West African leaders and partners ended the West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable with a clear and strong message: the region needs more investment in rice to boost food security, cut imports, and create jobs.
The two-day event –convened by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank, and hosted by the Government of Ghana— brought together ministers, 15 country delegations, investors, agribusiness leaders, and technical experts. Their goal was to support the sourcing of concrete financial and technical partnerships to support their National Rice Investment Action Plans. With demand for rice rising faster than local production, participants stressed the need for large, coordinated investment to help West Africa move closer toward rice self-sufficiency by 2035.
Targeted Investment Areas
The roundtable focused on practical investment opportunities across the rice value chain. These included irrigation, seed systems, machinery, milling, storage, transport, and trade. A major outcome was the presentation of a strong regional pipeline of projects based on national rice strategies. Participants also called for better policy coordination, risk-sharing tools, and stronger public-private partnerships to turn plans into real projects.
Regional Collaborations
The meeting also strengthened commitment among governments, regional bodies, development partners, and the private sector to work more closely together. Participants backed stronger follow-up through regional coordination platforms, including the ECOWAS Rice Observatory, and built the momentum for a Regional Rice Investment Compact to guide the next steps.
By bringing key public and private actors around one regional agenda, the roundtable showed development value, commercial and job creation potential for the rice sector. It also highlighted the importance of strong partnerships to build a more competitive, resilient, and inclusive rice economy in West Africa.
Mobilized Resources
The Regional Rice Investment Roundtable mobilized over US$1.54 billion in firm commitments across participating countries, demonstrating strong momentum toward accelerating rice sector transformation and food security in West Africa. A total of 111 commitments were recorded, including 24 public commitments ready for announcement, 32 commitments under discussion, and 55 expressions of interest from Multilateral Development Banks, Financial Institutions, Donors and Private sector investors.
Launch of Ghana’s AgriConnect Compact
On the sidelines of the event, the Government of Ghana, supported by the World Bank Group, launched its AgriConnect Compact on June 3. This country-led initiative puts agriculture at the center of Ghana’s economic transformation, job creation, and resilience agenda. It aims to create more than 2.6 million jobs, improve food and nutrition security for nearly 3 million people, and attract a $3.5 billion investment program over five years. The Compact focuses on priority value chains such as rice, maize, cocoa, oil palm, and poultry, while supporting reforms to raise productivity and attracting private investment. With a systems approach that includes irrigation, mechanization, climate-smart agriculture, and digital innovation, the initiative shows Ghana’s commitment to modern, market-led agriculture and offers a strong example for the region.
