NIGERIA / ECOWAS: OPENING OF THE CONSULTATION PROCESS OF THE SECOND SUMMIT OF THE AGRICULTURE BUDGET

Consultations for the second ECOWAS People's Budget Summit began on 02 December 2019 in Abuja, Nigeria. Under the theme: State of Public Finance in ECOWAS Member States, this annual meeting aimes to summarize the resolutions adopted at the last edition, and then assess their implementation in the various countries.

After several hours of deliberaions between the various delegqtes from all over the West African sub-region, these actors from the agricultural world came to bring to the ECOWAS Parliament their expectations, which would effectively contribute to the development of agriculture in Africa in general and in ECOWAS member countries in particular.

Despite the progress made compared to previous years, much remains to be done both by ECOWAS leaders and by the governments of its Member States. This is in order to lift the agricultural sector out of the disastrous state in which it finds itself in many parts of the continent, which has a negative impact on the daily lives of some of these actors, particularly women and youth.

To this end, the implementation of the ECOWAP and other ECOWAS resolutions by Member States is already laying the foundations for a developed and competitive West African agriculture that can effectively combat rural poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity, and this can only be achieved if governments support the most disadvantaged actors in the agricultural sector.

Since there are no perfect countries, the Malabo Declaration, which recommends that all member countries spend at least 10% of their overall budget on agriculture, so as t ensure that the requuisite investment in agriculture is obtained. This, in order to achieve the objectives set by the CAADP/ ECOWAP Malabo Declaration of transforming agriculture by 2025. This is because in order to change the destiny of Africa, agriculture now appears to be a major factor to focus on. However, if the conditions under which agriculture is not improved, it is likely that we will miss the opportunity for the development of the ECOWAS region, and Africa as a whole.

The consultation meeting was convened by civil society organizations such as OXFAM, ACTIONAID, TRUSTAFRICA, CNC, ONE, which are constantly working day by day for the continent's development.