Synthesis and recommendations X LV
and win-win options are derived. To be effective, the participatory governance must intervene at the
stage of formulation and development of priority actions and interventions (described in 4.2 above).
Also, for effective coordination and inclusive participation, it is necessary to establish a transparent
mechanism for sharing data and information between the key actors to allow them to formulate clearly-
articulated positions, an essential step that would ensure that all players are actively contributing to the
elaboration of the CAADP-inspired national investment strategies. This, in turn, requires strengthening
the internal organization and coordination of the private actors, from the agro-industry or from POs,
to become effective.More critical is the degree of readiness of producer organizations and related meta-structures (platforms,
regional organizations) to contribute credibly to the process. A particularly relevant institution that
could play a critical catalytic role in the process is the value chain-specific interprofessional organization.
Many countries of West Africa are at various stages of legal and institutional reforms that encourage
the emergence of the value chain interprofessions. However, the credibility of these institutions or
their performance depends largely on the strength and the capacity of the member associations.As stated above, inclusive governance is essential for successful value chain development through the
implementation of NAIPs. Successful initiatives and best practices from the region can demonstrate
the critical importance of good governance in such processes. A good example is provided by Ghana’s
Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP), which illustrates the type of inclusive
sector strategy development and inclusive governance applied to priority commodity chain investments.
The programme follows a sector-wide approach, pursuing broad-ranging interagency consultations
for the design, supervision, and implementation of its activities, all guided by a Steering Committee
whose membership includes relevant government agencies, ministries, and producer organizations. A
noteworthy element of the programme is the attention given to enhancing the capacity of producer
organizations to strengthen their bargaining power and enable them to link up with regional groups.An example of multistakeholder coordination for value chain development at the local level is provided
by Ghana’s NRGP programme, which set up the District Value Chain Committee (DVCC) that includes
producer organizations, financial institutions, agro-input dealers and marketing companies, not only at
national but also at local (district) level. Such location-specific forums can be more effective when they
are focused on specific value addition issues with input from participating parties to share information
and build partnerships. The DVCC coordination has ensured continued mobilization of new funding
and has brought new participants into the NRGP programme, especially local banks, whose number
increased from 2 in 2009 to 24 in 2012.In general, the blueprint described above can serve as a guide to facilitate the implementation of the
CAADP-derived national agricultural investment plans in West Africa. The proposed outline is also very
timely given that over half the region’s countries have just embarked on implementing the national
strategies developed over the last several years. It is hoped that the lessons learned from the case studies
summarized in this chapter and detailed in this volume can provide the necessary input for accelerating
the process.