Economic Governance and Food Crisis in West Africa

At the initiative of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), a regional round table of experts on economic governance of food security in West Africa was held collaboration with Oxfam and the West African Civil Society Platform (POSCAO) from 21 to 22 June 2012 in Cotonou, Benin. The meeting brought together experts from Benin, Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

The main objective of the Round Table was to “identify economic policy gaps and deficits that fuel food crises and limit the ability of countries in the West African region to effectively manage or prevent these crises in order to propose possible corrective measures within the framework of consolidating regional integration”. The experts reaffirmed that food and nutritional security is a fundamental human right and currently represents a key economic governance challenge for West Africa.

Participants expressed grave concerns about the fact that the high level of food prices and disruptions on the world markets tend to persist, with serious repercussions on consumer prices in most West African countries. They also recognized that the escalation of food prices on markets as well as the emergence of bio fuels and development of extractive industries in some countries within the region called for significant shifts in addressing the food security issue.

Participants affirmed the pressing need both at the country and regional to deal with the food security issue, using a holistic and inclusive approach from the stakeholders’ perspective in developing policies on one hand, and on the hand, adopting a cross-cutting view in order to fully grasp the interlinkages and interactions to optimize economic policy tools in the prevention and management of food crises. They welcomed in this regard efforts underway within ECOWAS to develop instruments and mechanisms for the prevention and management of food crises.

Participants deplored the voluntary and non binding nature of most of the instruments or measures such as the Charter for Food Crisis Prevention and Management, Voluntary Guidelines, communiqués etc. They considered it necessary that both States and regional authorities imposed on themselves some accountability in respect of some permanent proposals made in the area of food security. Participants noted as current and future major challenges and issues of food security governance in West Africa, the region’s high dependence on the world market, the development of bio fuels, climate change, speculation on foodstuffs and price volatility.

At the end of deliberations, participants at the Round Table called on ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS Member States to:

Review the implementation of ECOWAS protocols on social protection in order to include vulnerabilities linked to food and nutritional insecurity;

Propose alternatives to macroeconomic stabilisation policies often imposed by the World Bank and IMF and other bilateral agencies which expose small producers to shocks and other serious vulnerabilities;

Develop for ECOWAS a common trade policy consistent with the food sovereignty option and engage a process to ensure that it gains full membership of the WTO;

Ensure the implementation of the CET and safeguard measures to strengthen and improve the economic governance of food security;

Improve compliance with commitments (10% of Maputo) and set up mechanisms and instruments of effective agricultural investments that will contribute to food security in West Africa;

Reinforce the role and intervention of national and regional coordination agencies in monitoring and evaluation of the various agricultural and agro-industrial investments to prevent and manage food crisis in West Africa.