The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its development partners have launched an investment drive to achieve complete regional rice self-sufficiency by the year 2035, established in Accra, Ghana, to block billions of dollars from leaving the sub-region annually on food imports.
The policy initiative took centre stage during a high-level Regional Round Table on Investment in the Rice Sector. Organised by the ECOWAS Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, the two-day summit secured immediate technical backing from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The joint group is designing a blended financing framework to funnel public and private capital directly into rural milling infrastructure and mechanised farming services across all member states.
Opening the round table on behalf of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang stated that the food shortfall threatens regional economic sovereignty.
She noted that West African states possess vast tracts of fertile land, stable river networks, and a massive farming workforce, yet they remain vulnerable to international trade shocks.
Opoku-Agyemang emphasised that building local capacity to produce food with dignity is fundamentally linked to reducing national debts and halting rural food inflation.
To guide the long-term project, ECOWAS expert Kalilou Sylla presented the official “Vision for Rice Self-Sufficiency in West Africa by 2035” roadmap.
The plan outlines a complete structural upgrade, focused on distributing drought-tolerant certified seeds, building modern solar-powered irrigation canals, and installing state-of-the-art processing mills to compete with Asian imports.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, concluded by stating that they are fully committed to building inclusive agri-food systems.
He charged the present financiers to move past empty declarations and deliver concrete funds, noting that standardising the rice value chain will protect the livelihoods of millions of smallholders from Mali to Nigeria.
Source: NewsNg
