ECOWAS deepens regional livestock marketing strategy

By Wisdom JONNY-NUEKPE

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expanded its will power to create conditions conducive to increasing livestock farmers’ incomes by leveraging the private sector in livestock trading and marketing activities.

Under the regional Programme to Support Livestock Marketing in West Africa (PACBAO), the programme’s second phase (2024-2028), seeks to scale up existing innovative practices to increase the supply of livestock and meat in terminal markets by at least 2.6 percent and reach approximately 500,000 direct beneficiaries, 40 percent of whom are young people and women.

PACBAO which is part of the implementation of the ECOWAS Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) aims to increase livestock productivity and improve competiveness of meat produced in the region.

Financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the programme, during its first phase (2018-2023), contributed to strengthening the institutional and operational capacities of ECOWAS with 16 projects in 11 countries in West Africa and Sahel, including Ghana.

At a knowledge sharing and dissemination event to officially launch the second phase of PACBAO on Tuesday in Accra, ECOWAS Resident Representative for Ghana, Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana, said livestock farming and the animal products market are important pillars of food security and regional integration.

With livestock farming contributing significantly to the GDP of Sahelian countries in the region, it is also a major provider of jobs, employing up to 50 percent of the population, particularly young people and women.

Despite the opportunities, Gana said prevailing security and environmental challenges, focus on community led approaches, blending ecological restoration with peace building and social cohesion, are increasingly recognizing that environmental resilience and security must go in tandem.

He said the PACBAO, has therefore become the concrete manifestation of political will across the region to develop the livestock sub-sector.

Indeed, since its launch in 2018, the programme has developed the ambition to find sustainable solutions to the concerns of stakeholders in the livestock sub-sector, particularly in the red meat value chain.

The programme has churned out solutions to dealing with the mismatch between regional supply and demand for livestock and meat, high cost of transporting from production areas to consumer markets, financing constraints for private players among others.

MoFA extols PACBAO initiative

Addressing dignitaries to formerly open the workshop, Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said Ghana attaches great importance to the livestock sub-sector.

He said the livestock sector in Ghana accounts for some 14 percent of agricultural GDP and plays a critical role in ensuring food security, generating income and providing employment particularly in rural communities.

According to him, the government’s vision of agriculture aligns perfectly with the ECOWAP and the objectives of PACBAO.

“Ghana sees PACBAO as a strategic instrument not only for food and nutrition security, but also for advancing regional trade integration, resilience, and inclusive economic growth,” the minister noted.

Swiss support

Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Cooperation, of the Embassy of Switzerland to Ghana, Janine Walz, said the programme reflects Swiss’ strong commitment to food security and regional integration.

While acknowledging that challenges including weak sanitary standards in livestock production, insufficient opportunities for young people and women still exists, Walz said Switzerland is ready to support this collective effort until all objectives are achieved.

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