domestic market regulation falls under the prerogatives delegated to the ECOWAS Commission and the RAAF, with financial management delegated to EBID.

164. The primary stakeholders are the following:a. For SO1: DAERE will rely on the CIAA to work together with the Trade Department.

This process should bring together: i. Trade and Agriculture Ministries of Member States;

ii. Members of the Consultative Committee on Agriculture and Food;iii. WAEMU Commission.

b. For SO2: DAERE will work with the RAAF and EBID. Implementation will bring together:

i. Producer organizations;ii. Private sector and warehousers;

iii. Banking sector and micro-finance institutions;iv. Insurance companies;v. NGOs and TA providers to POs and the financial sector;

vi. The WAMIN, CILSS, and support projects for improving the fluidity of regional trade.

6 Complementary measures

165. The programme is at the crossroads of several major challenging issues:a. Managing the interface with the global market:b. Structuring and capacity building of PO and other marketing actors;c. Organization of value chains, market regulation and promotion of the regional market;d. Local storage and its place within a national and regional storage strategy;e. Agricultural and market risk management;f. Involvement of the commercial banking sector and MFIs in the agricultural sector as a

whole and in financing storage and marketing in particular. 166. Complementary measures fall under two distinct approaches:

a. Conditions needed to roll out the programme effectively and efficiently;b. Linkages to develop to ensure consistency within RAIP and ECOWAS, in line with the

market dimensions of the programme.

6.1 Conditions to be met

167. The programme is based on a consistent approach to external trade policy, and activities to promote agricultural sectors and regulate regional markets.

168. It requires the effective mobilization of a wide range of actors who choose to set up sustainable mechanisms and tools for supporting storage and collective marketing (CER, States, POs, warehousers). In general, and in contrast to the national and regional debate on

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storage, its goals and mechanisms, POs practice storage with a twin goal: (i) to strengthen their market position and contribute to market regulation, and (ii) to guarantee themselves a security cushion. These twin functions are combined and difficult to dissociate, and vary in importance according to whether the PO operates in a surplus area, a precarious zone or a deficit area.

169. The programme therefore feeds into a regional storage strategy that integrates two visions for the region: storage for regulation and storage for security.

170. As a result, the Task Forces that address storage (security and regulation) need to be dynamic and the political dialogue within ECOWAS steering and implementation committees lively, to lead the consultations required to implement the programme.

171. A number of ECOWAS Member States are also OHADA members and have an important normative role in two areas core to the programme: cooperative legislation and banking sector and securities legislation, which member States cannot avoid. But several countries (Nigeria, Ghana, etc.) are not members of OHADA. Moreover, some aspects of OHADA legislation on cooperatives appear incompatible with the realities faced by farmers’ organizations, unions and federations. ECOWAS and its Member States must therefore decide on a course of action for these two questions.

a. Will it be necessary to revise or adjust the OHADA regulatory framework regarding the principle of subsidiary?

b. What can be done to ensure sufficient harmonization of the regulatory frameworks applicable to POs and the banking sector, taking into account the discrepancy caused by (non) OHADA membership?

172. Several of the programme’s activities, in particular the development of a regional commodity exchange, call for close cooperation between ECOWAS, WAMEU, CILSS and WAMIN. The programme’s success will hinge on the quality of dialogue and collaboration between these institutions.

Monitoring capacity of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food

173. The programme’s implementation depends on the RAAF. It will be necessary to verify its capacity to operationalize simultaneously the various programmes at the start of 2013, in particular its financial and administrative capacity, and the Technical Unit. The resources for this capacity assessment are already in the RAAF’s budget and do not have a specific line item in the programme’s budget. The externalization of specialized technical support at the regional PO network level should allow the RAAF to implement the programme without undue difficulty. This technical support team is budgeted for in the programme.

6.2 Linkages to set up upon implementation

Development of information systems and decision-making support

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174. The Regional Programme to Support Market Regulation requires major improvements across all information systems at the national and regional level. Progress should focus on Market Information Systems (MIS), their network – the WAMIN – but also cross-border and regional flows. These aspects fall under the remit of ECOAGRIS. The present programme only addresses the processing and dissemination of information on stocks, which requires specific analysis and presentation format for prices and trade data. In addition, improving the quality of production data is key for POs to anticipate market dynamics (price shifts) and to position themselves accordingly.

