The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has signed grant agreements worth 1.3 million euros with 15 training centers aimed at building capacity on agroecology in member states.
The capacity-building program is part of the implementation of the ECOWAS Agroecology Programme, co-funded by the European Union and the French Development Agency.
Each of the 15 training centers, representing one per member state, will receive an average of 88,000 euros per center, with a total budget of 1,320,784.43 euros.
The program is set to train 12,000 young persons in the region, with an average duration of 18 months.
The purpose of each grant is to establish the framework of collaboration between ECOWAS and the recipient center for the implementation of the program activities in West Africa.
According to the statement signed by the president of the commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, the program aims to build the human resource and environmentally friendly system needed to sustain and increase agricultural productivity, as well as create a resilient rural society.
The 15 training centers were selected following a due consultation and assessment process and are scheduled to end the program in 2024.
The objectives of the support provided by ECOWAS are to strengthen the training capacities of the centers to promote quality training systems, increase the number of young people trained, particularly rural people, and facilitate their connection with support organizations or partners for possible financing in the scaling up of agroecological practices.
The program is composed of two projects, the Support Project for Agroecological Transition in West Africa, and the Support Project for the Dissemination and Implementation of Good Practices for Sustainable Agricultural Intensification, with a total budget of 16.2 million euros.
The French Development Agency funds PATAE at eight million euros, and the European Union funds PAIAD at 8.2 million euros.