The Regional Agency for Food and Agriculture (ARAA), based in Lomé, has just launched a tender for the submission of projects falling under the West Africa Livestock Trading initiative.

Backed by the Swiss Cooperation, ARAA has $3 million for the project. Now, it seeks innovative projects that will contribute to the growth of husbandry and livestock trading in West Africa and Chad.

Interested actors have until August 25, to submit their applications.

Launched in September 2013, the ARAA is a technical institution of the ECOWAS operating in the agricultural sector.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In Q1 2019, Togo exported 4,743 tons of cocoa, up 271% compared to the same period in 2018 (1,278 tons). Despite the significant increase, the country produced only 2,258 tons locally.

For coffee, Togo exported about 2.4 million kg of the beans during the first quarter of the year. This is 13% more than in 2018, according to the general office for economic studies and analyses of the ministry of finance and economy.

Looking at outputs over the two periods under the review, cocoa production was up while coffee slumped by 30%.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Launched by President Faure Gnassingbé, construction works for the Carrier Hotel, the future data center of Togo are advancing well with “foundations which are being completed,” according to APL France which claims the infrastructure “will be delivered next October.”

The building will host private servers and “the technology that will be used at the carrier hotel will make it one of the most performant data centers in West Africa, in terms of reliability, safety and quality,” said Togo’s minister of digital economy, Cina Lawson, at the first stone laying for the center.

Construction works are valued at XOF12.2 billion (€15.3 million) and expected to last 15 months, started January 2019.

Let’s recall that the construction of the Carrier Hotel falls under the West African Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (WARCIP-Togo).

Séna Akoda

From September 25 to 27, 2019, Lomé will host the 3^rd edition of the national forum for internal audit. For this edition, the event has been placed under the theme: “Internal audit at the service of concerned parties.”

Organized by the Institute of Internal Auditors – Togo (IIA-Togo), the forum will focus on future challenges of internal auditors, collaboration between public governance actors and internal auditors, as well as establish a framework for training and exchanges between professionals of the sector, public administrators and decision-makers.

Let’s recall that IIA-Togo, created in 2010, is affiliated to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA Global), which is present in over 170 countries and territories.

Compared to 2017, public debt across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) soared in 2018. This was disclosed at the last council of ministers of the Union.

“Despite efforts of the Union’s member States regarding public finance management, to reduce budget deficit, this figure remains high,” with a debt that increased to 48.7% in 2018, up 3.2% more than in 2017, reads an information note of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) for the second quarter of this year.

“Public debt’s share in public revenues keeps growing and now makes up more than a third of all revenues collected across five member States,” adds the council.

To reverse the situation which impairs investment capacity of the Union’s States, the council suggested that all eight member States of the Union reinforce measures aimed at increasing collection of tax revenues, as well as to resort to “innovative financing, such as private-public partnerships, while ensuring public debt’s sustainability.”

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In 2018, Togo’s budget revenues soared by 13.4% compared to the year before. This was disclosed by the Central Bank of West African States in its latest annual report.

This is the second highest increase within the West African and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The country comes after Niger (+23.5%) and before Burkina Faso (+12.3%), the other two nations whose budget revenues grew the most over the past year.

In detail, the union collected XOF12,832.7 billion (18.4% of GDP) at end-2018, up XOF1,094 billion (+9.3%), over the period reviewed.

“Despite this improvement, fiscal pressure rate remained low standing at 15.7% in 2018, thus below the 20% minimum standard set for 2019 across the union,” indicates the apex bank.

This year, the Togo Revenue Offie (OTR) set a target of XOF669 billion of taxes to be collected. The country, according to the entity, has already collected 48.8% of this amount during the first quarter of 2019.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Under its additional phase, the Agricultural Sector Support Project (PASA) backed 300 more breeders, providing them each XOF3.5 million. This follows an initial phase where 170 breeders benefited from the scheme’s support.

The subsidy, capped at XOF1.5 billion, aims at helping actors of this sector better sell their products. 

According to the ministry of animal production, PASA, in its additional phase, aims at “enabling small-scale breeders grow to become semi-modern breeders,” while in the long term, “these farmers should become real entrepreneurs, able to supply markets with their livestock (local poultry and small ruminants).”

The ministry also indicated that distribution of the subsidy has already begun. Actually, Out of 260 new beneficiaries who are to be backed by the scheme, 251 have already received the first tranche of the subsidy and have effectively started their activity.

Séna Akoda