Annually Updated Value Chain Advocacy Plan as part of the VCDP Including Top Advocacy Priorities Livestock/Meat (FY 2011)

The project aims to improve the business environment for the livestock/meat value chain in West Africa by addressing trade barriers and promoting regional trade. The COFENABVI AO is a regional organization that brings together national federations from eight West African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. The organization's main objective is to improve the business environment for the livestock/meat value chain by addressing trade barriers and promoting regional trade. The USAID ATP project has been working with the COFENABVI AO to support the development of a regional advocacy plan for the livestock/meat value chain. The plan aims to improve the business environment for the value chain by addressing trade barriers and promoting regional trade. The plan focuses on three main objectives: improving the functionality of the Committee for the Improvement of the Application of Regional Texts and Orientations, analyzing regional texts governing the activities of the value chain, and diffusing these texts among national federations. For the year 2012, the efforts will focus on conducting advocacy activities at least two border posts in the central corridor of West Africa where harassment is considered significant by actors. The plan also aims to strengthen relations between the COFENABVI AO and regional institutions, particularly around advocacy activities. The advocacy activities planned for 2012 will be organized in several border regions and will consist of meetings between authorities and national federation representatives, as well as meetings between value chain actors and border control agents. The choice of location for these activities will be made among the following borders: Benin-Burkina Faso, Togo-Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire-Burkina Faso, and Ghana-Burkina Faso. The COFENABVI AO has been able to support its member federations in conducting advocacy activities with the help of the USAID ATP project. However, the complexity of the regional context, marked by the weakness of state engagement and the lack of decision-making power of regional institutions, has limited the results of these actions. Therefore, it is necessary to continue efforts to create new dynamics based on greater collaboration between professional organizations and regional institutions to better organize actions. The present plan is an update of the general plan developed in August 2009 and highlights the axes of concentration of efforts for the year to come. The plan aims to improve the business environment for the livestock/meat value chain in West Africa by addressing trade barriers and promoting regional trade.