Trade policy measures

175. Financial mechanisms for risk management are essential for improving the functioning of markets and their regulation. But to be fully effective, other measures that address the business environment are central. The following measures planned in the RAIP will be decisive:

a. Effective removal of obstacles to the free circulation of products;

b. Development of the CET with customs duties and trade protection measures adapted to every agricultural chain, in particular to manage volatility imported from the international market;

c. Standardization of products.

176. These aspects must be included in the agendas of meetings of the Inter-departmental Committee for Agriculture and Food.

Measures relating to the banking sector and microfinance

177. The programme highlights the importance of negotiating with the banking sector, including microfinance institutions, on financing storage and marketing. In fact, this linkage pertains to the financing of all agricultural activity (productive activities, investments, downstream from production). As a result, DAERE should consult with the Inter-departmental Committee for Agriculture and Food to determine a strategy for collaboration and negotiation with the banking sector.

Coordination with the Regional Food Security Reserve

178. Several linkages are planned with the Regional Food Security Reserve in order to ensure coherence between the Reserve’s actions and the support programme for storage and marketing, to multiply synergies where opportunities exist. Concretely, this involves (i) taking into account local stocks in an overarching, predictable national and regional strategy; (ii) developing contractual relationships between national and local stocks; (iii) developing institutional purchases and purchase contracts with POs to feed into national stocks and the regional reserve. Cooperation between local stock networks, national stocks and the Reserve, aided by price information and market forecasts, should make it possible to avoid the possible destabilizing effects on markets and POs induced by supply and destocking operations.

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Coordination with the mechanisms proposed under the intensification support programme

179. The support programme for intensification includes mechanisms to finance agriculture with collateral requirements that include warrantage. It will therefore be necessary to define complementarities between the two programmes and integrate them into subsequent analyses of lessons learned on a regional scale.

7 Risks and assumptions

7.1 Risks and assumptions underpinning the programme’s feasibility

Low appropriation of State and professional stakeholders

180. The programme relies on adequate mobilization of States and various programme stakeholders. Two aspects are particularly crucial: the mobilization of the banking sector and POs. Most POs involved in storage and collective marketing are highly decentralized grassroots level farmers’ organizations. They are fragmented and receive varying levels of support from a large number of partners, each one committed to their own way of working and managing stocks. These partners will have to be associated with the programme to encourage the adoption of recognized, shared practices.

181. Some important work on regulatory frameworks must be carried out and will require every State to work alongside the administrations in charge of these questions, usually ministries of the interior. Experience shows that agricultural administrations and POs were not included in work carried out by the OHADA. Adopting a participatory, interministerial approach is essential, as is the question of banking and insurance mechanisms.

Capacity of (1) ECOWAF and (2) States to mobilize international aid

182. The programme seeks to deploy sustainable funding mechanisms for storage and marketing on the basis of cooperation and partnerships between the private, bank, cooperative and mutual sector. Public investment is partly justified given the need to reinforce regulation and test mechanisms that are expected to become sustainable thanks to market forces and economic gains derived from storage, standardization and delayed marketing of agricultural products.

7.2 Risks and assumptions underpinning the programme’s implementation

Absence of a well-developed host institution on the ECOWAS or State level

183. The programme’s implementation will be contingent on the creation of a highly professionalized technical unit associated with the regional organizations (ROPPA or all three ROPPA/RBM/APESS).

Low capacity for implementation

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184. The operational capacities of Member States’ centralized administrations are often insufficient when it comes to updating the arsenal of legal provisions and monitoring/supervision of cooperative organizations.

185. This inadequacy also directly affects the stock management and collective marketing of POs. To remedy these problems, the programme must deploy sufficient resources for the regional technical unit and mobilize the skills of partners (NGOs, etc.) that provide TA to POs.

186. The programme must in particular encourage the institutional arrangements and partnerships that help overcome these challenges.

7.3 Risks and assumptions underpinning the programme’s impact

187. Border mechanisms do not cover all the strategic products in terms of regional food security and agriculture, which will limit their effective impact on regulating markets.

