Conference of the African and French leaders of agricultural research institutes

CORAF/WECARD's mission is:

To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural research in West and Central Africa by contributing to the construction and the consolidation of the capacities of the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), through co-operation between its members, development partners, regional and international organisations, private sector , non-governmental organisations, users of research results on one hand, and
to consolidate the position of the West and Central African sub-region within the context of the international agricultural research and development, on the other hand.

CORAF/WECARD, mandated to implement the sub-regional agricultural research policies defined by the political authorities of member countries, has set, as its objectives, to:

1. promote co-operation, consultation and information exchange between member institutions on one hand and the partners on the other;
2. define joint sub-regional and regional research objectives and priorities;
3. serve as a consultative body for research carried out by regional and international organisations operating at the sub-regional level;
4.develop joint research programmes in order to strengthen complementary activities of CORAF/WECARD and its partners;
5.harmonise the activities of the existing research networks, and facilitate the creation of new regional networks or other operational research units with a regional character.