PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ketline Adodo; kadodo@ifdc.org
DATE: February 27, 2003
Second
Regional Meeting of Agricultural Input Sector Trade Associations
Paves Way for Regional Federation
The
Second Regional Meeting of Agricultural Input Sector Trade
Associations was held in Lome, Togo, during December 2002.
IFDC-Africa’s Policy and Market Development Program (PMP)
organized the meeting within the framework of the Favorable
Socio-Economic and Policy Environments for Soil Fertility
Improvement.
The
meeting attracted 90 participants who represented 12 African
countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana,
Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo) and two
European countries (France and Switzerland).
It brought together 20 national associations, four regional
and international organizations, and 10 producers and suppliers of
inputs that represented 80% of all fertilizer, seeds, and crop
protection products distributed throughout the sub-region.
The
main focus of this meeting was centered on how to make agriculture a
profitable business for all stakeholders, but particularly for
farmers. “Cotton is
the white gold for governments, transporters, etc.,
but not for farmers. Price structure puts farmers at a
disadvantage,” said Marc Atouga, Director of Agriculture of the
Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA).
Ike
Ubaka, Vice National President of All Farmers Apex Association,
agrees. “We are still at the primary level of production. We
don’t know how to extend shelf life of our products. We need
education on value preparation for agriculture to become profitable
for producers.”
Among
the solutions discussed, the issue of stimulating local consumption
to develop domestic markets and support local industries stood out.
This presents the double advantage of reducing dependency on
importation while limiting disastrous effects of price fluctuations
and unfair competition on the world market.
The
cotton sector offers an ideal situation. “The use of synthetic
material in the clothing industry is spreading in the African
countries to the detriment of cotton fabric. We need to sensitize
the public and influence local consumption habits to open up
profitable markets for our products,” said Atouga.
All
of these issues point to the need for a strong private sector, which
means improving access to capital. In most developing countries,
limited access to capital is one of the main constraints to private
investments in agricultural markets. Subsidy has become a sensitive
and emotional issue particularly with globalization, which subjects
African producers to unfair competition from highly subsidized
production in industrial countries.
Dr.
Kofi Debrah, Leader of the Policy and Market Development Program,
discussed the best ways to address the concerns of farmers and
policy makers without compromising private sector development. “We
must be realistic about our track record in implementing subsidies
in the past,” he said. “We must emphasize and promote
market-friendly and win-win subsidy options (such as capital
investments in soil fertility) and strengthen public and private
sector partnership for a sustainable agricultural development.”
Political
will and good will are necessary to create an enabling environment
for the private sector. Markets
operators must encourage fair trading practices. “We need to
develop ethical codes for trust-building in the business
environment. In this
context, trade associations have a key role to play,” said Nana
Osei Bonsu, President of the Seed Growers’ Association of Ghana.
Dr.
Hank Breman, Director of the IFDC Africa Division, announced the
launching of a project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign
Affairs called ‘Promoting Agricultural Development through the
Creation of a Regional Agricultural Inputs Market in West Africa
(MIR). Breman said that
MIR will use “regionalization as an instrument to strengthen the
private sector, fight monopolies, ensure quality control, facilitate
dialogue among key stakeholders, and tackle undisclosed interests
that impede development efforts in the sub region.”
Patrice
Annequin, private sector specialist from IFDC Africa and coordinator
of this meeting, submitted an objective that was set for last
year—create the Regional Federation of Agricultural Input Sector
Trade Associations. “This
federation would take ownership of the AFAMIN website, reinforce
existing associations, coordinate resource mobilization efforts,
elaborate codes of conducts for the establishment and management of
associations, develop and disseminate manuals on marketing
techniques and management, and facilitate exchange and sharing of
expertise among members.”
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