WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA AAACP DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP Hotel Azalai Salam, Bamako, MALI 28 & 29 November Workshop Report

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1 WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA AAACP DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP Hotel Azalai Salam, Bamako, MALI 28 & 29 November 2011 Workshop Report Rapporteur: François Somayire, Consultant

2 List of Acronyms and abbreviations AAACP All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme ACA African Cotton Association ACP Africa, Caribbean, Pacific CERFITEX Centre de Recherche et de Formation pour l'industrie Textile CFC Common Fund for Commodities CIC-B Comité Interprofessionnel des Céréales du Burkina Faso CIR-B Comité Interprofessionnel du Riz du Burkina Faso CSITC Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton CTA Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States 1 EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FED Fonds européen de développement GIPD Gestion Intégrée de la Production et des Déprédateurs GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH GRET Professionnels du développement solidaire IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IMC Integrated measurement chain IPPM Integrated Production and Pest Management 2 IOs International Organisations ITC International Trade Centre MIS Market Information System ROPPA Réseau des organisations paysannes et de producteurs agricoles RTC Regional Technical Centre UEMOA Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africain 3 UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade And Development UTRAM Usine de transformation du manioc 1 Communauté Economique des Etats de l Afrique Centrale (CEEAC) 2 GIPD (Gestion Intégrée de la Production et des Déprédateurs) 3 West Africa Economic & Monetary Union (WAEMU)

3 Opening Ceremony: Workshop opening was marked by three speeches: 1- Opening remarks by the ACP Representative, H. E. Mr. Daniel EVINA ABE E, Ambassador of Cameroon in Brussels In his introductory remarks, the representative of the ACP Group thanked Mali for welcoming this workshop and facilitating its organisation. He described the history of the programme, its main objectives, being the reduction of poverty in ACP countries and the building of a proper vision of development. Since 2007, ACP States had to face a sharp raise of prices of agricultural products, whilst Governments had no mean to influence this evolution of events, with a risk of destabilization. Orentations were taken to support the rural sector, with the objective to achieve food security and rural development for the most fragile populations. The conception of a development vision which is specific to each country or each region must put together the efforts of all components, from the States and private sector, as well as the Non State Actors. The AAACP Programme has been designed on this model: to call all stakeholders of the society to develop and implement concrete and efficient strategies, which aim at reducing poverty by improving and developing agricultural value chains in ACP countries and regions, with a technical and financial support from partner organizations. The cooperation between the ACP Group of States and the European Union materializes itself into a range of projects and programmes financed from EDF resources. In addition to these programmes, one can also find intra-acp initiatives, which are less known but have been defined for the benefit of all ACP countries which are eligible for EU funding; these programmes are managed jointly by the ACP Secretariat and the European Union. Due to limited resources, these programmes are focusing on problematic that are common for all ACP countries, in view of identifying solutions which can be adapted to each country or region. But this programme counld not be implemented without the contribution of five main partner International Organisations, which can not only complement the EU funding by providing own financial resources and means, but can also provide their respective expertise and competences for implementing activities selected in the framework of strategy development in the ACP countries and regions concerned. I do hope that with all this energy which is being invested in the design and the implementation of activities of the AAACP programme, ACP States will be able to reduce the dependency viz a viz a certain number of priority agricultural commodities and ultimately, to expert their products or develop a vision of import substitution. 2- Opening remarks by the Representative of the EU Delegation in Mali, Mr David MOGOLLON, Head of Rural Development Section Successive crises and increasing competition in international markets created major difficulties for the agriculture sector in ACP States. Producers and countries often lack of strategic vision for the development of their agricultural value chains. AAACP programme has been designed for contributing to reduce poverty in ACP States, by reducing vulnerability of the agricultural value chains and by improving incomes and livelihoods of producers of agricultural commodities. To this end, the EU has allocated financial resources and, with the cooperation

