Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The first ROPPA Business Forum

29th – 31st October 2013. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. ROPPA organised together with the West African private sector, a Business Forum to foster private sector investments into West Africa’s agriculture and promote partnerships with farmers and producers.

Under the patronage of HE the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, over 200 participants representing both farmers and producers’ organisations and the West African and international private sector participate in:
  • Thematic panels regarding factors needed to improve productivity and competitiveness of agricultural and food products in West Africa, including specifically: partnerships between farmers’ organisations and the private sector, enabling environment for successful contracting, major challenges and opportunities for inclusive business models and effective value chains.
  • Training on contracting and “Business to Business” (B2B) meetings specifically designed for farmers’ organisations to support them in further developing attractive offers for private sector investment.
  • Sharing best practices, information and institutional financial advice related to trade in agricultural and food products in West Africa.
  • The second day was dedicated to B2B sessions and over a hundred bilateral meetings are already under preparation. 
ROPPA Business Forum’s partners included: ECOWAS, UEMOA, EU, IFAD, AGRA, SDC, FAO, CILSS, CTA, Grow Africa, Council of Employers, AFD, CORAF, EDITO. A 2nd Farmers Business Forum will take place in Ghana in 2014. The exact date will be announced later.
ROPPA is working to establishing the Farmers University, a mechanism aimed at systemactically strengthening the capacities of its members for their effective engagement in future Business for and in business partnerships with actors from PS sector in general. The key areas of focus identified for the first three years of the Farmers Universities are the following:
  • adovocacy for enhanced business environment in West Africa
  • strengthening of the seed sector, and
  • organizational management capacity building including value chain analysis, quality of produce, etc. 

Related: On the 2nd October 2013, Kalilou Sylla (Executive Secretary, ROPPA) held a presentation on “the progress of Maputo commitments towards agriculture in West Africa” as part of the Brussels Briefing on the ‘Drivers of success for agricultural transformation in Africa’ organized by CTA Brussels at the Borschette Congress Center in Brussels.

Video Guest: Kalilou Sylla (Executive Secretary, ROPPA, West Africa) from CTA on Vimeo.

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