ECOWAS Ramps Up Agricultural Risk Agenda as TOURE-LITSE Visits Togo.

By Raymond Enoch.

In a significant stride toward regional food security and sustainable agriculture, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, led a high-level mission to the Togolese Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday, 12 June 2025. This visit marks a critical precursor to the upcoming regional workshop on agricultural risk management, scheduled to take place in Lomé from 16 to 20 June.

Commissioner TOURE-LITSE’s mission underscores ECOWAS’s commitment to addressing the growing risks facing West African agriculture—from climate change and market instability to pests and diseases. Her discussions in Lomé aim to harmonize national efforts with regional strategies, setting the stage for a unified and impactful agricultural risk management (ARM) framework.

The mission extended beyond government corridors. The ECOWAS delegation also held strategic discussions with key development partners, including the European Union Delegation in Togo, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). These talks focused on aligning financial and technical support with ECOWAS’s regional objectives.

The upcoming workshop, organized to capitalize on the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) experiences, is expected to gather stakeholders from across the region to co-create a forward-looking ARM program tailored to the West African context.

With Commissioner TOURE-LITSE at the helm, the initiative signals a bold and collaborative step toward building agricultural resilience in West Africa—starting with Togo.