West African nations are seeking to mobilize long-term private and development finance to reduce the region’s annual rice import bill of as much as $4 billion, with Ghana urging investors to back production, processing, and logistics infrastructure across the value chain.
Speaking at the World Bank West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Ampem Nyarko said the region’s continued reliance on imported rice is draining scarce foreign exchange reserves, exposing economies to global supply disruptions and limiting opportunities for job creation and industrial growth.
“West Africa continues to spend about three to four billion United States dollars annually importing rice,” Nyarko said. “That is billions in foreign exchange leaving our economies each year to finance demand we should increasingly be meeting ourselves.”
The roundtable, convened by the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank Group, and other development partners, focused on mobilizing investment and accelerating national and regional rice development plans across West Africa.
Rice, which has been identified as a strategic commodity amid rising food security concerns, population growth, and pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Despite abundant arable land, water resources, and a large farming population, local production has struggled to keep pace with consumption.
Nyarko said the region’s challenge is not a lack of agricultural potential but insufficient investment in critical infrastructure needed to build a competitive rice industry.
He called for what he described as “transformational capital,” including long-term financing for irrigation systems, storage facilities, milling operations, logistics networks, and agro-processing infrastructure. “It means strategic regional capital that sees a West African rice economy, not fragmented national markets separated by borders,” he said.
The deputy minister said the government is pursuing policies aimed at de-risking agriculture, strengthening value chains, improving market coordination, and creating a more predictable investment environment for private capital.
According to him, the administration of President Mahama is positioning agriculture and food production as key drivers of economic transformation, with rice identified as one of the priority value chains.
He added that Ghana’s message to investors is straightforward. We are doing the policy work.” “We are strengthening the enabling environment. We are creating the conditions for long-term capital to thrive.”
Beyond food security, governments view expansion of domestic rice production as a tool for reducing import dependence, improving trade balances, supporting currencies, and creating employment opportunities, particularly for young people and women.
Nyarko urged development finance institutions, investors, and policymakers to move beyond commitments and focus on developing investment-ready projects capable of attracting large-scale funding.
“West Africa does not need more declarations,” he said. “We need to create pipelines of bankable projects capable of crowding in long-term capital at scale.”
He added that the success of regional efforts would depend not only on financing but also on greater coordination of trade systems, infrastructure development, policy frameworks, and standards across West African economies.
