G/SPS/GEN/1876  
 
17 February 2021 
(21-1320) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 
ECOWAS IMPLEMENTED SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY ACTIVITIES  
DURING THE PERIOD OF OCTOBER 2020  - JANUARY  2021 
COMMUNICATION FROM ECOWAS -USAID SENIOR SANITARY  
AND PHYTOSANITARY ( SPS) STANDARDS ADVISOR  
The following communication, received on  15 February 2021, is being circulated at the request of  
the Economic Community of West African States  (ECOWAS).  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
The USAID/West Africa Regional Mission works to support the Economic Community of West 
African State s (ECOWAS) to advance their vision to create an economic union and common market. 
In line with this objective , ECOWAS is implementing many agreements designed to support the free 
movement of goods and people throughout the region. Since 2017, SPS -related a ctions have been 
implemented.  
In view of improving and strengthening SPS activities in the ECOWAS region, the following 
activities were implemented during the period of October 2020 to January 2021. It is to note that 
since March 2020, the COVID -19 pandemi c has negatively impacted on the smooth implementation 
of SPS -related activities at national and regional levels. As such, most planned SPS -related activities 
were postponed till further notice. However, certain activities were implemented , most of them in  a 
virtual mode.  
2  PLANT HEALTH AND PLANT PROTECTION  
2.1  Continuation of training workshop on the "Use of the Harmonized Phytosanitary 
Inspection and Decision -Making Guide"  
The continuation of the training workshop on " The Use of the Harmonized Phytosanitary 
Inspection and Decision -Making Guide " is an effort of USDA -FAS dedicated to support West Africa 
NPPOs Taskforce to disseminate the harmonized Guide in order to promote best practices in the 
conduct of plant quarantine operations in the sub -region. 
The program aims:  
• to train in the pilot countries , including Benin and Nigeria , plant quarantine inspectors on a 
better understanding for further use of the Guide ; 
• to conduct s imulation exercises with practical demonstrations of phytosanitary inspect ion, 
including pest detection and identification at the laboratory ; and  
• to test the applicability of the Guide.  
The training was conducted in Benin (2 -5 December 2020) and Nigeria (8 -11 December 2020). 
In both countries, a total of 30 port, sea and terrestrial border inspectors were trained. It is 
anticipated to scale up this training to the remaining 13 ECOWAS and Sahel countries. This initiative 
is in line with ECOWAS priorities and the implementation of the SPS framework to help West Africa 
countr ies' plant quarantine systems meet international standards and to promote safe trade.  G/SPS/GEN/1876  
 
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  2.2  Coordination and organization of a virtual meeting to validate the regional 
programme on plant pests and diseases control with emphasis on fall armyworm in 
West  Africa an d the Sahel  
A comprehensive regional programme on plant pests and diseases control with emphasis on 
fall armyworm in West Africa and the Sahel was developed. A virtual meeting was organized in 
October 2020 and all targeted countries and partners participat ed to validate the programme. 
The overall objective is to improve the surveillance, prevention, and sustainable management of 
plant pests and diseases in the ECOWAS and Sahel region. The specific objectives are  to: 
• Ensure control, surveillance, risk analys is and impact of plant pests, in particular the 
armyworm (FAW) on the food security and the livelihood in West Africa and the Sahel ; 
• Set up and run farmer field schools (FFS) ; 
• Increase community participation in the surveillance and sustainable management of plant 
pests to reduce the impact on food and nutrition insecurity ; 
• Develop effective control methods adapted to West Africa and the Sahel to help reduce 
production losses, loss of income and improve the resilience of populations through the 
various opti ons for biological control against armyworm by emphasizing the inventory of 
natural enemies already available and their way of contributing to the reduction of 
armyworm populations; and the inventory of the introduction of natural enemies from other 
origin s in addition to local predators and parasitoids ; 
• Develop communication and knowledge sharing to improve the dissemination of 
phytosanitary information, provide information on the risks of using pesticides, and on the 
benefits of using biological control m ethods on reducing the impact  of plant pests ; 
• Harmonize the registration of pesticides to help reduce their misuse in food safety and 
facilitate the registration of biopesticides ; 
• Improve the coordination of the fight against plant pests to contribute to t he effective 
implementation of policies, legislative and regulatory provisions in this area.  
It is anticipated th at implementation will start in 2021.  
3  ECOWAS SPS OPERATION PLAN 2021 -2024  
3.1  Coordination, and finalization of the SPS operation plan for 2021 -2024 to be 
supported by USAID -USDA  
A series of virtual coordination meetings have been held with stakeholders and USAID -USDA 
to reach consensus and validation of the proposed SPS activities for 2021 -2024. The operation plan 
for 2021-2024 contain s various outputs and SPS activities among others:  
• Harmonized Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards : 
o Establish and operationalize a Technical Working Group on SPS standards ; 
o Organize public and private interests on SPS standards harmonization ; 
o Coordinate and support participation of member States in ISSBs ; 
o Provide technical guidance for national SPS inspection and information systems ; 
o Provide technical guidance and promote regional awareness of anti -microbial resistance ; 
o Develop and disseminate information for decision -makers . 
4  PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTINENTAL SPS COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 
19-22 OCTOBER 2020 AND  ORGANIZED BY DREA/AUC IN COLLABORATION WITH USDA  
The continental SPS committee meeting was held virtually on 19-22 October 2020. 
The ECOWAS Commission participated in this meeting and made a presentation on the sub -regional 
coordination and support to member States. The following objectives were  met: 
• assisted in the harmonised inclusion of SPS standards in ECOWAS regional agricultural and 
industrial policies, in accordance with the requirements of international trade agreements, 
under WTO.  
• strengthened the capacities of the ECOWAS Working Group (involving  CILSS member 
countries including Chad and Mauritania, and other technical partners ) to harmonise 
SPS standards.  G/SPS/GEN/1876  
 
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Key activities implemented were highlighted , including:  
• Plant Health Products Regulatory Collaboration and Harmonization in West Africa and the  
Sahel region: West Africa Pesticide Registration Committee (in progress) ; 
• Establishing an ECOWAS food safety regulatory convergence forum (in progress) ; 
• Regional NPPOs and Partners Task Force for Surveillance, Prevention and Control of Plant 
Pests establi shed; 
• Harmonized inspection and decision -making guidelines developed and training on its uses 
conducted ; 
• Training workshop and awareness on e -Phyto . 
5  GENERAL CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD  
The ECOWAS Commission take s this opportunity to thank all partners for their continuing 
support in advancing SPS -related issues in the ECOWAS and Sahel sub -region. The ECOWAS 
Commission also  calls for more collaboration  and support for future implementation, especially in 
the new er a of COVID -19. 
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