The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in collaboration with the Alliance for Agroecology in West Africa (3AO), the West Africa Organic Network (WAfrONet) and ActionAid are set to develop sustainable food systems for food sovereignty in West Africa.
The collaboration is through the implementation of public policies and interventions that value the structural solutions provided by resilient practices derived from agroecology, organic farming and climate-smart agriculture.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, who noted this at the regional forum on agroecology and organic farming in West Africa, said the collaboration became necessary because food systems in West Africa are currently facing several crises, including the effects of climate change.
He said contributing very little to global warming, with just 1.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the countries of the ECOWAS region are at the heart of the climate change challenges facing the first half of the 21st century.
According to him, the most pessimistic scenarios, between now and 2060, West Africa will experience a temperature rise of +2.3°C, i.e., a warming of +0.6°C per decade.
He said the number of days of potentially lethal heat could reach 50 to 150 per year for a global warming of 1.6°C and 100 to 250 per year for a global warming of 2.5°C, with the greatest increases in coastal areas.
He said the risk of heat-related mortality is now 6 to 9 times higher than the 1950-2005 average at 2°C global warming.
The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu said the forum was of strategic importance, especially as it provided an opportunity to share and analyse, with all the agricultural and political players in the region.
He said the mechanisms and opportunities for increasing funding for these three approaches to sustainable agriculture, the instruments that can be mobilised, their effectiveness and efficiency, and pragmatic support policies.
“Over the next few days, we will critically examine the opportunities, challenges, and mechanisms needed to secure the financial flows essential for scaling these sustainable practices across West Africa,” he said.