The potential of regional integration & international trade in ECOWAS

Despite its importance in the regional economy, the agricultural sector is characterized by low productivity and severe environmental constraints. Because of the diversity of agricultural situations (climate change impact, complex nature of production systems, agrarian systems), research has not yielded sufficient results and therefore vertical approaches have been favored. The agricultural growth model on which the region has been based is not sustainable over the long term. The agricultural policy has been mainly oriented towards the profitability of the production without the accompanying measures necessary to achieve the objectives of agricultural policies: food security, rural employment and integration in the regional market. At the same time, in international markets, the prices of exported products have been severely reduced, while the prices of imported goods, competing with regional products, were pulled down by subsidies to producers in developed countries. This work puts forward news strategies that can be favorable to ECOWAS countries to stimulate economic growth and mitigate food insecurity.