Regulation C/REG.3/08/11 Establishing the Advisory Committee for Food and Agriculture


Economic Community of West African States

Regulation C/REG.3/08/11 Establishing the Advisory Committee for Food and Agriculture

The Council of Minister,MINDFUL of Article 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions;MINDFUL of Article 25 of the said ECOWAS Treaty relating to Agricultural Development and Food Security;MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.11/01/05 adopting the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy;RECOGNISING that the establishment of an Advisory Committee will institutionalize the multi-actor partnership initiated during the ECOWAS/CAADP process for the implementation of the Agricultural Policy;DESIROUS of establishing the Advisory Committee for Food and Agriculture;ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Extraordinary Session of the joint meeting of Ministers in charge of Regional Integration, Agriculture, Trade, Economy and Finance, held in Yamoussoukro on 23 October 2009;ENACTS

Article 1 – Establishment

This Regulation hereby establishes the Advisory Committee for Food and Agriculture (ACFA) as a forum for regular consultation on all aspects relating to the implementation of ECOWAS/CAADP.

Article 2 – Composition

1.The composition of the Advisory Committee for Food and Agriculture (ACFA) shall reflect a fair representation of Member States' representatives, professional organisations (farmers’ organisations and private food-processing industries), regional cooperation organisations and technical and financial partners.
2.The ACFA shall comprise:
a)Representatives of ECOWAS Institutions, namely:
i)President of the Commission;
ii)Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources;
iii)Representative of the ECOWAS Parliament, and
iv)Director of Agriculture and Rural Development;
b)Representatives of Member States from the Ministries of Agriculture and ECOWAS Affairs:
c)Representatives of professional organisations, namely:
i.Four representatives of professional farmers’organisations;
ii.Two representatives of the Regional Network of Chambers of Agriculture;
iii.Two representatives of the private food-processing industries;
d)A Representative from each of the regional Institutions below:
i.Comite permanent Inter-etats de Lutte contre la Secheresse (CILSS)
ii.West African Economic Monetary Union (UEIMOA)
iii.La Conference des Ministres de I’Agriculture de I’Afrique de I’Ouest (CMAAOC)
iv.Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Developpement Agricoles (CORAF)
v.Africa Rice Centre
vi.International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
vii.Rural Hub.
e)Three representatives of technical and financial partners appointed from the Tradition Famille Propriete (TFP) coordinating group;
f)Two representatives of NGOs supporting agricultural development;
g)Other invited or resource persons from within or outside the region. Invited by Chairman of ACFA depending on the subject matter.
3.The Committee shall be chaired by the Minister of Agriculture of the country at the chairmanship of ECOWAS at the given time.
4.A representative of the professional farmers' organisations shall be the Vice Chairman of the Committee.
5.The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of the ECOWAS Commission shall provide secretarial services for ACFA.

Article 3 – Mandate

The Advisory Committee for Food and Agriculture shall advise on all issues relating to the implementation of the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP/CAADP). It shall:
a.Advise on ECOWAP/CAADP orientations;
b.Advise on the annual plan of action of the Regional Investment Programmes;
c.Advise on budgetary orientations;
d.Review the annual monitoring and evaluation report, the report of the implementation of the Regional Fund for Food and Agriculture;
e.Submit to the ECOWAS Commission, any matter members may consider relevant within the framework of the ECOWAP/CAADP operationalisation;
f.Provide a forum for discussions on the initiatives of various stakeholders;
g.Monitor the implementation of the Regional Partnership Agreement.

Article 4 – Operation

1.The Committee shall meet once (1) a year at the invitation of its Chairman.
2.The meeting shall be scheduled based on the timetable for the preparation of the Regional Investment Programme (RAIP) Annual Operational Plan, before submission to ECOWAS decision-making bodies.
3.Its operational costs shall be charged to the budget of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources.

Article 5 – Publication

This Regulation shall be published by the ECOWAS Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days after its date of signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published by each Member State in its Official Journal within thirty (30) days after its notification thereof by the Commission.
Done at Abuja, this 19th day of August 2011H.E. Olugbenga AshiruChairman for Council
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