Intra-regional food trade in West Africa is significantly underestimated. OECD/SWAC estimates its value at USD 10 billion annually—six times higher than official figures and comparable to the region’s total imports of rice, wheat and palm oil. It is also six times the amount of Official Development Assistance allocated to food and agriculture in the region.
The combined dynamics of the deepening regional integration of ECOWAS through the AfCFTA , and the withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS, highlight the crucial need for better data on regional food trade. Developing a more informed understanding of the food trade interdependencies between the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States and ECOWAS, and assessing where high-value regional food markets and export sectors are located, has become critical for regional policymaking.
Key questions include:
- What is the real size of intra-regional food trade, both recorded and unrecorded by customs?
- What are the West African food trade interdependencies, especially between Alliance of Sahel States and ECOWAS countries?
- What is the food and nutrition security contribution of intra-regional food trade?
This webinar, organised by OECD/SWAC in the framework of the ECOWAS Agricultural Trade Programme (EAT), brought together key policymakers and organisations engaged in strengthening the evidence base for food trade in West Africa. It explored the importance of robust data, the current gaps in evidence, and the most pressing policy needs in this evolving trade landscape.
