The Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS) has set an formidable aim of reaching regional rice self-sufficiency by 2035. The group is subsequently calling on governments, buyers and growth companions to speed up financing in areas which are key to West Africa’s meals safety and agricultural transformation.
Talking on the opening ceremony of the West African Rice Funding Roundtable in Accra on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, Dr. Omar Aliu Touray, Chairman of the ECOWAS Fee, mentioned the area can not afford to rely closely on imported rice regardless of its huge agricultural potential.
“We can not proceed to import what we will develop ourselves,” he informed the gathering, including: “This roundtable is a vital milestone in implementing the ECOWAS rice agenda and our joint aim of reaching rice self-sufficiency in West Africa.”
In keeping with ECOWAS, the area at present produces solely 61 p.c of the rice consumed. Rice manufacturing elevated by 44% between 2008 and 2024. Nonetheless, speedy inhabitants development, urbanization, and altering consumption patterns outpaced manufacturing. The provision hole continues to widen.
For Dr Touray, this deficit isn’t just a problem, however a chance to extend home manufacturing, strengthen regional worth chains, appeal to funding and speed up the transformation of agricultural techniques throughout West Africa.
These alternatives help the long-standing ECOWAS technique to make rice the cornerstone of regional meals safety and financial growth. Rice has been a precedence underneath the ECOWAS Agricultural Coverage (ECOWAP) for greater than a decade. In 2014, the Fee launched the ECOWAS Rice Offensive to enhance the nation’s rice growth technique. Most not too long ago, in December 2024, ECOWAS leaders adopted the Regional Rice Roadmap (2025-2035), offering a standard framework to information investments and coverage interventions throughout member states.
To strengthen coordination, the Fee established the ECOWAS Rice Observatory, bringing collectively stakeholders from governments, farmer organizations, analysis establishments, growth companions, and the non-public sector to watch progress and help implementation.
Dr. Touray famous that Member States have since developed nationwide rice funding motion plans and country-specific funding pipelines to determine precedence tasks and financing alternatives. He acknowledged the help of the World Financial institution and African Growth Financial institution in advancing this effort.
Regardless of progress, a number of structural challenges proceed to constrain the sector. Productiveness is low. Manufacturing prices are excessive. Inefficient milling system. Put up-harvest losses. Restricted entry to finance. Inadequate non-public sector funding.
He emphasised that addressing these challenges requires shifting past coverage discussions to concrete actions.
“This roundtable should subsequently act as a catalyst for motion,” he mentioned. “We have to strengthen investor confidence, strengthen partnerships, speed up financing of bankable alternatives, and assist construct regional U.S. economies which are extra aggressive, resilient, and self-sufficient.”
ECOWAS agricultural coverage is at present being reviewed consistent with the Kampala Declaration on Agricultural Transformation. For the primary time, the evaluation course of contains session with 9 stakeholder teams, together with farmers, researchers, girls, youth, monetary establishments, non-public sector representatives, and different non-state actors. Dr. Touray described the method as inclusive and participatory.
“Our ambition is obvious: to construct a extra aggressive, inclusive and sustainable agricultural system that strengthens meals sovereignty, creates financial alternatives, contributes to shared prosperity and progressively achieves regional rice self-sufficiency by 2035,” he mentioned.
The Prime Minister additionally counseled Ghana for internet hosting the roundtable and praised Ghana’s management in selling agricultural growth and regional integration.
Dr. Touray concluded by calling for measurable outcomes from the discussions.
“In the end, the success of this roundtable won’t be measured by the standard of the discussions, however by the progress it delivers for farmers, companies and communities.”
The 2-day roundtable introduced collectively ministers, buyers, monetary establishments, growth companions, and personal sector stakeholders to mobilize funding in regional rice coverage. The occasion is organized by the ECOWAS Fee in collaboration with the World Financial institution, African Growth Financial institution and different technical and monetary companions. Ghana was represented by the Vice President, Professor Jane Nana Opoku-Agyemang.
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