The African Development Bank is launching a US$650 million Regional West Africa Rice Development program in collaboration with the Africa Rice Center with the primary objective of enhancing food security in West Africa.

The president of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina who announced this emphasised that the initiative is expected to include one million farmers across 15 countries and produce 53 million tons of rice.

“In five years, West Africa will achieve self-sufficiency in rice. We know we can do it. Our work helped Ethiopia to become self-sufficient in wheat in under four years, turning it into a net wheat-exporting country. What is critical is strong political will,” the Bank Group head said, referencing the Bank’s flagship Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina outlined the Bank’s successes in mobilizing financial resources for the continent’s development needs at the African Union.

Addressing heads of state and government at the 6th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the AU in Accra, Ghana, Adesina highlighted the Bank’s recent general capital increase from $201 billion to $318 billion, approved by the Board of Governors during its Annual Meetings in Nairobi last May.