4 of partner international organizations, has developed several tools for achieving this programme objective. It is worth mentioning that the innovative approach of the programme is resulting from a shared vision and ideas put forward by the stakeholders themselves, who are playing a key role in the programme by participating to the decision-making process and the implementation of the activities. Similarly, the conjunction of the expertise of the partner organizations has been essential for the programme to successfully carry out the activities selected in the context of the strategies approved by the beneficiaries. The EU welcomes the results achieved after 4 years of implementation, as well as the willingness of other technical and financial partners to join the efforts for developing the agriculture sector in the ACP States, with the ultimate objective to improve the livelihoods of rural populations in the ACP countries and regions. 3- Opening remarks and Official Opening by H. E. Mr Mamadou TRAORE, Secretary General of the Ministry of Mining, Investments and Commerce of Mali, representing Madam the Minister Talking on behalf of Madam the Minister of Mining, Investments and Commerce of Mali, the Secretary General of the Minister first welcomed all workshop participants. It is an honor for Mali to host the closing works of the EU-funded AAACP programme which benefitted to many African countries. Programme results are visible after only 4 years: several priority agricultural value chains were organized in West and Central Africa, support has been provided by partner Programme Organisations for improving the livelihoods of populations of countries of the two regions, and several pilot projects are running smoothly in our regions. The objective of the workshop is to share these results and define the next steps so as to ensure the sustainability of the actions undertaken. Mali was privileged to host a certain number of AAACP activities. We can mention proudly the Regional Technical Centre for the promotion of instrument testing of cotton in Africa, which is housed within CERTIFEX in Segou; project related to the prevention of contamination of seed cotton; the project related to IPPM and Good Agriculture Practices; the support to Arabic Gum in Mali; and others which will be discussed by the beneficiaries in the field later during this meeting. The agriculture sector contributes significantly to the socio-economic stability of our West and Central Africa regions, as well as the fight against poverty. Direct testimonials will be made by field actors during these two days; I urge the development partners to listen carefully and provide some feed-back on how they intend to ensure a follow-up of the initiatives launched under the AAACP programme. On behalf of Madam the Minister, the speaker declared open the works of the West and Central Africa AAACP dissemination workshop and wished lots of success for these works.

5 Session 1 : Overview of Expected and Actual Results The Programme Coordination Unit presented some basic facts of the programme, the challenges which need to be addressed, actions implemented and expected results. The programme used a participatory approach by calling upon all value chain stakeholders from public and private sectors, to set up together the priorities and identify programme activities responding thereto. The programme sought the collaboration of 5 experienced international organizations, which provided their expertise and competences to carry out the tasks devoted to the programme. These are the CFC, ITC, UNCTAD, FAO, and the World Bank. Two Kick-off workshops were organised, one in Douala and another in Dakar, for the Central Africa and West Africa region, respectively. It is during these Kick-off workshops that the Coordination Unit explained the orientations and working methods, and potential beneficiaries defined the priorities on the basis of the constraints that the countries were facing. West Africa and Central Africa regions received a total of 13.2 million for the entire programme. After 4 years of implementation, the region has spent 8.5 million representing 65% of its allocation, for a total of 65 interventions linked to several agriculture sectors, which were selected in accordance to specific criteria, among which the level of poverty and degree of dependency of the country to the agriculture sector; the level of collaboration between private and public sector; the focus on capacity building; the regional dimension; the collaboration and complementarity between the 5 IOs; and the sustainability of the proposed interventions. The programme has been coordinated at different levels: in Brussels through the Coordination Unit; in Central Africa, with the ECCAS; and ROPPA and UEMOA for West Africa. In addition, a Steering Committee is ensuring the strategic guidance and provides the main orientations of the programme. Session 2: Case Stories on strategy development Case Story 1: Cassava development strategy in Liberia In 2005, Liberia sought the assistance of the AAACP to develop a strategy of its cassava value chain. The main achievements were as follows: - Two workshops were organized with more than 200 sector stakeholders - A Coordination Committee has been established by the Government, under the Agriculture Coordination Committee which encompasses all agriculture value chains of the country - The cassava strategy has been validated and approved by the Government Challenges to address: Quality of plants; low capacities of production and processing of cassava; market Information; weak research capacities on cassava and products; access to credit and finance Requests for AAACP support: Liberia requests the programme to extend its support to the sector to address these challenges ; priority actions are: creation of associations of producers and processors; access to credit; and market information.

