Niamey — Participants at a three-day workshop on restoration techniques and soil enrichment with tree species that have high potential of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) have called on the ECOWAS Commission to create a network for the promotion of such products in West Africa.
At the end of their deliberations on Wednesday, 22nd June 2011 at the AGRHYMET Regional Centre in Niamey, Niger Republic, the participants also urged the Commission to support the dissemination of novel technologies for the production and processing of NTFPs. They proposed that the Commission, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), should help build the capacities of local stakeholders and farmer-based organizations involved in the production of NTFPs on the analytical approach to market development (AMD). This would help local farmers to create viable and lucrative businesses, while conserving forest resources.
The participants also recommended that ECOWAS Member States should create national arboreta in different ecological zones in each State and build the capacities of farmers in the sustainable management of NTFP-producing trees in agro-forestry parks and farmlands. Addressing the opening session on Monday, 20th June 2011, Niger's Minister of Water Resources and Environment, Mr. Issoufou Issaka, thanked ECOWAS for its sustained efforts towards ensuring food security and sustainable forestry management in West Africa. He reiterated the commitment of the Government of Niger to supporting the Commission's efforts at improving the living conditions of Community citizens, adding that as a demonstration of this commitment, Niger has initiated a new policy known as "Niger Feeding Nigeriens" (NFN).
In his address of welcome, the Director-General of the AGRHYMET Regional Centre, Dr. Etienne Sarr, said the workshop would facilitate the attainment of food security, water resources management and protection of the environment. He also highlighted the Centre's contributions to the training and retraining of farmers across the region. The ECOWAS Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Ousseini Salifou, gave the background to the workshop, notably the implementation of the ECOWAS Common Forest Policy, which he said would facilitate the restoration of forest ecosystems for sustainable development and improve the living conditions of the people of the ECOWAS region.
The workshop heard various presentations, including those on: Recap of the strategic pillars of the ECOWAS Forest Policy and the process of drawing up the regional plan of convergence for the management and sustainable use of forest ecosystems in West Africa as well as the restoration of degraded lands and selective enrichment with tree species with high NTFP potential of farmlands. Others were on the conservation of the bio-diversity of NTFP-producing species - the case of arboreta and parklands in Niger and Nigeria and Potential and productivity of NTFP-producing trees in the agro-forestry systems and improvement of farmers' incomes.
The participants also deliberated on the state of conservation of NTFP- producing forest species in ECOWAS Member States, examined how these have been domesticated and integrated into the agro-forestry systems and also considered cases of good agro-forestry practices. The workshop was organized within the framework of the ECOWAS Commission's Forestry Policy and its Common Environmental Policy which targets the long- term sustainable management of forest resources for sustainable development and improvement of the well-being of the people of the region.
It was also designed to encourage farming techniques and best practices of conservation, protection, and soil restoration as well as soil fertility management for improved agricultural production and ensure diversification of income streams from harvesting and gathering of NTFPs. More specifically, the workshop was to build the capaciti es of farmers in agro-forestry techniques and sustainable land management, with emphasis on the conservation of local wood species that provide NTFP. It was also a platform to share best practices among various farmers in the production and conservation of tree species with high economic value that provide various NTFPs with multiple benefits to local communities.
