XXXVI Rebuilding West Africa’s food potential
from broader requirements of governance, coordination and capacity to address a range of
market issues faced by producers.An alternative approach, developed by FAO, is the GAIN (Governance, Autonomy, Integration, Needs-
based) methodology, which performs a complete diagnosis of a producer organization with the aim
to initiate endogenous change processes that progressively transform the producer organization into
a self-reliant, economically autonomous market agent. The GAIN methodology applies a participatory,
iterative framework to tackle the market opportunities and the issues of internal governance and
coordination and to examine potential partnerships with external economic and institutional partners.
The methodology generates a road map for corrective measures to build capacity and targeted training
needed to meet the identified new market opportunities, as well as the institutional and governance
structure for the producer organization. The GAIN approach was successfully applied in two West
African countries - Burkina Faso and Mali - plus Cameroon from Central Africa - as part of the All-ACP
Programme for Basic Commodities in ACP countriesSome West African governments have begun to initiate programmes specifically designed to
strengthen producer organizations, as part of their CAADP-linked support to value chain development.
For example, Ghana has established a desk for farmer business organizations to build their capacity,
as well as a directorate for Women in Agriculture to ensure that investment initiatives are gender-
neutral. Ghana’s Market-Oriented Agricultural Programme (MOAP) targets POs and is test-piloting
an approach that aims to bring POs into a progressive multi-stage development process, leading to
the business-ready stage. This is done through a set of incentives for the producer organizations and
training programmes for members that are tailored for different stages of business readiness. However,
the programme is still in the pilot stage and would need to be successfully integrated into a reformed
extension service.- Commodity-specific priorities for a transformation of food
value chains in West Africa
3.1 Export commodities
Traditional exported crops (cotton, coffee, cocoa) – Completing the transition
from state-controlled to state-supported, privately-led value chain development modelExport-oriented value chains continue to have considerable weight in government programmes and
development strategies despite the setbacks in export markets experienced since 1990s, and the
collapse of the state-controlled development model. Under the new agricultural paradigm, based on
state-supported, privately-led food value chains, traditional export commodities will continue to play
a significant role in income generation and employment. For the most part, policy and institutional
reforms are still unfolding towards a liberalized market. Under the new model, agribusiness actors and
producer organizations are expected to play enhanced roles, while the public sector will shift away
from direct control and towards indirect support. The state will continue to support market services
(market information, research, extension, disease and quality control), enhance productivity (improved
seeds and production technologies), address market failures (credit, inputs) and strengthen the legal
framework for commercial transactions and business arrangements. These supportive measures,