6 Case Story 2: Implementation of the Coffee Strategy in Cameroon During the seventies, Cameroon was the second coffee producing country in Africa; since then, production and quality decreased, resulting to lower yields; lower incomes and increasing poverty for producers, who abandoned gradually this crop. The country requested an intervention of the AAACP programme in 2008 in order to address these problems, and the interest of the State materialized itself with the establishment of a Steering Committee and the participation of several Ministries concerned to the validation of the coffee development strategy. Activities were marked by the participatory approach of the programme. Main achievements were the creation of coffee excellence centres, and the establishment of a publicprivate dialogue for resolving problems and make proposals. Main challenges which still need to be addressed are the extension of the support provided to the centres of excellence, the replication of the experience of the centres of excellence in other locations; and the promotion of coffee produced in these centres. Following the presentation, several questions were raised, notably: - The choice of the priority sectors was made in several steps: (1) identification of 5 to 6 sectors with high export potential ; (2) comparison of the sectors identified with regional policies; (3) consultation with all stakeholders concerned; and (4) taking stock of recommendations of the Mid Term Review of the programme. After this process, regions have defined the priority sectors which should receive a support from the programme. - The choice for the coffee sector in Cameroon has been motivated by the fact that this commodity ranks second for providing foreign exchange, and also by the satisfactory involvement of the State and motivated and dynamic stakeholders who worked with ITC to formulate the strategy. ITC supported the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, for the development and promotion of the coffee sector. The coffee strategy has been handed over to the Government in 2009, its implementation started in 2010 and first results were obtained in Case Story 3: Implementation of cassava strategy in Cameroon The objective of the strategy is to improve the market efficiency of the cassava value chain. The Cameroon Cassava Development strategy has been developed in This ITC led intervention consisted in revisiting the existing strategy, and the expected results were the creation of a National Cassava Office and an observatory of the manioc by-products. The ITC worked with the public-private working group for the development of the new strategy. The main results achieved were as follows: - Pilot centres were created and supported by the Programme - The working group is motivated and follows up closely the activities retained in the strategy Outstanding tasks are notably: - The strengthening of the working group - The organisation of producers

7 - The consolidation of existing results As regards to next steps, beneficiaries would like the programme to focus on: - The construction and organisation of market points for selling cassava products; - The extension of cassava processing units; - The grouping of programme activities: the Government prefers bigger interventions, whereas programme interventions remain atomized Case Story 4 : UTRAM-Cameroon The objective of the UTRAM (Usine de transformation du manioc 4 ) project is to set up a cassava processing unit in Cameroon. UTRAM utilizes two methods: the support to production, and the implementation of processing mechanisms. Currently, the pilot unit processes the cassava in several products, which are: i) food: foufou, bobolo, chikwengue, gari, and cassava leaves; and ii) industrial: glue, starch, cosmetic products, etc. The majority of cassava producers being women, the slogan of UTRAM is that «cassava is cocoa of women» which means that with cassava, the women will improve their incomes. The project needs further support from the AAACP programme to extend research for processing cassava with competitive and desirable products, both programme having the same goal: ensure the food security of the populations. Case Story 5 : Revitalization of the coffee sector in Republic Democratic of Congo (RDC) : The development of the coffee value chain in RDC has benefitted from a good South-South cooperation with Cameroon. With the support of more experienced colleagues from Cameroon, coffee stakeholders in RDC organized several meetings for elaborating a strategy for reviving the sector. The strategy was presented to the Government, which endorsed it. A Steering Committee and an Implementation Committee were established to oversee and develop the coffee sector with provides incomes for a mere households. At this stage, RDC requested the AAACP programme to support two specific activities: 1) Production of plant material: the latter of destroyed by the wars, and need to be multiplied and disseminated at a wide scale to the coffee producers 2) Strengthening of stakeholders and trainers capacities: The Government is expected to provide resources for launching this activity, which would need additional means. Session 3: Improve cotton competitiveness 3.1. Farmer Field Schools This activity concerns the FAO-led programme for the Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM) 5 implemented by SODEFITEX. The purpose of this intervention is to increase the yields of cotton growers and protect the environment, and aims at: - Strengthening the capacities of cotton growers; 4 Cassava Processing Plant 5 Gestion intégrée de la production et des déprédateurs (GIPD)

