Faced with a staggering $3.5 billion annual import bill and demand that consistently outpaces local harvests, West African nations and global development partners have launched a massive, multi-billion-dollar coordinated campaign to achieve total rice self-sufficiency by 2035.

The initiative took center stage at a high-level Regional Roundtable on Investment in the Rice Sector held in Accra, Ghana, where policymakers, financiers, and private sector leaders gathered to transform a commodity that now accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all cereal consumption in the sub-region.

Under the new Regional Rice Roadmap (2025–2035) approved by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the region is targeting a massive annual production goal of 34 million metric tons of milled rice over the next decade.

However, realizing this vision will require an estimated $24 billion in total funding—comprising $19 billion in capital expenditure for infrastructure like storage and mechanization, and $5 billion for operational expenses such as seed systems and fertilizer access. Regional leaders emphasized that the time for talking has passed.

“West Africa does not need new declarations of intent but rather bankable project portfolios capable of attracting large-scale, long-term capital,” stated Ghana’s Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem, stressing the need to pivot from theoretical potential to concrete execution.

Opening the roundtable on behalf of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang framed the initiative as a matter of geopolitical necessity. “Beyond rice, this meeting is about economic transformation, regional integration and Africa’s capacity to achieve self-sufficiency with dignity,” she said.

She noted that unlocking this potential would require competitive, long-term investment capital directed toward infrastructure to shield local economies from future global supply shocks.

Currently, West Africa’s domestic production meets only about 60% of regional demand, with consumption growing at 4% annually while production flags at 3%. This deficit leaves the population highly vulnerable to international market volatility, a lesson hard-learned during past food crises and recent global supply chain disruptions.

Director of the World Bank’s Planet Department for West and Central Africa, Chakib Jenane, pointed out that the region’s primary challenge isn’t a lack of resources, but rather how those resources are structured. He observed that while yields in countries such as Senegal, Mali, and Nigeria can match levels seen in Asia, smallholder farmers remain overly exposed to climate risks and lack adequate access to credit.

“The objective is to build a high-performing ecosystem around rice. However, producing more rice alone does not suffice. Stakeholders must also improve storage, processing and marketing. Ultimately, the entire West African rice value chain must compete effectively with imports if the region wants to succeed,” Jenane explained.

To address these vulnerabilities, a network of overlapping, multi-million-dollar programmes has been deployed across the subcontinent. The African Development Bank (AfDB) recently launched its $8.5 million Multinational Rice Resilient Value Chains Development Programme (REWARD–AfricaRice) in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire. Operating through 2029 across 14 countries, REWARD aims to supercharge average productivity from a meager two tons per hectare up to seven tons per hectare. Organizers project the program will elevate average yearly farmer incomes from $1,385 to $1,605, create 78,000 jobs, and expand intra-regional rice trade to 250,000 tons.

Director General of AfricaRice, Dr. Baboucarr Manneh, underscored the collaborative nature of the project at its launch. “Rice self-sufficiency in West Africa is both an economic and food security imperative.Through REWARD, we are combining science, innovation, institutional strengthening, and regional coordination to build resilient rice value chains that benefit farmers, processors, and consumers across the region,” Manneh stated.

Concurrently, the African Development Fund has injected $99.16 million into the Regional West Africa Rice Development project, directly benefiting 15 countries with a heavy focus on climate-smart seeds and irrigation infrastructure. This regional push is heavily augmented by the World Bank’s broader AgriConnect initiative, which intends to double its global annual agricultural investments to $9 billion. Under this umbrella, the bank has already approved a $500 million program dedicated to agricultural value chains in Nigeria and a $300 million modernization project in Togo.

Even international research partnerships are yielding high-impact data. A collaborative project launched with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has introduced customized “Green Super Rice” varieties engineered to withstand extreme drought and high salinity. In local Nigerian trials, these advanced varieties registered yield increases between 30per cent and 50per cent compared to standard local seeds.

Back at the Accra roundtable, organizers showcased immediate, highly scalable solutions designed to tempt private investors. For instance, deploying 3,500 community solar-powered irrigation systems would cost $43 million but could boost yields by up to three tons per hectare, generating returns of 20per cent to 30per cent for 50,000 smallholders. Similarly, a $14 million investment to train 7,000 seed entrepreneurs could rapidly inject an additional 600,000 tons of paddy rice into the regional supply.

The two-day summit concluded with participating countries adopting a formal Regional Rice Investment Pact to anchor public-private partnerships, alongside plans to revitalize the ECOWAS Rice Observatory to rigorously track financial pledges and monitor field progress.

ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray signaled that the economic bloc is fully committed to seeing the transition through over the coming decade. “Our ambition is to establish competitive, inclusive and sustainable agri-food systems that strengthen food sovereignty, create jobs and promote shared prosperity while achieving regional self-sufficiency in rice by 2035,” Touray stated.

Published Date: June 8, 2026