Regional Integration : Agricultural Value Chains to Integrate and Transform Agriculture in West Africa

The main objective of the study is to explore solutions for accelerating the achievement of the objectives of NEPAD, CAADP and ECOWAP, in order to generate high growth based on agriculture for a more rapid emergence of the African continent in general and of West Africa in particular. The analysis is justified by the fact that in spite of West Africa’s enormous potential in agricultural resources, the take-off for the agricultural sector remains with little support.

In effect, West Africa countries developed in the past numerous strategies and created many support structures for agricultural development, but the expected results have still not been reached. As witness, the growing food crisis which has persisted in all these countries for years and which obliges them to import agricultural products to make up for food production deficits. It is to try to explore other possibilities for  accelerating the development of agriculture that this study was carried out. It constitutes a contribution to the reflection on the strategies and policies to adopt in support of development efforts of the agricultural sector in the sub-region. The study aims at raising the awareness of decision-makers in West African countries on the importance of adopting a strategy for the development of agriculture based on the “value chain” approach, by putting at their disposal successful experiences with agricultural value chains in Africa and elsewhere that they can adopt in their agricultural development strategies.