8 - Utilise Farmer Field Schools and a tool for transferring agriculture practices; - Consolidate the process for producing quality cotton Under each Farmer Field School, a group of 25 producers meet each week to learn and discuss Good Agricultural Practices and exchange experiences and knowledge, in view of disseminating the expertise related to cotton production. The results achieved are: - An increased number of cotton growers - An improvement of the quality of cotton; and - An improvement of producers incomes Lessons learned: - Sustainable development of Good Agricultural Practices as initiated in the context of the Farmer Field Schools - Integration of Farmer Field Schools in cotton production practices 3.2. Instrument Testing of Cotton Quality Quality standards became applicable all along the cotton value chain and cotton prices depend on its quality. Instrument Testing of Cotton Quality is based upon manual and visual appreciation of cotton. In order to grade cotton, integrated testing, called instrument testing of cotton (ITC), are now being utilized. A Task Force has been set up to set up Commercial Standardized Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC) as a mean to collect results from standard and harmonized commercial testing of cotton. CFC and the AAACP are funding a Commercial Standardized Instrument Testing of African Cotton. The objectives of the project are to improve global cotton trade by introducing a world-wide system of instrument-based cotton testing which is acceptable to the major cotton trading parties, notably with the establishment of Regional Technical Centres (RTC) Prevention of seed cotton contamination Contamination of African cotton led to the deterioration of its quality and decrease of production. Contamination is mainly due to the presence of foreign bodies which affect the quality of the fiber, which normally possesses excellent internal intrinsic qualities. CERFITEX, under a co-funding from CFC and the AAACP, implemented a project of prevention of seed cotton contamination, with the following activities: - Distribution of cotton bags and cotton bale cover sheets for the farmers followed by the project - Construction of sheds - Collection of data on cotton lint - Farmer visits - Determination of level of contamination of cotton lint and cotton seed - Search for feed-back from ginners overseas The project met some difficulties, mainly due to lack of collection kits in cotton and their quality, and also lack of material for fabricating the wooden trays

9 Requests: - Meeting other ginners to have feed-back on African cotton - Replication and sustainability of actions undertaken under the programme Questions and responses: - There is a good integration of IPPM into national policies, thanks to the fact that public institutions are member of the national consultative committees; - IPPM can be transferred to other projects, as its objective (good management of land) is being pursued by all development projects - Compatibility between IPPM and Bt Cotton: they can co-exist without problem, as both systems seek a better utilization of land resources - IPPM has a cost: it needs to get financial support to compensate the costs incurred and improve the agriculture - ACA: for the last 5 years, market did not pay off the efforts for having non contaminated cotton; there is a need to find other resourced to continue the efforts - Harvest bags: up till now, local spinners were not capable to fulfill the technical requirements, in terms of quality and costing. Alternate solutions are being sought. Session 4: Linking Farmers to Markets 4.1. PINORD, Senegal Support project for the Competitiveness and marketing of rice of Senegal vallée du fleuve, in partnerhip with FAO and GRET Objective: contribute to food security of the populations by improving their livelihoods Activities: Results: Requests : - Support to 100 rural rice producing micro-enterprises - Development of rice farming systems «RIVAL» - Improvement of capacities of rice producers - Organisation of the production and marketing of rice Rival - Preparation of project business plan - Support to implementation of studies carried out (organisation of marketing of rice, finance & warehousing, strengthening of producers capacities for quality control) 4.2. CIR-B, Burkina Faso The interprofessional rice committee of Burkina 6 was established with a support from FAO in the context of the AAACP programme. Activities: - Strengthening capacities of rice producers - Training women processing rice for utilising management tools in relation to their micro-enterprises 6 Comité Interprofessionnel du Riz du Burkina (CIR-B)

