Managing Agricultural Risks in West Africa: Commissioner Massandjé TOURE-LITSE leads a high-level Mission to the Togolese Ministry of Agriculture

Ahead of the regional workshop on capitalizing on PARM experiences and formulating a regional program for agricultural risk management in West Africa, to be held in Lomé from 16 to 20 June 2025, Commissioner Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, in charge of Economic Affairs and Agriculture at the ECOWAS Commission, led a high-level mission to the Togolese Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday 12 June 2025.

The mission was made up of representatives of the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM), co-financed and hosted by IFAD, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Togo and experts from the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food. Ms. TOURE-LITSE informed the Chief of Staff, Mr. Konlani Dindiogue, representing the Minister of Agriculture, Village Hydraulics and Rural Development, of a regional facility to be coordinated by ECOWAS with IFAD funding of 250 million dollars over the next ten years to address agricultural risks in West Africa.

To recall, the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) has successfully completed its country process in four West African countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Senegal. PARM’s support included in-depth risk assessment studies to identify, prioritize and better understand the main agricultural risks. Following fruitful discussions between PARM and ECOWAS technical teams, notably the Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development (DADR) and the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF), ECOWAS has expressed a keen interest in extending the scope of PARM’s services to other countries in the region as part of its third phase (PARM Horizon 3). The discussions highlighted the need for a holistic and integrated approach to agricultural risk management, to tackle growing challenges such as climate change, market volatility, epidemics and illegal immigration.

Responding to Commissioner TOURE-LITSE, the Chief of Staff assured ECOWAS that “Togo will play its part to ensure that this forthcoming facility is a success for the region. Considering the recurrent agricultural risk in the region, it is only together that we can help our producers to better control the many risks that can affect the agricultural sector”, he concludes.

According to Commissioner TOURE-LITSE, the issue of agricultural risks and insurance is so important that ECOWAS will ensure that it is properly considered in the priorities of the Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) currently under review. For record, last May ECOWAS launched a review of ECOWAP for the next ten years to better address current and future challenges in the agricultural sector.

At next week’s workshop, countries and other stakeholders will share their experiences of agricultural insurance and agricultural risk management, laying the foundations for the regional facility to be put in place.