AfDB, others okay $8.5m to boost rice self-sufficiency

The African Development Bank (AfDB), in partnership with the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has officially launched the Multinational Rice Resilient Value Chains Development Program (REWARD–AfricaRice). Unveiled in Bouaké, the five-year, $8.5 million initiative targets rice self-sufficiency across 14 West African nations: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

The programme tackles chronic rice sector challenges, including low yields of 2.2–2.5 tonnes per hectare, post-harvest losses up to 42 per cent , and production covering just 60 per cent  of regional demand amid climate-induced losses of 16–29 per cent  over the past 15 years. With population growth and urbanization driving import reliance, REWARD–AfricaRice promotes climate-resilient production, improved seed systems, advanced processing, and regional coordination to transform rice as a strategic commodity.

Rice Agenda Coordinator, Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development ECOWAS, Dr. Boladale Adebowale, underscored the initiative’s regional scope: “Rice is a strategic commodity for food sovereignty and economic resilience in West Africa. The REWARD Programme demonstrates the power of regional collaboration in advancing our shared food security agenda.”

AfDB Regional Development Manager, Dr. Eklou Attiogbevi-Somado affirmed the Bank’s dedication in his keynote: “The REWARD Program aligns with the Bank’s strategy to strengthen food systems in Africa. By investing in resilient rice value chains, we are supporting regional integration, job creation, and long-term economic stability in West Africa.”

AfricaRice Director General Dr. Baboucarr Manneh stressed coordinated action: “Rice self-sufficiency in West Africa is both an economic and food security imperative. Through REWARD, we are combining science, innovation, institutional strengthening, and regional coordination to build resilient rice value chains that benefit farmers, processors, and consumers across the region.”

Key activities include centralised breeder seed production by AfricaRice, enhanced foundation and certified seed systems, seed roadmaps, capacity building in quality control, promotion of adapted varieties, and cross-country knowledge sharing. Projections show yields rising to 7 tons per hectare, farmer incomes increasing from $1,385 to $1,605 annually, up to 78,000 jobs created (39,000 for women), and intra-regional trade expanding to 250,000 tons—cutting import dependency while emphasizing AfDB governance standards.

The launch drew senior officials from participating countries, implementation units, research bodies, and partners, who pledged swift action and collaboration among research, ministries, and private sectors to drive implementation through 2029. In 2022, a 10year National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS ll) and Competitive African Rice Platform (CARP) Nigeria Chapter, supported by GIZ-MOVE Programme was launched. In a bid to promote, competitiveness and sustainability of the rice value chain in Nigeria, the Market oriented value chains for jobs and growths in ECOWAS (GIZ -MOVE) programme supported the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) in launching the National rice development strategy (NRDS II) and the Competitive African Rice Platform (CARP) in Nigeria.

The NRDS II is a 10-year action plan document to provide a direction for the development of the rice sub-sector to achieve the goals of self-sufficiency in rice production, food and nutrition security, employment creation and production of surplus for export.

The NRDS II is a rice development strategy document of FMARD with technical support from GIZ, JICA, AGRA, NEPAD and was adopted at the National Council of Agriculture NCA held at the International Conference Centre Abuja in 2021.

CARP on the other hand is a multi-stakeholder platform that serves as a forum where different stakeholders in the rice Sector can work together to define national priorities for developing the rice value chain and promote competitiveness of the value chain. CARP is represented in the ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO), a regional body coordinating all donor interventions in the region. As a result of the request from FMARD to kick-start the process of setting up a rice multi stakeholders platform, GIZ-MOVE a follow-on project of GIZ-CARI organized and convened the rice sector stakeholders which led the process of establishing the platform that is offering both technical and policy voice and space for national rice stakeholders to scale local impact. Likewise promoting resource efficiency and sustainability both on-farm and throughout the rice value chain. NRDS II will provide orientation for CARP’s operation in Nigeria while CARP will also facilitate the achievement of NRDS II particularly by stimulating policy advocacy and implementation.