Strengthening Regional Agricultural Integration (Phase 1)

Starting in 2009, Michigan State University (MSU) developed a three-year research and policy outreach program. This addressed key questions around regional integration and fed information into policy debates among West African nations and development partners.

Implementation was primarily through the MSU office in Bamako, Mali. Campus-based staff in Michigan provided strong input and managerial support. The program also drew on contributions from other sources. They included West African partners in national agricultural market information systems (MIS), national agricultural research systems (NARS) such as IER in Mali, ISRA in Senegal, and INERA in Burkina Faso, as well as regional policy organizations such as CILSS.

The goal of this project was to increase the capacity of stakeholders in Sahelian countries of West Africa to implement more effective agricultural and market policies. The aim was to increase the productivity of staple crop production and marketing. Expanding smallholders' access to markets (particularly at regional levels) increases incomes and reduces poverty.

Specific objectives included:

Increasing the availability of information on the effectiveness of different policies to achieve these goals.
Improving stakeholders' understanding of different policies' impacts on productivity, market access, income growth, and poverty reduction.

Major research foci:

Analysis of price transmission since the 2007-08 world food crisis
Analysis of supply response: trade flows, parity price, domestic resource cost studies
Analysis of evolution of consumption and its implications for growth strategies and safety nets

For publications related to the results, please click on our "Project Reports" tab in the right-hand navigation.