Chapter 3. Analytical review of national investment strategies and agricultural policies in West Africa 113
- Conclusion
Investment policies, specifically directed to promoting the agricultural sector in West Africa remain
very selective or even discriminatory. While agriculture, livestock and fisheries export sectors receive full
attention, food sectors, which are essential for people’s food security and regional market integration
continue to be marginalized.
Most incentive policies have focused on cash crops, thus perpetuating the trading economy that
promoted sectors oriented towards the international market. Despite recent developments resulting
from reforms at both national and regional levels, agricultural sectors are still poorly prepared to take
advantage of the huge opportunities offered by domestic and regional markets.
There seems to be a considerable gap between implemented strategies and policy instruments and the
heavy trends in West African agriculture and the changing international context. They tend to repro-
duce the formulae that helped boost Asian agriculture, but seem less appropriate in today’s context.
In West Africa, distancing to initiate strategic thinking for agriculture seems to be sorely lacking and
also the political will to implement specific policies to develop the different sectors. The complexity of
West African agriculture, its relations with other activity sectors, the nature and level of organization
of its actors, its very high exposure to internal and external shocks require implementing strategies
investment that can:
a. Minimize the risks associated with agricultural activities, i) facilitate access to inputs and productive
resources, ii) develop collective actions through better structuring of sectors and organizing of the
actors.
b. Better target sectors that ensure food security and sovereignty, decent income for farmers, and
balanced land use planning. This targeting should allow implementing essential public incentives
for agricultural development.
b. Develop mutually beneficial partnerships between all actors involved in rural development in gen-
eral, and in agricultural development in particular.
d. Promote a regulatory environment conducive to agricultural development, i) promoting the regional
market, ii) incentive investment policy (tax exemption).
e. Promote the regional market by making it a key factor for the development of agriculture and small
family farm production.
f. Reform the international trade regime, which remains very unfavorable to smallholder farms