On 29 October 2025, ECOWAS, through the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF) and with the support of the World Bank under the Food System Resilience Programme in West Africa (PRSA/FSRP), organised a regional workshop by videoconference to validate and disseminate the results of the feasibility study for a regional agricultural and food risk financing instrument for the benefit of the Regional Food Security Reserve (RFSR) a regional workshop to validate and disseminate the results of the feasibility study for a regional agricultural and food risk financing instrument for the benefit of the Regional Food Security Reserve (RRSA).
The meeting brought together some 40 representatives from member states, regional institutions (ECOWAS, UEMOA, CILSS, BIDC), technical and financial partners (World Bank, WFP, FAO) and the WTW/Munich Re consultancy. Over the course of a day, participants approved the technical results of the study, discussed the operational conclusions and identified the main steps for implementing the future mechanism.
Since its creation in 2013, the RRSA has been an essential instrument of solidarity and rapid response to food crises. However, in the face of intensifying shocks and growing financial needs, the mobilisation of physical stocks alone is no longer sufficient to ensure regional food security in the long term. It is with this in mind that the design of a regional disaster risk financing (DRF) mechanism was initiated, with the aim of complementing and strengthening the function of the regional reserve.
This innovative mechanism will ultimately enable ECOWAS to have access to advance financial resources, triggered in an objective, transparent and rapid manner with parametric indices. This is a major development, marking the transition from a reactive approach to a genuine culture of prevention.
The feasibility study, conducted by the Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Munich Re consortium under the supervision of the World Bank, laid the technical and institutional foundations necessary for the operationalisation of this mechanism. Participants were able to examine in detail the climate and food risks characterising the region, based on SPI-3 indices and Harmonised Framework analyses. They also reviewed comparative results for different financial instruments (parametric insurance, contingent credit lines, etc.).
Discussions revealed the current undercapacity of the RRSA, which limits its role as a third line of defence at the regional level, as well as the immediate unsustainability of stand-alone parametric insurance due to its cost and institutional requirements. Participants emphasised the need to structure a financial reserve, define a predictable trigger system and explore hybrid approaches, including contingent credit solutions and partnerships with the ARC and WFP.
At the end of the proceedings, the three technical reports were validated and the following recommendations were made: (i) experiment, in the short term, with pilot solutions based on the SPI-3 and CH indices, while strengthening the operational and financial governance of the RRSA; (ii) consolidate, in the medium term, the technical and institutional capacities of the reserve and test a regional multi-index mechanism; (iii) operationalise, in the long term, an autonomous regional insurance mechanism, integrated into the ECOWAS resilience and food sovereignty strategy.
