Ghana to host USAID, ECOWAS confab on regional trade, food security
ECOWAS together with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will host a three-day a conference on regional trade in locally produced food commodities in Ghana.
Themed “Food Across Borders: Improving Regional Trade for Food Security in West Africa,” the event will take place in the capital, Accra from January 29-31, 2013 and will bring together Ministers, government officials, regional organizations, business associations, regional trade companies, farmer associations, financial institutions, and development partners.
Stakeholders attending the conference are expected to analyze the importance of regional trade to food security in West Africa as well as current obstacles to trade.
A joint statement said the conference will then help spur consensus between public and private sectors on the way forward, and will produce an agenda for increasing regional trade and food security to benefit millions of West Africans.
The three-day conference, according to officials will include a Forum for Private Sector Action and Public-Private Dialogue.
The Forum will enable the private sector partners to have the opportunity to discuss challenges and solutions to regional trade and develop an advocacy plan. At the Dialogue, stakeholders will learn about West Africa’s food security outlook and regional trade, so as to best agree on priority actions within an agenda for removing challenges to regional trade in West Africa.
An onsite Business Fair will also be held.
By Ekow Quandzie