188. The high level of exposure to natural hazards and market risks in certain zones creates a permanent risk to the viability and sustainability of local microfinance institutions, stock management and marketing efforts. The use of risk management tools, insurance and risk pooling mechanisms are essential for safeguarding the programme’s investment agreements.

8 Programme implementation

189. SO1 will be piloted by DAERE while RAAF will be in charge of SO2 activities. A project manager must be recruited specifically for this programme. RAAF will work with the technical unit set up at the regional PO level to support POs and networks.

190. The operating procedures for RAAF and the mobilization of the ECOWAFD in particular will be established early 2013, and available for the programme’s implementation according to clearly defined administrative and financial procedures.

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9 Programme budget

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

Outcome 1.1: ECOWAS

establishes effective border

mechanisms adapted to the

specificities of the regional market for agricultural

products

Activity 1.1.1 - Formulate possible proposals for reclassifying products currently under-protected by the CET

Study the CET tariff structure to identify products which may be under-protected

50,000 50,000

Set out key arguments for the DAERE for use in CIAA negotiations

50,000 50,000

Total: Activity 1.1.1 100,000

Activity 1.1.2 – Make proposals for supporting agricultural challenges and food security in the region

Simulation of the various application modalities of the support measures

100,000 100,000

Set out key arguments for the choice of support measures and their application modalities

50,000 50,000


Activity 1.1.3 – Make proposals for special safeguards against short-term eventualities such as price volatility.

Simulation of the various application modalities for the special safeguards

100,000 100,000

35

Fact sheet backing the choice of special safeguards and their application modality

50,000 50,000


Activity 1.1.4 - Guarantee the consistent monitoring of the implementation and the impact of border mechanisms relating to agricultural products

Monitor the effective application of regulations relating to border mechanisms

60,000 60,000 60,000 60,000 60,000 300,000

Monitor the impact of border mechanisms 65,000 65,000 65,000 65,000 65,000 325,000


Total: Outcome 1.1

1,025,000

Outcome 1.2: Border

mechanisms are recognized in the

international agreements in

which the region is implicated

Activity 1.2.1 – Contribute to drawing up regional submissions in areas where the CET CEDAO may be challenged by WTO stakeholders

Identify potential WTO clashes incompatibilities 50,000 50,000

Provide the CIAA key arguments for WTO negotiations

50,000 50,000 50,000 150,000


Activity 1.2.2 - Help strengthen ECOWAS at the WTO in order to defend regional interests as regards agricultural products and food security

Monitor changes in challenges to trade and food security across all ECOWAS countries

40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 200,000

Provide the CIAA key arguments for negotiations to federate the positions of Member Countries.

40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 200,000


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Activity 1.2.3 – Monitor the EPA negotiations and its potential impacts on agriculture and food security.

Draw up key arguments in favor of signing a regional EPA

25,000 25,000

Set out key arguments on the most recent arbitrations on the « market access offer »

25,000 25,000

In the event of the signing of the EPA, help monitor the application of the EPA and its possible impacts

70,000 70,000 70,000 70,000 70,000 350,000


Total Outcome 1.2

1,000,000

Outcome 2.1. The region achieves a supportive

strategic and regulatory

environment for private sector and semiprofessional

initiatives

Activity 2.1.1. Develop a market regulation strategy for the region and support its transposition into concerted, harmonized and national strategies.

Task Force operations: 4 annual meetings over the first 3 years, travel, multiplication efforts and dissemination of results

100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 500,000

Formulation of regional strategy 200,000 200,000

Presentation, dissemination and national adoption

200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000 800,000

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Total: Activity 2.1.1 1,500,000

Activity 2.1.2. Adapting regional regulation and transposing it into national regulations the fields of cooperative laws, (ii) warrantage, (iii) collateral management, (iv) securities, (v) agricultural product norms.

Implementation of a regional study for developing national regulations for warrantage, warehouse receipts, etc…

200,000 200,000

Transpose into national regulations 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000 800,000


Activity 2.1.3.Development of an accreditation scheme for socioprofessionals and private operators for warrantage and collateral management.

