Côte d’Ivoire aims for rice self-sufficiency by 2026

CÔTE D’IVOIRE – Côte d’Ivoire has set an ambitious goal to achieve rice self-sufficiency by the end of 2026, marking a vital step toward reducing its reliance on rice imports.

This announcement, made by Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, the Ivorian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, highlights the government’s commitment to enhancing domestic rice production.

Even though this target represents a one-year delay from the previous goal of 2025, Minister Adjoumani remains optimistic, pointing to significant growth in rice production.

Côte d’Ivoire’s per capita rice consumption has surged by 20% over the past decade, reaching 84 kg per person per year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  However, rice remains the second most imported product after fish, accounting for 60% of the demand. 

According to Adjoumani, the country’s output has increased from 900,000 tonnes between 2010 and 2015 to an estimated 1.55 million tonnes in 2024, primarily attributed to investments in high-yield seeds, hydro-agricultural developments, and improved farming techniques.

Authorities estimate that the country needs 2.1 million tonnes of rice for self-sufficiency; however, USDA data suggests that actual national consumption is closer to 2.5 million tonnes, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates it to be 2.8 million tonnes.

In the 2023/2024 period, Côte d’Ivoire was the second-largest rice importer in Africa, purchasing 1.6 million tonnes of milled rice from countries such as India, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Thailand. These imports amounted to over US$722 million in 2023, underscoring the nation’s dependence on international markets.

To tackle these challenges, Côte d’Ivoire has introduced a new “Rice Sector Development Strategy (SNDR 2),” with an investment of US$1.3 billion planned between 2024 and 2030 to boost rice production by expanding cultivated areas, improving water management, and increasing yields.

The first phase, costing US$546 million, will run from 2024 to 2027, while the second phase, with an estimated budget of US$770.7 million, will extend from 2028 to 2030, in an effort to achieve an annual production capacity of 3.2 million tonnes of milled rice by 2030.

To further improve the supply of the commodity on the local market, in 2023, the government launched the construction of a rice processing plant in Odienné.

Téné Birahima Ouattara, the Defense Minister who presided over the initiative’s launch, noted that the 4.3 billion CFA francs (US$7.1 million) project is a boost aimed not only at increasing women’s contribution to the rice processing segment but also at strengthening the local industry’s rice processing capacity.

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