In the wake of the food crises of the early 1970s and the resulting World Food Conference of 1974, a group of innovators realized that food security depends not only on crop production but also on the policies that affect an entire food system, from farm to table. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was founded in 1975, the same year as the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, which formally created the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOWAS’s mission is “to promote economic integration in all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters.” For the past two decades, IFPRI has provided solid research and evidence-based policy options to partners in West and Central Africa and the rest of the developing and developed world.
IFPRI’s engagement in Africa accounts for more than 50 percent of the Institute’s overall resources. IFPRI’s two African regional offices actively work with governments, research institutions, and other stakeholders to provide policy-relevant research results. IFPRI’s West and Central Africa Office (WCAO) located in Dakar, Senegal, offers regional stakeholders broader access to IFPRI’s public goods while allowing the Institute to work directly with local partners. Through its Strategy and Development Roundtables, the office brings together leading experts, researchers, and development practitioners, creating space for in-depth, high-level strategic debate, and through its Thematic Research Notes series, the office contributes to debates on emerging issues of strategic importance to countries within the region. IFPRI conducts its policy research and communications in West and Central Africa in close collaboration with the African Union Commission, ECOWAS, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordination Agency, and other key stakeholders in the West and Central Africa region.
African countries have experienced an unprecedented period of economic growth. This recent progress across African nations, however, has not yet compensated for the ground lost to economic stagnation and the resulting poverty, hunger, and malnutrition that occurred during the previous 25 years. Consequently, African economies remain under acute pressure to not only continue to grow swiftly and steadily but also to sustain their poverty-reducing efforts. In November 2012, ECOWAS launched a three-year program that promotes food security and self-sufficiency. Achieving this ambitious target, however, will require significant policy and budgetary support for the agricultural sector. While notable progress has been achieved in recent years, the region continues to work toward ensuring food security and improving livelihoods despite challenges such as climate change and food price volatility.
This brochure highlights some of IFPRI’s work in the region carried out in partnership with West and Central African governments, organizations, and institutions over the course of the past two decades and describes new initiatives that are expected to positively influence food security policies that benefit the poorest.