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Following the work launched in 2006 (field mission in May 2006, a political mission to Niger in February 2007 and a field mission to the Kano-Katsina-Maradi (K²M) corridor in June 2007), the SWAC organised under the auspices of ECOWAS and the Niger-Nigeria Joint Commission for Co-operation and in collaboration with FEWS NET, a cross-border workshop. The workshop was jointly opened by H.E. Godwin O. Abbe, Nigerian Minister of Interior and H.E. the Governor of Katsina State Barr. Ibrahim Shema (represented by H.E. the Deputy Govenor of Katsina State Sirajo Umar Damari).
 Objectives
The aim of this workshop was to launch a cross-border co-operation pilot operation focusing on improving the functioning of border markets, rendering border crossings more fluid, enhancing the circulation of information, improving capacities for preventing and managing food crises. Operational proposals that engage local cross-border actors (public and private), the governments, ECOWAS and development partners, were formulated by topic.
Topics
Activities carried out by populations and partners as well as discussions during field missions have provided the basis for establishing the workshop programme. The following specific topics were debated, notably within the framework of three working groups:
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Information on food crop markets: improving dialogue and defining actions for data collection on trade flows and prices; the dissemination of information to economic operators, more effective call for tender systems in order to rebuild food security stocks.
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Movement of goods: improving dialogue and defining actions in order to reduce the number of control posts on roads; setting up an integrated system to pay taxes and custom duties in one payment (proposal led by merchants and transporters);
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Movement of capital: improving dialogue and defining actions in order to set up more effective banking mechanisms for transferring money; setting up local systems to combat counterfeit money.
Results
At the Opening Ceremony the Governor of Katsina State promised to support the Cross-border Initiatives Programme as well as support the implementation of the decisions taken during the workshop. On his part the Nigerian Minister of the Interior reiterated Nigeria’s support for all ECOWAS initiatives and programmes and generally African Integration. Several partner organisations also promised to support the Kano-Katsina-Maradi Cross-border Initiatives Programme.
Drawing on outcomes of discussions within the three working groups, the participants decided to establish, under the auspices of the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission for Co-operation, three information platforms on cross-border activities, aiming to:
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Improve market information systems
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Enhance cross-border movement of cereals and livestock
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Improve ways and means of capital transfer between the two countries
In addition, participants committed to support actions aiming to:
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Encourage the use of modern banking and monetary transfer systems to reduce risks faced by traders and fasten transactions
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Improve procurement mechanism for the Food-security-Stock
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Encourage national banks to open branches in border areas to facilitate transactions
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Establish joint border communication facilities, such as community radio networks for a wider dissemination of information on markets, prices, etc.
International partner organisations already confirmed their willingness to support these initiatives.
> read the Workshop Communiqué
Participants
The workshop brought together some 60 participants, including many local actors from the Niger-Nigeria border area:
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Government authorities & National Boundary Commissions of Niger and Nigeria
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Border actors: merchants, agricultural producers, livestock breeders, transporters, entrepreneurs and bankers
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International partner organisations
Partners
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ECOWAS
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Niger-Nigeria Joint Commission for Co-operation
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Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET - USAID)
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Niger Food Crises Unit
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National Boundary Commission of Nigeria
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Permanent Inter-state Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS)
Financial Support:
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Delegation of the European Commission in Niger
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UNDP Nigeria
Next Steps
The next step of the project will consist of a meeting aiming to raise political awareness. The summary record and a draft outline of the cross-border pilot operation, defined by the workshop participants, will be finalised in October 2007.
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