COLEACP–ECOWAS Cooperation Agreement

On 8 December, COLEACP signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).



Mr Alain Sy Traoré, Director of Agriculture and Rural Development of the ECOWAS Commission, said “Within the framework of this Cooperation Agreement, we encourage the continuation of the exchanges initiated between COLEACP and ECOWAS through the Fit For Market SPS and SyRIMAO programmes, which have already made it possible to identify points of synergy between the two projects for the next mango campaign in the region.”



The SyRIMAO programme (Système Régional Innovant de contrôle des Mouches des Fruits en Afrique de l’Ouest) aims to strengthen the prevention and control of fruit flies in West African horticulture, in order to improve the incomes of West African fruit and vegetable producers, particularly small producers, and thus contribute to food security, poverty reduction and job creation in the sub-region. The programme is implemented by the ECOWAS Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (Agence Régionale pour l’Agriculture et l’Alimentation, ARAA), based in Lomé, Togo.



The agreement covers four areas of intervention: strengthening the governance of SPS systems; improvement of operational processes; management of skills; and strengthening of communication dynamics and relations between the different stakeholders, in particular with the private sector. It notes that communication between National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs), particularly with professional organisations, is essential to ensure private sector involvement in the process of strengthening SPS systems.