Design stakeholder accreditation scheme 100,000 100,000

Set up a regional accreditation system 200,000 100 ,000 100,000 100,000 500,000

Total Activity 2.1.3 600,000

Total: Outcome 2.1

3,100,000

Outcome 2.2. The region develops

economic and financial

mechanisms for promoting

storage initiatives and marketing.

Activity 2.2.1. Support POs disseminating warrant age, setting up storage facilities, risk hedging mechanisms and financial instruments for commercial banks and MFI (guarantee funds, refinancing lines…)

Design funding mechanisms for storage facilities

100,000 100,000

Allocate storage facilities to funding mechanisms

2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 4,000,000 13,000,000

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Design of a price risk hedging system in conjunction with institutional and industrial buyers

100,000 100,000

Implementation of a price risk hedging system in conjunction with institutional and industrial buyers

200,000 200,000 200,000 600,000

Design of security and refinancing instruments for warrantage and warehouse receipt systems

200,000 200,000

Allocation of guarantee funds for warranted loans and warehouse receipt systems

5,000,000 6,000,000 9,000,000 20,000,000

Allocation of lines of refinancing for warranted loans and warehouse receipts

5,000,000 6,000,000 9,000,000 20,000,000


Activity 2.2.2. Promote the development of professional collateral management by funding storage facilities and pilot experiments

Design of pilot experiments 50,000 50 000

Allocation of funding mechanism for storage facilities

1, 000,000 1,000, 000 1,000,000 3,000,000

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Implementation, monitoring and evaluation of two large scale pilots

500,000 500,000 1,000,000

Total: Activity 2.2.2 4 050 000

Activity 2.2.3. Promote the development of a regional stock exchange for agricultural products, in particular grains.

Capitalization on ongoing experiments at the regional and continental level

100,000 100,000

Updating the ECOWAS / WAEMU feasibility study for a regional commodity exchange

50,000 50,000

Extension of Ghana and Nigeria stock markets to other regionally connected countries

1,400,000

1,400,000

1,400,000

1,000,000 5,200,000


Activity 2.2.4. – Promote value chains and interprofessional schemes on the scale of production regions and trading.

-

For the record

-

Total Activity 2.2.4 -

Total: Outcome 2.2

63,400,000

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Outcome 2.3. Capacity-

building of stakeholders involved in

market regulation

mechanisms

Activity 2.3.1. Capacity building of stakeholders involved in market regulation mechanisms.

Statuary functioning of the network 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 250,000

Material investments 250,000 250,000 500,000

Recurring costs of the mechanism 150,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 1,350,000

Total: Activity 2.3.1 2 100 000

Activity 2.3.2. Set up a training programme for the relevant operators: Peasant Organizations, Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce, private operators, banks and SFD.

Design of a training programme for operators

50,000 50,000

Implementation of the training programme 800,000 800,000 800,000 800,000 3,000,000


Activity 2.3.3. Improve access to information through Information Systems on price, trade flows and business opportunities.

Strengthening existing information systems 480,000 480,000 480,000 480,000 480,000 2,400,000

Supporting the integration of information networks

100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 400,000

Supporting the introduction of operators looking for business opportunities

480,000 480,000 480,000 480,000 480,000 2,400,000


Total: Outcome 2.3

10,550,000

Grand total for

programme 79,075,000

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10 Logical Framework

Logical framework Indicators Source of information Risks and assumptions

Overall objective

O.: Contribute to achieving food sovereignty by improving the intra-regional trade flows and market regulation of agro-food products.

Reduced imports of food products.Stabilized and better integrated intra-regional market

Poor regional production and high international price volatility undermine systems set up.

Specific objectives

SO 1: Establish border trade mechanisms to manage the impact of international price volatility on regional markets.SO 2: Promote regulation initiatives and mechanisms for improving the fluidity of the interior regional market.

ECOWAS develops operational border protection instruments allowing for structural adjustments as well as short-term changes in import prices.

Inter-annual coefficients of variation of imported goods on local markets are lower than those observed on the international market

Intra-annual coefficients of variation on food products are lower than the average of the previous ten years and continue to fall.

ECOWAS Trade Department

Information System on international (mundi index, FAO, etc.), regional (Eco Agris, WAMIN) and national markets

Risk: border mechanisms do not cover every strategic product for regional food security.

