Download Opening statement, SWAC President, Mr. François

ABUJA, NIGERIA
12-14 DECEMBER 2016
32ND ANNUAL MEETING
THE FOOD CRISIS
PREVENTION NETWORK
OPENING STATEMENT
François-Xavier
de Donnea
President of the
Sahel and West
Africa Club
Excellences,
Dear friends of the Sahel and West Africa, and
Dear friends of Nigeria,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I
t is a great pleasure to be with you today
in Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria,
which is hosting for the first time the Sahel
and West Africa Week and the Food Crisis
Prevention Network.
Hosted by the Federal Republic
of Nigeria and under the
patronage of the Commissions of
the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS)
and the West African Economic
and Monetary Union (UEMOA),
the 32nd annual meeting of the
RPCA brings together the region’s
key food and nutrition security
stakeholders, including many
high-level representatives.
The Permanent Interstate
Committee for Drought Control in
the Sahel (CILSS) and the Sahel
and West Africa Club Secretariat
(SWAC/OECD) are organising the
meeting, with support from the
Regional Agency for Agriculture
and Food (RAAF/ECOWAS).
The origin of the Network - and of the Club - is
Sahelian. Nigeria can also be considered as
“Sahelian” as its name is derived from the
Sahelian river which gave it its name and which
the Tuaregs call the river of rivers; the people in
the north, Hausa and Kanouris of Sahelian
origin; the innumerable social and commercial
networks, which for centuries, have forged the
web of regional integration between the shore
of the desert and that of the ocean.
A border separates two countries that have the
same name - Niger and Nigeria. Yet Maradi is as
vulnerable to the unpredictable rainy seasons
as Katsina. The border is not a barrier against
drought, nor is it a barrier against rising prices
in the event of a bad harvest occurring on either
side of the line drawn by colonial administrators.
Nor is it a barrier for terrorists who have been
torturing populations around Lake Chad for far
too long.
SAHEL AND
WEST AFRICA
UEMOA
Dear friends of Nigeria,
We are also with you to express our solidarity and
our admiration for the fight you are waging
against the murderous madness in the north-east
of your country.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The food and nutrition situation linked to the
bloody conflict affecting the Adamawa, Borno
and Yobe states will be the focus of our discussion
here today. I will not dwell on this subject, now,
but instead, allow me to touch on a broader issue,
which I consider extremely worrisome.
The security challenges we are facing are real,
significant and threatening. But are they not
gradually overshadowing food issues on the
international agenda? And is it not true that the
same can be said of other major challenges? I’m
thinking of the issues that are ever present in our
minds, in the media and in more developed
countries’ politics – I am thinking of migration in
particular - are such issues weighing ever more
heavily on international co-operation strategies?
I feel that this is the case and I am convinced that
this trend will not benefit anyone.
Club
Secretariat
The very genome of the Sahel and West Africa - its history and
the way in which its societies and economies are organised involves food production and a range of activities conducted by
a host of different actors involved in the production of grain,
tubers, fruits and vegetables; livestock of all kinds; maritime and
inland fisheries; wholesale and retail pick-up services on every
street corner; shipping; industrial and artisanal food processing;
and so on. To ignore this food DNA, especially when we are
concerned about stability and migration, would be a grave error.
Take the example of youth employment which is – and justifiably
so – THE main concern. Unemployment, or more specifically,
the absence of stable income-generating activities, is one of the
factors pushing young Africans to join armed groups. It is only
one factor among others, but it must be taken into consideration.
Unemployment is also a key factor in terms of migratory issues.
How can we address this problem?
One figure dominates the employment equation: 11 million. This
figure represents the number by which the population in West
Africa will grow every year for the next ten years. In other words,
the 17 member countries of ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS will host
an additional 110 million inhabitants in 2026. The total population
will grow from 380 million today to 490 million in ten years.
How can this challenge be addressed? Where should we focus
our efforts? Which sector has a faster growth rate than that of the
population, and is less sensitive to fluctuations in world markets?
The food economy - today it accounts for more than one-third of
regional GDP, in terms of volume, well ahead of export crops or
oil, for example. It’s by far the largest source of jobs and it’s on a
significant and sustainable growth path, due to domestic
demand, which is constantly increasing.
In addition, market expansion is opening up new opportunities
upstream and downstream in agricultural production, which
accounts for only 60% of the food economy. Clearly, support for
agricultural producers must be sustained, but it is increasingly
essential to foster interest in other actors within the food
economy, namely tool manufacturers and repair service
providers, fertilizer and seed vendors, retailers, labourers,
packers, shippers, processors and restaurant operators. And of
course, we must not forget those whose activities make it possible
for those mentioned above to conduct business.
This sector requires investment on a massive scale if we want to
step up the development of economic activities, create an
entrepreneurial class and help the most vulnerable, in particular
women.
The Network that brings us together once again today was
established over three decades ago to prevent and better manage
food crises. I therefore think it is our duty to collectively remind
the African and global communities that food and other crises
will emerge in the future if we let our guard down with respect to
resilience and developing the food economy.
I suggest that the Network make a statement on the topic so its
voice can be heard.
We have made much progress together in terms of building
consensus on the short-term food and nutrition outlook, from
one year to the next. We must now strengthen our capacity to
analyse and carry out political lobbying on medium and long
term policy issues. We must work to prevent crises and
promote the opportunities of tomorrow. The seeds of these
crises and opportunities are sown in the structural changes taking
place in the region.
Is the Network ready to commit to moving forward in this way?
Thank you.
SAHEL AND
WEST AFRICA
UEMOA
Club
Secretariat