In a strategic move to boost regional livestock trade and address long-standing challenges in the red meat value chain, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has officially launched the second phase of the West Africa Livestock Marketing Support Program (PACBAO). The initiative is being implemented with the technical and financial backing of the Swiss Development Cooperation.
The launch event, held in Accra, brought together key stakeholders from across the region, with a focus on enhancing regional integration, improving livestock market structures, and strengthening food security through sustainable trade practices.
In his keynote address, Ambassador Mohamed Lawan Gana, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, underscored the critical economic and social role of livestock farming in the Sahel. “Livestock contributes significantly to the GDP and provides livelihoods for nearly half the population in many countries—especially youth and women,” he stated.
Gana highlighted ECOWAS’s commitment to the sector through a suite of regional policies and instruments such as ECOWAP (the regional agricultural policy), the Common External Tariff (CET), and the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS). He emphasized that programs like PACBAO are key to operationalizing these frameworks and transforming the livestock and meat sectors into engines of economic growth and stability.
Phase 2 of PACBAO builds on the gains of its initial phase, aiming to create a more organized and resilient market system for livestock and red meat across West Africa and the Sahel.
ECOWAS and Swiss Partners Expand Regional Livestock Program to Strengthen Trade,Food Security
