West Africa Regional

Region Profile

Population

290

million

The 16 countries of West Africa have a total population of 290 million

GDP Growth

5.8

percent

GDP grew at a rate of 5.89% annually over the past 10 years

Poverty

percent

Half of West Africans live on less than $1.25 per day

Labor

percent

Agriculture employs 60% of the active labor force; accounts for 35% of GDP

Nutrition

percent

36.7% of children under 5 suffer from stunting; 28.3% are underweight

Context
Strategy

Chronic undernutrition and food availability are core challenges

Political turmoil has plagued many countries in West Africa and threatened regional stability. Although the end of violence in Liberia, Sierra Lone, Guinea-Bissau, and Cote d’Ivoire is a critical step forward, humanitarian challenges remain within many countries in the region. West Africa is a highly diverse region in terms of agro-climatic conditions and agricultural production potential, as well as with respect to the distribution of vulnerable populations. In general, the northern regions of coastal countries and the landlocked Sahelian countries are relatively food insecure and impoverished. Additionally, rapid urbanization in the region is leading to increasing numbers of urban poor

Chronic undernutrition and food availability are core challenges

Chronic undernutrition and food availability are core challenges to food security in West Africa. Critical gender concerns related to food security include the inability of women to hold on to land and to make decisions regarding household expenditure and consumption, as well as women having less capital than men.

There is ample evidence that the agriculture sector—which accounts for 35 percent of West African gross domestic product and 15.3 percent of regional export earnings—and in particular food staples, is the best engine for generating sustained, rapid and pro-poor economic growth. Accordingly, at the launching of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in Maputo in 2005, African heads of state identified the overall CAADP objective as achieving 6 percent annual agricultural growth.

Although West Africa is endowed with ample water resources, including rivers and river basins, access to water remains a challenge. Agriculture remains predominantly rain fed and dominated by small farmers with poor access to agricultural technologies, information and financial services. As a result, West African agriculture is particularly vulnerable to weather variability, soil fertility degradation, and infestations of pests and diseases. The situation is expected to worsen under the influence of global climate change. Only about 4 percent of total agricultural land is irrigated.

READ LESS

West Africa FY2010 Implementation Plan

West Africa Strategic Review

West Africa Multi-Year Strategy

Feed the Future West Africa is making core investments in five key areas:

1. Increasing Regional Trade in Staple Foods

Direct market facilitation
Market information systems development
Institutional capacity development

2. Increasing Capacity of Regional Agriculture Sector Actors

Institutional support and capacity building
Coordination and information system development
Nutritional and vulnerability assessments and reporting

3. Increasing Use of Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices

Climate-smart technology development and dissemination

West Africa FY2010 Implementation Plan

West Africa Strategic Review

West Africa Multi-Year Strategy

Feed the Future West Africa is making core investments in five key areas:

1. Increasing Regional Trade in Staple Foods

Direct market facilitation
Market information systems development
Institutional capacity development

2. Increasing Capacity of Regional Agriculture Sector Actors

Institutional support and capacity building
Coordination and information system development
Nutritional and vulnerability assessments and reporting

3. Increasing Use of Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices

Climate-smart technology development and dissemination
Development and dissemination of new information tools
Training in new practices

4. Increasing Regional Availability of Improved Agricultural Inputs for Selected Crops

Seed and fertilizer supply chain development
Alliance building and trade association strengthening
Policy reform

Highlights

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional Agricultural Transformation. Feed the Future is a primary partner with ECOWAS, which serves as the lead for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development/Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) process. ECOWAS is implementing the Regional Agricultural Policy for West Africa; its three regional priorities or "Mobilizing Programs" are:

Promoting strategic products for food sovereignty
Promoting a policy environment conducive to regional agricultural development
Reducing food insecurity and promoting sustainable access to food

Corridors and Border Posts. Corridors are important to the movement of maize, livestock, and other key value chains in the region. Effective work on corridors entails a focus on one-stop border posts, which requires expenditures to consolidate border posts into single facilities and streamline customs and related processes. A tentative list of corridors to focus on include:

Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) - Bamako (Mali) - Dakar (Senegal)

Niamey (Niger) - Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) - Accra/Tema (Ghana)
Kano (Nigeria) – Niamey (Niger)

Maize as Commodity for Regional Trade Facilitation. Feed the Future focuses on maize as it is critical for food security and also used in industry and animal food. It is recognized that variable rainfall patterns drive production levels because of rain-fed agriculture creating inconsistencies in supply. Improved intra-regional trade could move maize from surplus areas to deficit zones within the region. Varying growing calendars by country also creates opportunities for regional trade.

Livestock as Commodity for Regional Trade Facilitation. Feed the Future focuses on livestock as it plays a critical role in regional trade—especially from the Sahel to the coastal countries.

The current value of regional exports from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are a significant portion of intra-regional trade
The market is based exclusively on demand from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo
Livestock trade in the region is much lower than expected; high potential exists for increased trade
Lack of market information and lack of credit identified are major factors affecting live trade of animals

Improved Seed and Fertilizer for Increased Productivity. Feed the Future focuses on increasing the access of farmers to improved seed and fertilizer in order to increase the productivity of selected cereals including maize and rice. With the assistance of alliances and trade associations, it will promote the development and implementation of uniform seed and fertilizer regulations throughout West Africa to eliminate trade barriers and supply constraints and facilitate wider marketing of both. With significant private sector involvement, it will also promote regional research and variety trials with improved seed, fertilizer and good soil-management practices to determine which technologies to recommend, followed by demonstration plots to expose farmers and agro-dealers to these new technologies and increase their demand for it.

READ LESS

Search form

Main menu

West Africa Regional