10 Results: Lessons learned : - Women learned good practices at all stages of the processing, packaging and marketing - Establishment of a Business Centre 7 of the «Union des groupements d étuveuses de riz de Bama» 8 (UGRB) - Producers organisations: success story which can be replicated elsewhere - Success of such a production centre lies on continuous efforts for governance, transparency, dialogue and mutual confidence Outstanding gaps : - Ownership of management tools by organisations involved - Replication of this experience in other places 4.3. PAMOL, Cameroon Support project to the production and marketing of oil palm in Cameroon, with a support from IITA Activities: - Organisation of oil palm value chains Results achieved - Lessons learned: - - Training of producers for quality control Improvement of quality of oil palm - Increase of volume of sales Improvement of quality leads to better prices - Good logistics facilitates production and marketing of products - Collaboration between several enterprises of the same sector improves the results achieved by this activity. Requests: - Training of cooperatives of production - Financial support for the purchase of better equipment - Sensitization of women for having their own production fields Session 5 : Innovative Financing and Risk Management 5.1. Development of finance (warrantage) and risk management: The objective of the «Comité Interprofessionnel du Burkina» 9 (CIC-B) is to integrate the whole maize value chain in Burkina Faso. Its works in partnership with FAO since 2009, in the context of the AAACP programme. Activities: Results : - Organisation of the value chain - Mobilisation of credits for the production - Strengthening of production mechanisms - Ownership of management tools for professional organisations - Sensitizing financial institutions to finance agricultural value chains - Mapping commodity risks 7 Centre d étuvage 8 Bama Steamed Rice Groups Union 9 Inter-professional Committee of Burkina

11 Risks: - Creation and establishment of dissemination support - Production: climate change, prices, costs & quality of fertilizers & seeds Solutions : - Production: weather information systems, improved varieties - Processing: respect of contracts; seasonal credits; quality & costs of packaging; access to markets; etc. Challenges: - Bringing a technical and financial support to the value chain stakeholders - Setting up a supply chain finance (warrantage) mechanism - Control of purchase of fertilizers and improved seeds. Supply Chain Finance (warrantage) mechanism at CIC-B: during the harvest, each farmer reserves a quantity of cereals for the group in exchanges with agriculture inputs or seeds. The level of this deduction determines the credit that the farmer receives from the group to buy inputs or seeds. Precautionary Savings: this other system has the same goal, which is to improve the capacity of the borrower to reimburse credit. With a rural sector which has a big saving capacity, there is a high potential for mobilizing financial resources towards its expected objective Risk management in cassava value chain in Cameroon A workshop was organized in November 2010 to map commodity risks in Cameroon. Main commodities studied were maize, rice and cassava. This workshop was followed by a study on commodities and analysis of main characteristics of commodity stakeholders. Results : - Production: there are risks linked to natural factors, to conservation and to transport (state of roads) Solutions : - - Processing: access to credit - For traders: access to credit, transport, information on markets - Financial institutions: fraude, default of reimbursement, price fluctuation Insurance-credit Contracts; precaution credit (before the credit) - Training in finance and risks mitigation - Support and follow up of commodity stakeholders Project : - Training on risk management 5.3. Training on Weather Index Insurance In January 2011, the Ghana Insurance College organised a 8-module training on weather risks in West Africa Results : - Establishment of a meteorological group on agricultural products in Ghana - Set up of a Steering Committee for studying risks of maize value chain in Ghana Lessons learned: - collaboration with other organisations, notably GIZ Requests: - Equipment for the meteorological station - Training of local and regional trainers

