Yesterday 8th July 2021, the ECOWAS Commission proceeded, in Lomé, Togo, with the official launching, in a mixed face-to-face and online format, of the "Innovative Regional Fruit Fly Management System Project in West Africa" (SyRYMAO) implemented by the ECOWAS Commission with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and the French Development Agency (AFD). The launching event aimed to inform national, regional, and international stakeholders and the public on the support of the ECOWAS Commission and its partners to the horticultural sector in the Member States.

The overall objective of SyRYMAO is to consolidate, scale up and sustain the achievements made in fruit fly management in West Africa to improve producers' incomes and increase the market share of mango exports. Indeed, SyRYMAO is continuing the efforts made by the ECOWAS Commission since 2015 in 11 of its 15 Member States, through the first phase of the project to control fruit flies in the region (PLMF, 2015-2019), to monitor and control the transboundary spread of fruit flies.

Funded by the EU and AFD for a total budget of 13.9 million euros for a period of 4 years, this second phase of the project focuses on: (i) the consolidation, large-scale dissemination and extension of efficient pest management techniques with low environmental impact among producers, (ii) the extension of surveillance, monitoring and early warning activities to all 15 ECOWAS Member States, and (iii) the establishment of mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of the surveillance and pest management system at both regional and national levels, basically through the structuring of the mango industry.

The various stakeholders of the project were in attendance, including representatives of AFD offices and European Union delegations in West Africa, UEMOA, CILSS, CORAF, the ACP Secretariat, technical and financial partners, national fruit fly management committees, producers, and mango inter-professions in the 15 ECOWAS countries, national agricultural research services and the national and international press.

The launching ceremony was chaired by the Togolese Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development and the ECOWAS Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, in collaboration with the European Union and the French Development Agency.