By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, Oct. 6, GNA – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Subregional Office for West Africa (ECA/SRO-WA), has brought together Business Support Organisations (BSOs) and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from across West Africa for a two-day Rice Value Chain Activation Programme.
The virtual meeting, held under the West Africa Business Linkages Platform (WABLP), was aligned with the ECOWAS Regional Rice Programme.
It sought to translate evidence and analysis into concrete commercial partnerships, strengthen regional value chains and increase intra-regional trade in rice.
Building on recent ECA analytical work, including an assessment of rice and cocoa value chains between Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and the impact of the war in Iran on West Africa, the Commission has engaged more than 150 SMEs operating across the rice sector to better understand their constraints, market opportunities and support needs.
The consultations highlighted persistent barriers to the development of competitive regional rice value chains, particularly limited access to finance, market linkages and processing capacity, as well as inadequate cross-border trade opportunities.
The activation programme is grounded in evidence and responds to growing calls to reduce dependence on food imports, build stronger and more sustainable regional value chains, enhance intra-African trade and promote greater economic diversification.
The Market Access Activation initiative seeks to leverage the WABLP network to create structured opportunities within the rice value chain and strengthen intra-regional trade and market access for BSOs and SMEs across West Africa.
Madam Ngone Diop, Director of ECA/SRO-WA, in a speech delivered on her behalf by Mr Amadou Diouf, Chief of the Sub-Regional Initiatives Section, ECA West Africa, said the sessions were designed to generate tangible business outcomes, including new commercial linkages among BSOs, SMEs and buyers.
“The programme will also strengthen participants’ understanding of AfCFTA market opportunities, regional policy frameworks and rice value chain opportunities, while establishing a 90-day follow-up mechanism to help translate discussions into concrete actions and partnerships.”
The WABLP, an initiative of the ECA/SRO-WA, brings together a network of more than 500 BSOs and SMEs across ECOWAS member states.
The rice programme is the first in a broader value-chain activation approach designed to strengthen enterprise linkages and regional value-chain integration.
By connecting enterprises across borders and facilitating practical market opportunities, the initiative seeks, over the medium to long term, to reduce West Africa’s dependence on external sources of rice, strengthen intra-regional trade and enhance the resilience of regional food systems.
The programme also demonstrates ECA’s commitment to supporting the implementation of regional priorities, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and ECOWAS frameworks, by bringing regional economic analysis closer to businesses and translating evidence into practical opportunities for private-sector engagement.
GNA
Edited by Bertha Badu-Agyei/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Maxwell Awumah
Email: [email protected]
October 6, 2026