On the sidelines of the Restricted Meeting of the Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA), OECD Deputy Secretary-General Mr Douglas Frantz invited on 14 April 2016 a high-level delegation of West African leaders for a brief exchange on co-operation between Africa and the OECD. The delegation was composed of six West African ministers as well as regional leaders from ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS and representatives of West African agricultural producers’ organisations. “We are very open for business with Africa and we hope to increase our engagement in many ways across many sectors in Africa. It is my number one priority as Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD.”, mr Frantz declared. Mr Kassoum DENON, Minister of Agriculture, Mali and CILSS Co-ordinating Minister, recalled that action in the field of food security and nutrition is already well co-ordianted at the regional level. For Mr Ibrahima DIEME, UEMOA Commissioner for the Department of Food Security, Agriculture, Mining and Environment, making regional actions better visible is foremost a powerful communications challenge:  “Whether that be in terms of territorial planning, the fight against animal diseases, construction of storage warehouses, rural water programmes or sustainable land management, we are fully engaged in these issues”, he said.

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