Food security experts met from 12-14 September in Lomé to analyse the ongoing agro-pastoral campaign and harvest forecasts for 2019 in the Sahel and West Africa. With the exception of central and western areas of the Sahel, the food production forecast is overall average or good. Cereal production is estimated at about 66-73 million tonnes. This would be a 10-20% increase compared to the five-year average, thus much faster than the average population growth. Read on

ECOWAS ministers in charge of agriculture met on 6 June 2018 in Ouagadougou to adopt a series of recommendations to support vulnerable populations during the lean season. They took measures to operationalise the Regional Food Security Reserve and further develop its governance structure. Drawing on recommendations of the Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA), Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal are eligible to submit formal requests to ECOWAS in order to benefit from country support operations. Read on

The 7th CILSS Steering Committee meeting was opened on 16 March in Lomé. It provided an opportunity to take stock of current regional programmes implemented by CILSS and its development partners. Three major programmes were the focus of discussions. Read on

The Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA) organised a regional consultation on the critical pastoral situation in the Sahel on 21-23 February in Niamey. Bringing together six Sahelian countries, the main host countries on the West African coast and development partners, the Network members made a series of recommendations to the region’s policy makers on how to address the crisis. Read on