ECOWAS to Empower ROPPA

16 August 2010
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Ouagadougou - Burkina Faso — Officials of the ECOWAS Commission on Tuesday, 10th August 2010 met with representatives of the Network of Farmers and Agricultural Producers' Organisation of West Africa (ROPPA) during which the Commission reaffirmed its commitment to appoint ROPPA as the Regional Correspondent for the ECOBIZ system.

ECOBIZ system is an online data base management system provided by the ECOWAS Commission to facilitate the automatic processing and dissemination of business information generated from data collected in Member States. It is used as a tool for boosting intra-community trade in West Africa as well as assist the Community private sector to harness business opportunities in the ECOWAS region and the global market. In a message from the Vice-President of the Commission, Mr. Jean de Dieu Somda, delivered by the Director of the Community Computer Centre, Dr. Monisoye Afolabi, the Commission said it has become necessary to enhance the rhythm and growth of businesses within the Community by taking advantage of ROPPA's network for the collection of business data from farmers and agricultural producers within the region. He said that when the Regional Correspondent status comes into effect, ROPPA will have access to the ECOBIZ data base in order update the system within the specified terms of the operational convention which will formalize the proposed status of ROPPA as a Regional Correspondent.

During the two-day meeting held in Ouagadougou, participants examined and adopted the twelve-article draft ECOBIZ Operational Convention for the collaboration. Among other things, the Convention stipulates the objective of the Regional Correspondent, the operational model, responsibilities of the parties, data base operation as well as the mutual benefits involved in the collaboration. The ECOBIZ Operational Convention will be signed by both parties at a date to be determined which would subsequently enable ROPPA to provide for ECOBIZ data base important information such as the farm gate prices of agricultural products. ROPPA was founded in July 2000 with the aim of promoting and defending the values of competitive and sustainable agricultural farming among farmers and agricultural producers. Its network covers nearly all the 15 Member States of ECOWAS.

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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