West Africa Urged to Unify Food Systems Amid Import Surges Past $3.5 Billion
- Grace Bangura
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh, has called for West African nations to integrate food systems to address a deficit causing 10 million metric tonnes of rice imports in 2023, costing over $3.5 billion.
Delivering his address at the 20th Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF26) in Kigali, Sengeh urged regional leaders, investors, and development partners to replace isolated national strategies with seamless regional cooperation. The summit, themed “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience,” focused on scaling investment and innovation across the continent.
Emphasizing Africa’s vast agricultural potential, Sengeh highlighted its young workforce, rich traditional knowledge, growing access to technology, arable land, and abundant water resources as key drivers to achieving global food security.
Speaking at the 20th Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Sengeh urged leaders to replace isolated strategies with cooperation. “Africa will be the food basket of the world,” he asserted, urging member states to build shared agricultural corridors.
He stressed that strategic investments in cross-border food corridors are vital to connecting agricultural production directly with consumer markets.
Despite producing nearly 24 million metric tonnes of rice in 2023, West Africa remains heavily reliant on foreign supply, importing approximately 10 million tonnes to meet demand.
Despite producing nearly 24 million metric tonnes of rice in 2023, West Africa relies heavily on foreign supply due to structural bottlenecks, weak competitiveness, and deficient transport infrastructure.
Under President Julius Maada Bio’s tenure as ECOWAS Chair, Sierra Leone elevated conversations on food-system integration across West Africa.
This push led to a $1 billion West African food-systems investment initiative, anchored by a $500 million rice facility under the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development.
Sierra Leone is aligning its domestic initiative, Feed Salone, with these regional networks by investing in border roads, bridges, and technology.
He also outlined key regulatory reforms, tax incentives, and policy concessions designed to unlock private capital across the agricultural value chain
“Africa is not here to beg; we are here to share investment opportunities,” Sengeh stated firmly.
On the sidelines, Sengeh held bilateral talks with IFAD Vice-President Dr. Gerardine Mukeshimana alongside Agriculture Minister Dr. Musa Kpaka.
He invited IFAD to participate in the ECOWAS facility and attend the upcoming West African Integration and Investment Summit in November 2026.
As AFSF26 concludes, Sierra Leone’s leadership underscored that true food security extends beyond local self-sufficiency to building resilient regional markets, robust infrastructure, and sustainable financial partnerships across West Africa.
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