12 Session 6: Enhancing the Functioning of Agricultural Commodities Market 6.1. Promoting cereal market in West Africa Situation : - West Africa produces annually 55 million tons of cereals (mil, sorghum, maize, rice), representing 3% of world production - Consumption of cereals in West Africa reached 65 million tons per year. The region imports 100% of wheat consumed, and 50% of rice. - The level of debt is increasing, due to early disposal of products on the market at lower prices than market prices Challenges:- In 2030, the demand for cereals in the region will raise up to 125 million tons, hence the necessity to produce more and organize imports - The diversification and segmentation of the demand increases the production capacity Challenges and opportunities of the regional market: At production level: Intensification of production systems; Re-appropriation of States and regional institutions; implementation of support instruments for enhancing production as foreseen in regional agriculture policies At marketing level: exploitation of farmer groups experience; Implementation of information systems; Promotion of regional cereal exchanges ; Strengthening of legal and regulatory framework: new laws, unified political framework; Support to creation of warehouses Lessons learned: - Cereal market is developing; it is necessary to develop all opportunities to produce more and better, feed populations and sell. Requests : - All activities must target food security - Strengthening of capacities is the basis of activities: training in supply chain finance, sustainability claims and certification, market information systems, communication - Support for training; support to production 6.2. Commodity Exchange in Cameroon The liberalization of agriculture value chains had adverse effects on the economy. Since 2002, UNCTAD and CAT developed surveillance tools for securing agriculture commodities marketing system, among which agriculture commodity exchange. Activities: Problems: Requests : - Market Information Systems (MIS) on coffee-cocoa value chains - Restructuring of coffee-cocoa value chains - Studies on coffee-cocoa value chains: supply chain finance, guarantee funds - Setting up a Task Force for the preparation and introduction of a Commodity Exchange - Review of the legal and regulatory framework - Mobilization of resources for the functioning of the Task Force - Financial and technical support for the operationalization of the Task Force - To take stock from other experiences to launch the Commodity Exchange; in this context, follow up closely the regional exchange launched by UEMOA

13 Session 7 : AAACP Implementing Agencies (presentations and comments) 7.1. World Bank - It is difficult to manage such ambitious Programme: many countries, many sectors, with limited resources and short time - For some interventions, the ACP funding has been complemented by other means from partner institutions lie the World Bank - It is important to insist on the need for Governments to own the strategies which were elaborated under the AAACP 7.2. International Trade Centre (ITC) - Strategy development has involved all stakeholders for the sectors selected - The end of 2011 does not mean the end of the activities: some components will be complemented or taken over by other donors, and new EU-funding programmes are being launched - Programme implementation was longer than initially foreseen - ITC works in collaboration with other organizations established in the countries 7.3. UNCTAD - UNCTAD has supported the development of programme sector strategies - Market Information Systems were put on line - UNCTAD contributed to the establishment of commodity exchanges and WRS - Despite lack of funding, some activities will continue after the programme - Depending on country priorities, a new product has been developed to ensure the sustainability of the activities: the review of agriculture policies 7.4. FAO Remaining funds will be used as follows : 1) Launch pilot tests of the approaches developed under the programme 2) Capitalize upon the achievements of the proframme 3) Implement marketing strategy for smallholders: strengthening of capacities, organization of value chains, development of policies on supply chain finance, etc CFC The life time devoted to the programme was not long enough for implementing all activities. CFC is therefore requesting an extension of activities beyond 2011 (RTC, contamination project, etc.)

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15 Session 8: Presentations by non-aaacp development partners 8.1. ALATONA The purpose of Alatona project is to extend cropping zones in sahelian region of Mali, in the framework of the Millenium Challenge Account. Based on public-private partnership in food production, its objectives are to improve production and productivity in food sector and to support farmer cooperatives which are located in its zone of intervention. The project covers a total area of 22,441 ha. During its first phase covering 5,200 ha, main activities are the irrigation of agriculture schemes, the construction of road and social infrastructures, reforestation and consolidation of land titles. The main achievements are notably the relocation of 800 families and installation of 120 new families, the construction of 9 schools and 3 health centres. In a second phase, the project foresees to cover 8,800 ha, with activities aiming at strengthening food security, improving incomes of producers, mobilizing the private investment, enhancing public-private partnership, with the ultimate objective to create a basis for sustainable development CTA The Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation was created in 1983 in the framework of the Lomé Convention, and is now intervening in 79 ACP countries. Its mandate is to assist agriculture and rural sector development organizations to elaborate policies and information and communication management programmes, in view of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable food security and protect the environment. CTA is editing publications in several languages on different aspects of the agriculture sector and rural world in general, dealing with agriculture policies and experiences launched in other regions, in order to disseminate good agriculture practices among the farmers. In its strategic plan, CTA s main objectives are: Strengthening agriculture development policies in ACP countries Strengthening commodity value chains Strengthening capacities of ACP agriculture stakeholders in the field of information, communication and management 8.3. BCI/CmiA The «Better Cotton Initiative» (BCI) and «Cotton made in Africa» (CmiA) aim at promoting African cotton worldwide, due to increasing demand for higher quality cotton, estimated at 1 million tons in CmIA s objective is to promote higher quality African cotton in view of accessing global cotton market.

