ECOWAS seeks US$24B to drive West Africa’s rice self-sufficiency plan
Regional leaders and investors meet in Accra as ECOWAS pushes for funding to raise rice production and cut the region’s US$3.5 billion import bill.
GHANA – West African leaders, development partners and investors gathered in Accra, Ghana, on June 2 for a high-level Rice Investment Roundtable aimed at securing financing for the region’s rice self-sufficiency agenda.
The two-day meeting, organized by the ECOWAS Regional Commission, the Government of Ghana and the World Bank Group, comes as West Africa works toward producing enough rice to meet its own demand by 2035.
In December 2024, ECOWAS Heads of State approved a Regional Rice Roadmap for 2025 to 2035 that targets annual production of 34 million tonnes of milled rice.
Opening the event, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, stressed the need for practical investment opportunities rather than more commitments on paper.
“West Africa does not need new declarations of intent: it needs to build bankable project portfolios that can attract long-term capital at scale. Clearly, the time is no longer for speeches on the rice growing potential of the region,” he said.
The roundtable builds on progress already made across the region. Thirteen ECOWAS member states have completed and validated National Rice Investment Action Plans that identify priority production areas and investment opportunities.
These efforts have also received support from the World Bank Group’s AgriConnect initiative, launched in October 2025, which identified rice as a key value chain for food security, jobs and private sector investment in West Africa.
ECOWAS estimates that implementing the regional roadmap over the next decade will require US$24 billion. The total includes US$19 billion for infrastructure and equipment such as storage facilities, processing plants and mechanization, alongside US$5 billion for operational needs including finance access and farm inputs.
The need for investment has become more urgent as rice demand grows by about 4% each year while production rises by only 3%. The region currently meets about 60% of its rice needs and spends roughly US$3.5 billion annually on imports.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ghana’s Vice President, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, highlighted the wider economic importance of the crop.
“West Africa must consider rice as a strategic economic asset. This is about jobs for our youth, incomes for farmers, and strengthening the resilience of our economies to future global shocks,” she said.
Organizers are showcasing investment opportunities from the 13 national plans, including 3,500 community solar irrigation systems valued at US$43 million and a US$14 million programme to train 7,000 seed entrepreneurs.
By the close of the meeting, ECOWAS hopes to secure financing commitments, adopt a Regional Rice Investment Pact and strengthen coordination through a revitalized Rice Observatory to track progress across the region.
Sign up to HERE receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.
