Experts from the Togolese and Nigerien transport administrations held on July 14 a work session in Lomé, Togo’s capital. The meeting took place on the sidelines of a visit by Niger’s minister of transport, Oumarou Malam Alma. 

On this occasion, the two parties assessed the concerns of actors operating in the sector and of those who use the Lomé-Niamey road. 

President Faure Faure Gnassingbé is currently in Abidjan. The leader is attending a summit dedicated to the 20th edition of the International Development Association (IDA20). which is being held today. 

In all, around 20 African leaders and executives from the World Bank should regroup at the event. They will talk about the increase of IDA financing for African economies; to enable the latter to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.  

“I am taking part today in Abidjan, in the summit on the replenishment of the resources of the International Development Association (IDA). During this meeting, we will work toward an international mobilization to increase the IDA20 resources,” President Gnassingbe tweeted.  The leader believes that "cooperation between African states and their development partners, including IDA, remains more than vital for the recovery of post-pandemic economies.”

"The summit will be sanctioned by a declaration, the ‘Abidjan Declaration’, which will serve as a roadmap to mobilize $90 billion before the end of 2021 for key sectors such as human capital, job creation including the private sector and economic recovery,” the Togolese presidency said. 

Togo, let’s recall, was backed by the IDA to support its private sector and poorest populations who have been most affected by the pandemic. 

Klétus Situ

From August 19 to 21, 2021, Lomé will host the first edition of the Togo Food Safety Week. This was disclosed by the MIFA S.A (Mécanisme Incitatif de Financement Agricole Fondé sur le Partage de Risques).

The event, themed “agro-entrepreneurship and the integration of the quality approach for a sustainable local consumption” will gather local production actors, including producers, craftsmen, processors and other actors of the Togolese agrofood chain. 

Throughout the said week, agripreneurs will have the opportunity to showcase their “business, products and services.”  

The Togo Food Safety Week aligns with the government’s efforts to boost local consumption. It was in this framework that Lomé launched the local consumption month (which is at its third edition this year). 

 Esaïe Edoh

"There are ways to transform the Togolese rural economy through a new integration dynamic, by leveraging energy and digitalization." Ibrahim Thiaw, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification said this last week, in Germany, while meeting with Togo’s PM, Victoire Dogbé.

Thiaw believes the transformation is a real opportunity since land is a source of income for the people and it can create jobs for the youth, among others. 

Indeed, transforming Togo’s rural economy should enable the country to implement the UN Convention to combat desertification, in the sense that the latter promotes good land management. 

In line with the Convention, national programs have been adopted to fight desertification; programs which will be harmonized at the regional level by bilateral and multilateral agreements.  

Esaïe Edoh

This quarter, Togo’s public treasury aims to raise CFA110 billion on the WAMU securities market. 

To this end, it will issue 10-year fungible bonds on July 23 and August 20. Lomé eyes a turnover of CFA50 billion for these two issues - CFA25 billion respectively.  

To close the quarter, the country plans to undertake, on September 17, two simultaneous issues (of fungible treasury bonds also) which should attract CFA60 billion (CFA30 billion per issue). The two operations will have distinct maturities: 7 years and 10 years. 

During the same quarter, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, and Niger also plan to raise funds on the regional securities market (CFA100 billion, CFA165 billion, CFA385 billion, CFA15 billion, CFA190 billion, and CFA110 billion respectively). Senegal will be absent from that market. 

Let’s recall that over the past quarter, Togo raised CFA183 billion while it expected CFA165 billion. 

 Esaïe Edoh

Togo produced nearly 153,000 tons of rice last year. The figure, revealed by the BCEAO, is up compared to the outputs recorded in 2019 and 2018, respectively 147,000 tons and 145,000 tons. 

Though it keeps producing more over the years, the country is still far from being self-sufficient. Regarding imports, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that Togo received 150,000 tons (50% of its annual consumption) of rice, mainly from Southeast Asia, in 2018. 

Besides, several ongoing agro-industrial projects, including the Africa Europa Farm initiative that aims to valorize the Mono Valley, cover the rice sector. 

Let’s recall that Togo, supported by the FAO, looks to spend CFA987 billion by 2030 to develop the rice sector. 

The National Food Security Agency of Togo (ANSAT) sold 887 tons of cereals over the past month. 

This includes 874 tons of corn and 13 tons of sorghum. The 50kg-bag of the former was sold at CFA9,500 while the 50-kg bag of sorghum was sold at CFA10,500. 

The supply helped lower market prices of corn - the bowl (2.5kg) is now sold at around CFA700 (against CFA750-800 previously) in Lomé and CFA600 in other parts of the country.

Ouro Koura Agadazi, Director-General of ANSAT, said that despite this reduction, the situation in the sector remains concerning “due to speculation, external pressure, and illegal export.”

Thus, the government has decided to take drastic measures to tackle the smuggling of cereals and alleviate market pressure. “At first, we adopted a sensitization approach. From now on, we will indefinitely confiscate any smuggled stock we seize at our borders,” the ANSAT’s official warned.  

The ANSAT, it should be noted, decided to open up its grain stock to the market due to a sustained surge in prices over the past few months. As at June 30, 2021, the Agency had 12,917.07 tons of cereals stored in its warehouses. 

Esaïe Edoh