16 To this end, the initiative introduces in all African cotton value chains environmental and social standards which are recognized worldwide, by strengthening the capacities of cotton growers in following aspects: Improvement of productivity and quality; Diversification of production by associating cotton to other crops Access to micro-credits Training and strengthening of producers groups Creation of sustainable business relationships through business visits and contacts Currently, 350,500 cotton growers are associated to the CmIA project (in Benin, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast for West Africa), 90,000 tons of cotton responding to CmIA standards have been collected, with an estimated increase of 25 to 40% of incomes of the producers. BCI s objective is to reduce the negative impact of cotton production on environment and social life by creating a «better cotton» which would suit to the needs of all cotton value chain stakeholders. It is not a system of certification, but a voluntary adhesion which is linking cotton producers to international buyers in order to improve cotton quality. The project trains cotton producers how to use good agricultural practices. It has 98 associates worldwide, including textile industries, retailers, non state actors and associations of cotton growers. It works currently in Mali and has established partnerships in Senegal and Togo. In Mali, the experience has shown that cotton producers can improve their incomes up to 25% by producing a better cotton following BCI approach CIRAD A researcher from CIRAD (Centre international de recherche agronomique pour le développement) 10 and cotton specialist, Michel Folk, gave his opinion concerning the support to the cotton value chain and the agriculture sector in general. He raised notably the following points: - Capitalization of activities is important and must be maintained - More focus should be given to production - Research & Development are key to the development of the agriculture sector - Change must be encouraged and take stock from experiences undertaken elsewhere - Agricultural commodities must be promoted, notably though diversification - It is necessary to draw lessons from the past and not reinventing the wheel - Innovation is important, with a clear demarcation of roles and responsibilities - International cooperation must be adapted to the needs of beneficiaries - It is important to share the costs between the States, the private sector, and the donors 10 Agronomic Research for Development International Centre

17 Session 9 - Conclusions and recommendations 1- Main achievements in West and Central Africa 1.1. Strategies Development and validation of 7 sector strategies Coffee in Cameroon: - Improvement of coffee quality with the installation of new performing processing equipment - Establishment of Centres of excellence - Public-private dialogue - Replicability of the model in other countries of the region (RDC) Cassava in Cameroon: - Set up of a Steering Committee - Technics and equipment for processing cassava Revival of the coffee value chain in RDC: - Development of the strategy - Installation of a Steering Committee - National Committee for strategy implementation 1.2. Competitivity Establishment of farmer field schools in Senegal Instrument testing of cotton Prevention of seed cotton contamination: distribution of cotton bags and cotton bale cover sheets; construction of wooden racks and sheds; inter-farmers visits; visits of spinners in foreign countries 1.3. Support to farmer organisations Support to women producing steamed rice in Burkina Faso Development of rice RIVAL in Senegal Training and implementation of supply chain finance mechanisms Organisation of commodity stakeholders Training on Weather Index Insurance Establishment of a Task Force for the preparation of a commodity exchange Complementarities and synergies between partner programme organisations.

18 2- Replicable activities: - Development of coffee sector in Cameroon (on the basis of complementary approach by partner agencies) - Diversification and marketing of cassava products - Prevention of seed cotton contamination - Supply chain finance - Establishment of commodity exchanges 3- Activities to develop further: - Development of rice (RIVAL) - Protection strategies for certain commodities (oil palm) - Studies on weather risks, on the basis of the village banks in Ghana - Precautionary savings systems - Purchase centres for agriculture inputs and seeds - Risks incurred if activities stop by end of Sustainability of the actions undertaken under the programme: - Sustainability must be looked at from design phase - Involvement of stakeholders for each value chain: State, public sector, private sector, support institutions, non state actors, etc. - Empowerment of Coordination/Steering Committees - Coordination/complementarities between partner agencies - Capacity building for commodity stakeholders - Market Information Systems - Search for other funding for continuing activities beyond 2011 (where necessary) - Ownership of programme interventions 5- Outstanding actions to ensure the sustainability of programme activities: - Sensitize all stakeholders on importance to own the programme activities - Extend the training and support to those who are responsible of the projects - Strengthen the efforts for marketing the products - Replicate the success stories in other locations - Accelerate the training to access to finance, and seek alternate funding

