NEPAD, ECOWAS hold knowledge management workshop in Senegal

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, with the technical support of the Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), ended a three-day joint workshop on knowledge management with the focus on food and nutrition security and agriculture development.

The workshop was held at the King Fahd Palace Hotel in Dakar, Senegal,

The aim and objective of the workshop was to strengthen the conceptual value of knowledge management in agriculture development, and the inter-linkages between food and nutrition security and agriculture value chain development paying dedicated attention to skills development among youths.

In his opening remarks on the occasion, Simon Kisira, the representative of the NEPAD agency, expressed the commitment of  his agency in the implementation of the CAADP and, in particular, the Malabo Declaration of 2014, which seeks to make food and nutrition security a reality through an elaborate programme of knowledge management in the agriculture sector.

Also speaking on the occasion was the ECOWAS Commission representative, Ernest Aubee, who emphasised the importance and timeliness of the workshop in the ECOWAS region.

He highlighted the adoption of the ECOWAP (2016-2025), the development of new generation of National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) and the Regional Agriculture Investment Plan (RAIP), as well as initiatives of the ECOWAS Commission to develop the food and nutrition sector in the region in a holistic and coordinated manner.

He further stated that the workshop was able to develop an agreed roadmap follow-up actions to strengthen knowledge management in CAADP implementation in the ECOWAS region.

The workshop also developed a range of knowledge products relevant to the region and the ECOWAS member states on agricultural value chains, post-harvest management, youth capacity development, agricultural investments and the development of rice value chains, he stated.

The knowledge management products included policy briefs, infographics and fact sheets.

According to Mr Aubee, the workshop also agreed on the setting up of a Community of Practice (CoP) on food and nutrition security in the ECOWAS region.

The workshop brought together senior officials from the member states who serve as focal points of the ECOWAP/CAADP process, as well as experts in agriculture extension, agricultural and vocational education and skills development.

Mr Aubee said the workshop outcomes would feed into the process of development of the second generation of Regional Agriculture Investment Plan (RAIP) and National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIP) in the ECOWAS region.

The recommendations of the workshop “will be jointly implemented by the NEPAD Agency, ECOWAS Commission and member states”.