STAFF REPORTER
West Africa’s push to reduce food imports and strengthen agricultural value chains received a significant boost this week after governments, development finance institutions and private investors mobilised more than US$1.54 billion in commitments aimed at transforming the region’s rice sector.
The commitments emerged from the West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, where ministers, investors, agribusiness leaders and development partners gathered to explore how increased investment can help the region meet rising demand for rice, create jobs and move closer to self-sufficiency by 2035.
For a region that spends billions of dollars annually importing rice despite possessing vast agricultural potential, the discussions reflected a growing recognition that food security is not only a social priority but also an economic imperative.
“The challenge before us is not just about growing more rice, but also about mobilising the scale of capital required to transform agriculture from a subsistence sector to commercial production, and from fragmented production to integrated value chains,” Ghana’s Vice-President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang said.
“We must therefore also see rice as a strategic economic asset. It is about jobs for young people, incomes for farmers and strengthening the resilience of our economies against future global shocks.”
Participants identified investment opportunities throughout the rice value chain, including irrigation systems, improved seed production, mechanisation, milling, storage facilities, transport networks and regional trade infrastructure. Policymakers argued that stronger investment in these areas could help reduce import dependence while stimulating economic activity in rural communities.
The roundtable also highlighted the importance of coordinated action among governments, financiers and the private sector.
“Our ambition is clear: to build more competitive, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems that strengthen food sovereignty, create economic opportunities, contribute to shared prosperity and progressively achieve regional rice self-sufficiency by 2035,” said ECOWAS Commission President Dr Omar Alieu Touray.
“This Roundtable must therefore serve as a catalyst for action. It must strengthen investor confidence, reinforce partnerships, accelerate financing for bankable opportunities and help build a more competitive, resilient and self-sufficient regional rice economy.”
Of the 111 commitments recorded during the meeting, 24 are ready for announcement, while dozens more remain under discussion among development banks, financial institutions, donors and private sector investors.
The gathering also provided a platform for Ghana to launch its AgriConnect Compact, a five-year initiative designed to place agriculture at the centre of economic transformation. The programme aims to create more than 2.6 million jobs, improve food and nutrition security for nearly three million people and attract US$3.5 billion in investment across priority value chains including rice, maize, cocoa, oil palm and poultry.
For development partners, the significance of the rice agenda extends beyond food production.
“Agriculture must no longer be treated as a social sector; it must be recognised as a productive economic sector capable of driving growth, creating jobs and powering industrialisation,” said Richard Ofori-Mante, Director for Agricultural Finance and Rural Development at the African Development Bank.
“At the centre of this transformation is Africa’s youth. The rice value chain offers substantial opportunities across irrigation services, mechanisation, processing, logistics, digital agriculture and agribusiness entrepreneurship.”
As governments seek to reduce food import bills and create employment opportunities, the success of the region’s rice agenda will ultimately depend on whether investment pledges translate into productive farms, competitive value chains and thriving rural economies.