19 - Training and transfer of capacities in relation to management tools implemented by the programme - Increase the competitivity of the value chains supported under the programme 6- Main lessons learned - Collaboration between public and private sector in project management - Institutional strengthening of stakeholders capacities - Increase of impact thanks to complementarities and synergies between 5 programme partner IOs - Replicability of interventions - Interest for processing agricultural commodities - Support of projects managed by women - Farmer Field Schools are a sustainable promotion of good agricultural practices - Uncertainties remain on food security worldwide: it is urgent to develop production and marketing of cereals which are suitable in African regions - Importance of strong links between producers and buyers

20 ANNEX 1 Workshop Programme DAY Registration Opening Ceremony: - Opening remarks by the ACP Representative - Opening remarks by the EU Representative - Opening remarks and official opening by Host Country Group photo & Refreshments Session The AAACP: Overview of Expected and Actual Results by Programme Coordination Unit Session Case Stories on strategy development: Presentations will show how the AAACP has supported multi-stakeholder sector strategy development in the West and Central Africa regions using two specific sectors as illustrations (2 x 20mins) Cassava, West Africa, by Liberia Cassava Strategy Committee (Mr M Titoe & A Roberts) Coffee, Central Africa, by Cameroon Coffee Strategy Development Committee (Mr M NDOPING, Executive Director, NCCB/ONCC) Panel contributions on strategy implementation (4x 10 minutes): Cassava: Mrs J NKODO ATANGA (Ministry of Agriculture, Cameroon) and Mrs H MANDJOUNG (GIC UTRAM) Coffee: Mr T KEMBOLA, Chair National DRC Coffee Committee LUNCH Plenary debate: One hour

21 Session Case Story 2: Improving Competitiveness: the Case of Cotton Panel presentations on how AAACP is contributing to increase competitiveness of WCA cotton through (i) good agricultural practices (GAP) and Integrated production and pest management (IPPM) (ii)instrument testing and (iii)prevention of seed cotton contamination (PSCC) Panel Members (10-12 mins each+ same time for chair = 1 hr): Mr B Kamissokho, SODEFITEX - on GAP/IPPM Dr M Traoré, Director, Regional Technical Centre West - on instrument testing Mr Amadou OUADIDJE, Deputy Coordinator, PSCC on progress achieved in preventing seed cotton contamination Plenary Debate: One hour TEA/COFFEE BREAK Session Linking Farmers to Markets (Panel discussion on what has been achieved under the AAACP and what remains to be done) Panellists to include: In the case of West Africa, Pinord in Senegal and Comité interprofessionnel du riz du Burkina (CIR-B). Plenary Debate In the case of Central Africa, PAMOL in Cameroon; ACA for the cotton sector END OF DAY ONE

22 DAY 2 Session Innovative Financing and Risk Management: Refreshments Session 6 Risk assessments and capacity building in risk management and (warrantage) finance: o o The case of maize (by Comité Interprofessionel des Céréales (CIC-B, Burkina Faso) and The case of cassava (by Mr N Monkam, Agro-PME, Cameroon) Training on Weather Index Insurance: National Insurance Commission/Ghana Insurance College (Mr I Buabeng) Presentations of 10 mins each, followed by discussions (50 mins) to focus on main results achieved, lessons learnt and what remains to be done Enhancing the Functioning of Agricultural Commodities Markets Fostering a regional cereals market by Mr Laurent Quenum, ROPPA Tailored WRS and commodity exchange by Mr Pierre ETOA, ONCC Session Brief presentations by AAACP implementing agencies on post-aaacp follow-up Short presentations of strictly 10 minutes each, followed by 15 minutes Q&A LUNCH Session Session dedicated to presentations by non-aaacp development partners Extended Tea/Coffee Break to enable interaction between development partners Session Conclusions and Recommendations, with indications on next steps RECEPTION