Final communiqué: Adoption of the PREGEC Charter (Conakry, 17 Nov 2011)

COMISSÂO DA CEDEAO

COMMISSION DE LA CEDEAO

ECOWAS COMMISSION

FINAL COMMUNIQUÉ MEETING OF MINISTERS IN CHARGE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE OF

ECOWAS MEMBER STATES, CHAD AND MAURITANIA ADOPTION OF THE CHARTER FOR FOOD CR'S/S PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT Conakry, Guinea - 17 November2011

1. At the invitation of the ECOWAS Commission, the Ministers for Food and Agriculture of ECOWAS Member States, Chad and Mauritania held a meeting on 17 November 2011, in Conakry, Guinea, chaired by Mr. Jean Marc Telliano, Minister of Agriculture of Guinea.

2. The opening ceremony was chaired by His Excellency Elhadj Ousmane BAH, State Minister for Public Works and Transports, representing His Excellency, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea. The following States participated: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, CÔte d'lvoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Also in attendance at the meeting were representatives from professional agricultural organisations, civil society, the private sector, NGOs, technical and financial partners and the WAEMU Commission; as well as CILSS and the SWAC/OECD Secretariat, the facilitators of the Charter drafting process.

3. The Ministers considered the report of the meeting of experts on the draft text of the Chafter for the

Prevention and Management of Food Crlses. The discussions focused on the principles of the Charter,

the commitments of the parties involved, as well as the evaluation and monitoring mechanism for its implementation.

4. The Ministers recalled that the Charter is a key instrument of the Regional Agricultural lnvestment Programme adopted in 2010 at the end of the ECOWAP / CAADP process. lt constitutes the framework in which countries of the Sahel and West Africa equip themselves for the prevention and management of food crises. Essential for the synergy of information and early warning systems, as well as for policy dialogue, and for the appropriate mobilisation of assistance operations, the Charter also puts fonvards the West African States' commitment to promote investment and infrastructure policies in order to find lasting solutions for the structural causes of food and nutritional insecurity" lt calls on national and regional policy makers to ban any policy that might compromise the objectives of food security and, more generally, the 'right to food'. lt then calls upon Governments and Regional

Economic Organisations involved with relevant policy and sovereign financial commitments to strengthen local food production, the purchasing power of consumers and the functioning of agricultural and food product markets at the local, national and regional level.

5. The Ministers recall that the Code of Good Conduct, designed in the spirit of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, is an instrument of mutual responsibility between States and their technical and financial partners, regional economic organisations and civil society to promote sustainable food security in the region. While expressing satisfaction with the participatory and inclusive approach that allowed for the involvement of all stakeholders in the process of formulating the Charter the Ministers particularly wetcomed the commitment and active participation of civil society organisal'..on"

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6. With the implementation of the Charter in mind, the Ministers welcomed the relevance of the conclusions otine ECOWAS Task Force on Regional Food Security Stock held on 3-5 October2011 in Dakar. After adopting the Roadmap submitted for their review, the Ministers asked the ECOWAS Commission to take urgent measures to accelerate its implementation in view of the adoption by the Heads of State and Gbvernment of a technical proposal for the establishment of a regional food reserve and safety nets programmes, by June 2012. Ihe regional reserve, which is an integral commitment of the Charter, will provide the region with an indispensable instrument for responding to food crises related to food price volatility, climatic disasters and other natural disasters, and for

regulating agricultural markets. ln this regard, the Ministers expressed their gratitude to the G20 for its wittingneis to support this initiative in the region, the lessons from which should prove beneficial for other parts of Africa and the rest of the world.

7. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Ministers unanimously adopted the Charter for the Prevention and Management of Food Crisis. They also recommended that the ECOWAS Commission make practical arrangements for the approval and the effective implementation of the Charter, notably:

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The development and funding of a programme to disseminate the Charter's text in all signatory countries, taking into account local languages and the differing socio-cultural environments;

. The implementation of the evaluation and monitoring mechanism for the Charter's .

implementation at the national and regional level; The development and funding of a capacity building programme for national food security systems and civil society in light of their active participation in implementing the Charter.

L While urging technical and financial partners to keep their intervention approach within the

framework oittré principles and commitments of the Charter, the Ministers welcomed the quality of their participation in discussions, from the work of the Steering Committee to national and regional consultations.

9. They welcomed the sustained effort and commitment of the CILSS Executive Secretariat and the Sahet and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD), who have been committed to organising inclusive and participatory dialogues for the adoption of the Charter since 2007.

10. With regard to the localized food deficits registered during this 20'11-2012 cropping season, the Ministers expressed their concerns for risks of localized food insecurity that this situation could cause.

They recommended that urgent steps be taken by the States and by ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS for à rapid assessment of fôod availability and identification of actions to be taken, strengthened free movement of food products, and coordination amongst actors at the national and regional levels.

11. The Ministers expressed their deep gratitude and sincere thanks to His Excellency, Professor Alpha Condé, President and Head of State of the Republic of Guinea, and to the Government and warm hospitality shown to them during their stay in Conakry People of Dated

The Cha

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2011

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Meeting of Ministers

Mr. Jean Marc Telliano Minister of Agriculture of Guinea