West Africa: West Africa's Rice Imperative - Why Investing in the Value Chain Is the Most Important Bet We Can Make

guest column

By Guangzhe Chen, World Bank Vice-President for Planet and Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice-President for Western and Central Africa

Every year, West Africa sends more than $3.5 billion abroad to buy rice — a staple food that millions of people across the region consume every day. Yet, this is a crop that grows and thrives in the region.

Expanding domestic production is a major opportunity to strengthen food security, create jobs, boost rural incomes, and mitigate exposure to volatile global commodity markets.

West Africa possesses vast stretches of arable land, abundant water resources, and a deep tradition of rice farming stretching back centuries. However, a persistent failure to invest in productivity, processing infrastructure, and the market connections that link farmers to consumers is keeping West Africa's rice sector from reaching its full potential.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

In 2023, countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) produced close to 24 million tons of rice but imported another 10 million tons to close the supply gap.

The economic case for investing in rice goes far beyond food security. Agriculture employs most of West Africa's workforce, and when properly supported, the rice value chain — from seeds and farming to transport, milling, and retail - can create jobs across rural economies and into the cities, where young people go to search for work.

The ECOWAS Regional Rice Roadmap for 2025 to 2035, developed with support from the World Bank's Food Systems Resilience Programme, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners, shows that West Africa can achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2035 through targeted, market-driven investment. Reaching 34 million metric tons of milled rice production is possible if countries close the region's large yield gap.

The Roadmap identifies 12 high-potential production basins where concentrated investment can generate scale and measurable market impact. Countries such as Mali, Guinea, and Senegal are already showing what targeted irrigation and improved seeds can do, with the Senegal River Valley reaching yields comparable to the world's leading rice-producing regions.

ECOWAS estimates that expanding this production capacity will require $15 to $19 billion in investment over the next ten years. That is a significant sum, but it does not account for the billions the region already spends importing rice each year or the revenue a thriving domestic sector could generate.

The equation is simple: when farmers, and particularly women and young people, have access to improved inputs, reliable offtake arrangements, and fair prices, they produce more. When processors have access to well-maintained equipment and predictable paddy supply, they invest in capacity. When consumers trust the quality of locally milled rice, they buy it. Completing this value chain and connecting each actor through functioning markets is the core challenge.

This domestic imperative comes as development institutions are placing renewed focus on agriculture and agribusiness. In October 2025, the World Bank Group launched AgriConnect , a coordinated initiative to transform farming for 300 million smallholders by 2030 together with partners such as the African Development Bank. Senegal, Togo, Guinea, and now, Ghana have already launched AgriConnect compacts.

So, what must happen now? First, governments can accelerate progress by aligning national rice strategies with the regional framework and embrace intra-regional trade.

Second, public financing can help get projects off the ground, but private investment is needed to scale them. Blended finance tools that reduce risk — like those supported through AgriConnect — can help attract investment and expand proven business models.

Third, development partners and development finance institutions can help turn ambition into investment. Funding is available, but too little has been converted into bankable rice projects. The priority now is to build a strong pipeline of investments that can attract private capital at scale.

Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters

Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox

Finally, better market information, production data, and climate forecasting will help farmers, traders, and investors make smarter decisions and strengthen the resilience of the sector. This is the connective tissue of a functioning market.  The real transformation will come not from higher production alone, but from building a rice value chain in which farmers, millers, traders, financiers, and retailers are connected through reliable market relationships.

West Africa's young population — the fastest-growing in the world — needs employment opportunities. A well-capitalized, market-oriented rice sector could create tens of millions of jobs across the value chain.

Together, the ECOWAS Regional Rice Roadmap 2025–2035 and AgriConnect provide a clear framework for action. The desire to invest is real. Now is the time to move to execution.