ECOWAS and the AfDB launch regional rice programme backed by about US$660m to aim for self-sufficiency by 2035

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on 11 November 2026 launched the Project for the Development of Resilient Value Chains for Rice in West Africa (REWARD), a regional programme to strengthen rice production, processing and trade and to aim for rice self-sufficiency by 2035.

The ECOWAS Commission said the financing envelope for the programme is 500 million Units of Account. That Unit of Account is the African Development Bank's accounting currency (XUA); using the AfDB Unit of Account exchange rate (about XUA1 = US$1.32), the envelope is roughly equivalent to about US$660 million. The component unveiled in Abuja has immediate support from a US$12 million grant from the African Development Bank and an in-kind contribution of US$1.2 million from the ECOWAS Commission.

REWARD sits under ECOWAS's Regional Rice Roadmap (2025-2035) and the Community's wider agricultural transformation under ECOWAS Vision 2050. At the launch the ECOWAS Vice-President Anthony Oluwatosin Ogunjimi was represented by the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dehpue Yenpea Zuo, who said food sovereignty underpins regional peace, political stability and economic prosperity.

The AfDB's acting vice-president, Dr Abdul Kamara, said the broader REWARD investment platform aims to mobilise about US$850 million across 14 countries and to benefit more than one million farmers, with a priority for women and young people.

AfricaRice, represented at the launch by Dr Baboucarr Manneh, identified persistent constraints across the subregion including poor access to quality seed, limited mechanisation, climate variability, high post-harvest losses and low productivity. AfricaRice research on the RiceAdvice extension app in the Senegal River Valley found adopters produced about 18% more of potential output and had 15% higher managerial performance, findings the centre says support scaling extension and technology delivery.

The ECOWAS statement lists three strategic pillars for the programme:

• climate resilience and technological innovation, including improved irrigation and high-yielding varieties;
• youth employment and women's economic participation, through processing, storage and skills development; and
• regional market integration, via harmonised policies, improved cross-border trade and removal of non-tariff barriers, using opportunities under the AfCFTA.

The launch also unveiled a regional steering committee to provide strategic oversight and strengthen institutional coordination. AfDB approvals and project documents show the programme will include country-level components implemented with national ministries and National Project Implementation Units, delivered through a mix of regional technical support and country grants.

The AfDB says the initiative covers 14 West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. AfDB documentation describes a multinational technical-support window implemented through 2029 and national project components to be carried out with member-state ministries. ECOWAS will lead a regional component focused on policy, harmonisation, technical assistance and monitoring linked to the ECOWAS Rice Observatory; the Commission's regional envelope is US$12 million over five years.

Public AfDB materials show the bank has approved both regional technical-support funding and country grants under the programme. For example, the AfDB approved an US$18.8 million grant to Ghana for a country component that will invest in climate-resilient production systems, irrigation and processing. The Abuja launch's US$12 million AfDB grant and the Commission's in-kind contribution are the immediate regional inputs; the AfDB says the broader platform will mobilise further resources across participating countries.

AfDB projections included in technical documents show targeted yields rising in some pilot areas from about 2 to up to 7 tonnes per hectare and modest average farmer income gains in those projections. The AfDB also estimates the wider platform would support tens of thousands of jobs in processing and the value chain.

AfDB project documents linked to the programme list Environmental and Social Assessments and other project instruments among the materials prepared for multinational and country activities, indicating those safeguards will form part of national project preparation and implementation.

Studies and regional research show Africa currently imports around 30-40% of its rice consumption and that rice demand in sub-Saharan Africa has grown by about 6% a year in recent years; the continent's rice import bill runs into the billions of dollars each year. West Africa has some of the region's largest rice-producing areas but also persistent productivity gaps. ECOWAS and its partners say the programme is designed to close yield gaps, reduce post-harvest losses, expand local processing and so shrink import dependence while creating jobs and raising rural incomes.

The launch established the regional steering committee and set an implementation timetable for ECOWAS's regional component. National project units are to publish national project documents, environmental and social assessment summaries and detailed financing plans for each country as they complete preparation. AfDB and ECOWAS communications show the programme will be rolled out in phases, with regional technical support through 2029 and country components to follow under national implementation schedules within the 2025-2035 Roadmap.

This report draws on ECOWAS and African Development Bank releases and AfricaRice research. Newzroom dot Africa will follow up as country-level project documents and environmental and social assessments are published.

Source: ECOWAS Commission