Faure Gnassingbé, the President of Togo, met with Cindy H. McCain, the new executive director of the World Food Program (WFP) last Thursday, July 20th. Together, they reviewed the partnership between the UN agency and the West African country, especially regarding agricultural entrepreneurship.

"Togo is a major partner, and we want to prioritize this relationship, especially relative to the strengthening of the Togolese people’s resilience and integrating young people into agriculture. I thank the Head of State for this partnership between the World Food Program and Togo. It's very important to see a country that really cares about its population," McCain said.

The WFP currently supports Togo’s Country Strategic Plan 2022-2026, by helping reinforce emergency response capacities, providing food aid, and supporting the resilience efforts of vulnerable communities.

Some of the projects the UN Agency carried out this year include an emergency food assistance operation, launched on February 20, for vulnerable communities that live in the Savanes and Kara regions, a project to bolster food systems for sustainable access of small producers to agricultural inputs (Pro-SADI), and a EU-funded school feeding project for public primary schools in the country.

The financing agreement for these two priority projects were  signed on April 21, 2023, in Kara at the closing of the first edition of the National Forum of Agricultural Producers (FoPAT).

Togolese Minister of Maritime Economy, Edem Kokou Tengue, talked with Commonwealth officials at Marlborough House, in London, on July 19, 2023. They covered the opportunities and benefits that the Commonwealth's Blue Charter presents for Togo. This was on the sidelines of the 129th session of the General Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

Tengue, on the occasion, highlighted Togo’s maritime assets and advocated for its integration into the unique platform of the Commonwealth Blue Charter. This platform provides facilities for the exploration and exploitation of marine resources while promoting environmental sustainability and international cooperation.

In this framework, the Togolese minister and his hosts discussed potential areas of cooperation, such as ways to sustainably manage fisheries, protect marine biodiversity, develop the blue economy, and take innovative steps to fight sea pollution.

In Togo, 70% of economic activities are linked to the seafront, and the country gets over 75% of its tax revenues from it, according to the Ministry of Maritime Economy. Indeed, for several years now, the Togolese government has doubled down its efforts to better regulate maritime activity and make Lomé’s port a hub in the sub-region.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo’s insurance sector recorded a turnover of CFA87 billion in 2022. This is 34% more than the figure recorded in 2017, according to the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. Out of the CFA87 billion generated last year, motor insurance generated CFA13 billion or 14.9%.

The information was disclosed on July 19 by Akou Mawussé Afidenyigba, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Economy and Finance while giving the opening speech at the General Assembly of Motor Insurance. The Assembly was held in Lomé, over three days, and it gathered insurance sector experts who discussed issues the sector must overcome to better help people and grow.

Afidenyigba, on the occasion, noted that "various actions are being taken to provide material for insurance companies to allow the sector to fully play its role for the benefit of our populations."

The President of the Insurance Committee of Togo, Simon Pierre Gouem, spoke about the challenges related to the holding of the assembly. "There have been difficulties, notably in terms of pricing and compensation, due to a lack of information and delays in decisive settlements. That's why we wanted to bring all the stakeholders together so that we can exchange ideas and make motor insurance even more beneficial," he said.

Some of the major topics explored during the meeting included issues and prospects for compensation, particularly for claims, digitalization, and its potential to facilitate the marketing of this insurance, among others.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo needs CFA1.715 billion to develop its mango industry over the next five years, ending in 2028. The 2024-2028 Action investment plan for the mango sector was recently validated by the Ministry of agriculture. This was done in collaboration with the Interprofessional Council of the sector.  

The Togolese State should provide 25% of the investment, or CFA438.6 million and CFA840.9 million or 49% should come from the private sector. Technical and financial partners should provide the last CFA435.75 million. 

The investment strategy has four main goals: boosting the quality and production of mangoes, doing the same with and valorizing derived products, creating an environment that is conducive to the sector’s development, and improving governance by organizing actors better. 

In the long term, the five-year plan aims to dedicate 500 hectares of land to mango farming, in the Zones d'Aménagement Agricole Planifiées (ZAAP).  Two additional ZAAPs, specifically dedicated to mango and covering 100 hectares each, are also planned to boost the production and marketing of this delicious fruit.

Togo produced about 50,500 tons of mangoes in 2022, according to official data. And 718 producers were officially registered.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Last Wednesday, July 19, Togo validated its 2024-2030 food security plan. The document was greenlit in Lomé, the capital. 

The strategy focuses on key aspects of the structural transformation of Togo’s food systemens. It will help the country fight food insecurity, in a context where this issue could be agravated by current global crises in coming years, according to experts. The latter, however, reported that food security was stable globally between 2021 and 2022. 

"The number of undernourished people according to projections indicates that the world is far from being on track to achieve zero hunger by 2030," recently declared Fatoumata Binta Tidiane Diallo, Acting Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Togo. At the same time, she also reiterated the commitment of all UN system agencies to fully support the Togolese government's efforts to transform food systems.

Through the 2024-2030 food security plan, Togo wants to eradicate hunger, consolidate food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will present the seven-year plan to technical and financial partners at the UN Food Systems Summit scheduled for July 24-26 in Rome, Italy.

Esaïe Edoh

Matthias Veltin, the outgoing Ambassador of Germany to Togo met with President Faure Gnassingbé last Tuesday, in Lomé. The European official was in Togo for four years.

“I met with the Head of State to give him an update on cooperation. We discussed bilateral cooperation. Relations between the two countries are good,” the German said after the meeting.

During the European’s stay in Togo, Germany supported the African nation in many areas–economic, social, environmental, agriculture, and energy–through GIZ and KfW development bank. 

Germany, notably, contributed €70 million to the EU’s financial package to help Togo boost its agribusiness and energy sectors. Berlin also teamed up with the EU to help implement the Savanes Emergency Program (PURS) in Togo.

Germany is one of Togo’s major bilateral partners in Europe. Since the two countries resumed cooperation in 2012, financial subsidies provided by Germany reached €425 million. 

Matthias Veltin lauded the partnership between the two sides and said cooperation would be sustained, especially relative to security.

Back in November last year, the two governments, it is worth noting, had committed to reinforcing their ties.

Esaïe Edoh

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has signed a CFA278 billion credit insurance policy with nine private European insurers. The lender disclosed the signing on July 17, 2023, and emphasized that credit insurance represents 11% of its total loan portfolio.

According to the BOAD, the contract will help raise this portfolio’s average rating and, consequently, positively influence its "investment grade rating" (highest-rated issued bonds).

"This insurance policy, which enhances our risk profile and that of our borrowers, will enable us to raise resources under the best conditions on the financial markets and to align ourselves with the implementation of the DJOLIBA plan initiated in 2021 with the ambition to finance 3,300 billion FCFA of projects for the benefit of UEMOA member states by the end of this plan in 2025," explained Serge Ekué, BOAD’s President.

"This is a major milestone in the deployment of the 'originate to distribute' method adopted by the Bank as part of the implementation of its Djoliba Strategic Plan," a statement from the financial institution further indicated.

The recent credit insurance covers all member States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), helping the BOAD better finance these economies.

Eighteen (18) months before it signed the related policy, the BOAD signed its first individual insurance policies.

Esaïe Edoh