- ECOWAS Unveils $23 Billion Roadmap to End West Africa’s Rice Import Dependence by 2035
The Economic Community of West African States has launched an ambitious regional strategy to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2035, warning that the region’s dependence on imported rice has become an economic, food security and foreign exchange risk that can no longer be ignored.
Presenting the West Africa Rice Agenda and Regional Rice Roadmap 2025–2035 at the West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Kalilou Sylla, described the region’s rice import dependence as “unacceptable” for an area endowed with vast agricultural resources.
“We are among the world’s largest producers of cocoa, cashew and several other agricultural commodities. It is not acceptable that rice imports remain almost three times higher than regional production,” he said.
The new roadmap replaces the ECOWAS Rice Offensive programme, which ends in 2025, and marks a shift from policy formulation to execution, investment mobilisation and measurable results.
According to ECOWAS, rice demand across West Africa consistently outpaced production between 2019 and 2024, increasing the region’s reliance on imports and exposing countries to external price shocks and supply disruptions.
The regional bloc’s target is to achieve cost-competitive and cost-effective rice self-sufficiency through higher productivity, stronger national policies, improved infrastructure, better financing and deeper private-sector participation.
Investment Needs Estimated at $23 Billion
A central pillar of the roadmap is the mobilisation of large-scale investment across the rice value chain.
ECOWAS estimates that achieving self-sufficiency will require between $15 billion and $18 billion in capital expenditure for irrigation systems, mechanisation, milling facilities, storage and drying infrastructure.
An additional $5 billion to $6 billion in annual operating capital will be needed to support production and value-chain activities.
Mr Sylla said the challenge is no longer identifying the problem or designing policy responses, but securing the financing and partnerships needed to implement the plan.
“This is no longer about planning. We already know what needs to be done. The priority now is mobilising investment and moving from strategy to action,” he said.
National Investment Plans Across 13 Countries
Under the initiative, ECOWAS has worked with 13 member states to develop National Rice Investment Action Plans designed to translate the regional roadmap into country-specific projects and financing opportunities.
The plans are expected to connect local agricultural priorities with regional and international financing sources, while encouraging stronger participation from development finance institutions, commercial investors and agribusinesses.
Mr Sylla commended development partners, including the World Bank and the African Development Bank, for supporting the initiative and helping establish the framework for regional rice sector transformation.
Economic Gains Beyond Food Security
ECOWAS projects that successful implementation of the roadmap could increase regional rice production to about 36 million metric tonnes, triple current output levels and reduce annual rice import bills by between $5 billion and $7.5 billion.
The programme is also expected to support a regional rice market valued at about $35 billion and generate more than 500,000 additional jobs across farming, processing, logistics and related industries.
Beyond food production, ECOWAS argues that rice self-sufficiency is essential for strengthening economic resilience, reducing pressure on foreign exchange reserves and improving regional stability.
“Rice self-sufficiency is no longer simply an agricultural objective. It is a strategic necessity for food security, economic resilience, job creation and regional stability,” Mr Sylla said.
The roadmap calls on governments to implement national rice investment plans, development partners to move from fragmented projects to coordinated investment platforms, financial institutions to develop innovative financing and risk-sharing mechanisms, and the private sector to expand investments in seed systems, irrigation, mechanisation, processing and market infrastructure.
Rice has become both a household staple and a macroeconomic pressure point. Rising imports drain foreign exchange, expose consumers to global market volatility and weaken the region’s ability to feed itself from its own agricultural base.
The ECOWAS roadmap therefore frames rice not merely as a food crop, but as an industrial, trade and sovereignty issue.
West Africa has produced several agricultural strategies over the years, but many have struggled to deliver transformation at scale because of weak financing, poor infrastructure, policy inconsistency and fragmented implementation.
