Some 23 delegations. Only one challenge: feeding the Africa of tomorrow. It’s time for African responses on this subject. Facing representatives from 23 countries, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production, Bruno Nabagné Koné raised very important points during the opening of the 12th Regional Workshop devoted to the implementation of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) projects in West and Central Africa (AOC), coupled with the 3rd Regional Farmers' Forum (R-FAFO). Namely climate change, food insecurity and youth unemployment forming a triptych of crises that cannot wait any longer. These challenges call, according to him, endogenous, African responses, forged by and for the continent.

The Minister took advantage of his speech to reaffirm the five strategic axes of Ivorian agricultural policy which are food sovereignty, modernization of production systems, expanded access to financing, securing rural land and strengthening climate resilience. These priorities are a continuation of the recently launched National Agricultural Investment Plan (PNIA 3). Insisting on more equitable agricultural governance, the Minister pleaded for policies more focused on producers, in order to sustainably improve their income and living conditions.

The 3rd R-FAFO, coupled with this workshop, precisely materializes the ambition to make the voice of peasant organizations heard in the major decisions that concern them. By placing Abidjan at the heart of this continental reflection, Côte d'Ivoire confirms its status as a locomotive for West African agricultural development.