High exposure to natural or market hazards in certain zones brings an ongoing risk for the viability and sustainability of local MFIs, stock management and marketing.

Outcomes

Outcome 1.1: ECOWAS establishes effective border mechanisms adapted to the specificities of the regional market for agricultural products.

▪ Strategic products for agriculture and food security are maintained in the fifth band▪ Special accompanying safeguard measures are contained within the border protection mechanism

ECOWAS Trade Department

Negotiations are only partially successful and some strategic products are left out.

Outcome 1.2: border mechanisms are recognized in international agreements to which the region is implicated

▪ ECOWAS member countries share a common position during negotiations with exterior trade partners▪ Border mechanisms (CET, special and complementary safeguard mechanisms) are applied to extra regional trade partners

ECOWAS trade department

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Outcome 2.1.: The region has a strategic and regulatory environment that encourages the development of private sector and socio-professional initiatives

▪ A market regulation strategy that feeds into national strategies.▪ Regional regulation adapted and feeding into the national level▪ Accreditation mechanisms for warrantage operators and warehouses.

▪ Strategic and regulatory documents, ECOWAS and member countries.▪ Regional accreditation body.

Poor State mobilization.

Outcome 2.2. The region adopts economic and financial mechanisms for promoting storage and marketing initiatives

▪ Funded storage capacity (in thousands of tons)▪ Value of product contracts (in $)▪ Level of bank refinancing for warranted credit (in $)▪ Level of guaranteed loans (in $)▪ Existence of a pilot stock market for food products

▪ Infrastructure funding mechanism▪ RAAF activity report, ECOWAS Task Force▪ Financial activity reports of funding institutions

Poor mobilization of commercial banks.

Outcome 2.3. The capacities of stakeholders and market regulation mechanisms are strengthened

▪ Existence of a functional network of market regulation operators▪ Training programme for market regulation operators▪ Number of initiatives to strengthen market information systems that are financed

▪ Operator network activity report▪ RAAF activity report

Poor top level PO mobilization in coordinating the network.

Activities

Activity 1.1.1 - Formulate possible proposals for reclassifying products currently under-protected by the CET.

Sums mobilized: see budget

Activity 1.1.2 - Make proposals for supporting agricultural challenges and food security in the region.

Activity 1.1.3 – Make proposals for special safeguards against short-term eventualities such as price volatility.

Activity 1.1.4: Guarantee the consistent monitoring of the implementation and the impact of border mechanisms relating to agricultural products

Activity 1.2.1 - Contribute to drawing up regional submissions in areas where the CET CEDAO may be challenged by WTO stakeholders

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Activity 1.2.2 - Help strengthen ECOWAS at the WTO in order to defend regional interests as regards agricultural products and food security

Activity 1.2.3 - Monitor the EPA negotiations and its potential impacts on agriculture and food security.

Activity 2.1.1. Develop a market regulation strategy for the region and support its transposition into concerted, harmonized and national strategies.

Activity 2.1.2. Adapting regional regulation and transposing it into national regulations the fields of cooperative laws, (ii) warrantage, (iii) collateral management, (iv) securities, (v) agricultural product norms

Activity 2.1.3. Development of an accreditation scheme for socioprofessionals and private operators for warrantage and collateral management.

Activity 2.2.1. Support POs disseminating warrantage, setting up storage facilities, risk hedging mechanisms and financial instruments for commercial banks and MFI (guarantee funds, refinancing lines…)Activity 2.2.2. Promote the development of professional collateral management by funding storage facilities and pilot experiments.Activity 2.2.3. Promote the development of a regional stock exchange for agricultural products, in particular grains.Activity 2.2.4. - Promote value chains and interprofessional schemes on the scale of production regions and trading.Activity 2.3.1. Capacity building of stakeholders involved in market regulation mechanisms.Activity 2.3.2. Set up a training programme for the relevant operators: Peasant Organizations, Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce, private operators, banks and DFSActivity 2.3.3. Improve access to information through Information Systems on price, trade flows and business opportunities.

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Documents

Introduction - Le Hub Ruralhubrural.org/IMG/docs/PARMAO_EN.docx · Web viewThe priority programmes under the NAIP address regional issues, which surpass national prerogatives and