The Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) successfully concluded a five-day strategic retreat held from February 10 to 14 at Zuma Resort, Niger State, Nigeria.

The retreat brought together DARD leadership, project managers, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) experts, and staff working with DARD.

The event focused on strategizing, knowledge sharing, reviewing past achievements, aligning with ECOWAS’ vision for agricultural development, and fostering collaboration to achieve food security and sustainable rural development across West Africa.

It was also an opportunity to provide technical onboarding for four new professional staff that joined ECOWAS between December 2024 and January 2025.

The five-day working session was opened by the Director of Agriculture and Rural Development Alain Sy TRAORE, who welcomed all staff and Experts, including the newly recruited staff, and emphasized the importance of the event in aligning the directorate’s efforts with ECOWAS’ broader vision.

“This retreat is a critical opportunity for us to reflect on our achievements, align our efforts with ECOWAS’ broader vision, and chart a course for the future.

“By fostering collaboration and innovation, we can ensure that our agricultural programs have a lasting impact on food security and rural development across the region.”

The director delivered detailed presentations on the Mission, Vision, Departments & Governing bodies of ECOWAS, DARD Organizational Chart, and other related sectors within the directorate.

The program officer of ECOWAP/CAADP Monitoring and Evaluation Fatmata L. Seiwoh gave a breakdown of the overview of the ECOWAP and Continental Framework of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), and how the efforts of the National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIP) and the Regional Agricultural Investment Plan (RAIP) complements CAADP.

Each unit within DARD gave detailed presentations highlighting their achievements, interactions with projects and programs, and future perspectives.

It featured project overviews from key initiatives such as the Rice Agenda, EAT, PAOLAO, and USAID IL02B, CAADP M&E and Reporting, Risk Management, Agriculture Information Systems, Agribusiness and Value Chains Development, Marine& Continental Fisheries, and Aquaculture Development.

These sessions highlighted the achievements, challenges, and future directions of each project, providing valuable insights for all attendees.

Participants also engaged in knowledge-sharing sessions on communication tools and internal management systems, including SharePoint, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook.

Practical sessions on work planning and reporting rounded out the day, equipping attendees with essential skills for effective project management. Since the directorate also has a robust Web Management System, there are clear guidelines on IT initiatives.

One of the highlights of the retreat were the team-building activities anchored by the team building expert, Olubusola Ogunlolu.

This provided participants the opportunity to connect on a personal level while reinforcing the importance of collaboration as a team.

The team-building activities directly mirrored the collaborative nature of DARD’s work, where the different units challenged each other in different exercises to implement agricultural programs

Insights were given on work planning and reporting, with participants collaborating to prepare quarterly work plans and reports.

Group presentations and discussions allowed for the exchange of ideas and best practices, ensuring alignment across the directorate. The retreat concluded with a session on various procedures and IT guidance, providing clarity on key operational processes.

The final day of the retreat began with a session on ECOWAS procurement codes and IT system development guidelines.

The DARD Director delivered a keynote address, outlining expectations for staff and encouraging innovative thinking to drive the directorate’s mission forward.

The Director thanked all the participant, being hopeful that the deep conversations and insights during the five-day retreat will contribute to the shared goal of revolutionizing West African agriculture and rural development.

In the spirit of solidarity and community, IGAD also hosted the ECOWAS delegation in November 2024 as part of the AU-ECOWAS-IGAD benchmarking exercise on human mobility in the context of climate change; and the ECOWAS delegation visited SADC in November 2024 to understand and learn the secrets of its success in the EU pillar assessment.

Also taking part in the work of this meeting were Commissioner Abdel Fatau Musah in charge of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of ECOWAS, Abdou KOLLEY, director of cabinet of the president of the commission, Cyriaque Agnekethom, director of peace and security of ECOWAS, Jérôme Boa, director of external relations of ECOWAS and other technical executives of the ECOWAS Commission.