The Economic Community of West African States Commission and the African Development Bank have signed a $12m grant agreement to launch the Rice Resilient Value Chains Development Project in West Africa.
The signing ceremony took place on Monday, at the ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja.The REWARD project is designed to foster both public and private investments in the rice value chain and will leverage successful business models.It is part of a regional programme aimed at rice development, which the AfDB is financing across 15 West African countries.
In a statement issued by the commission, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Alieu Touray, signed the agreement on behalf of the Commission, while the AfDB Director General for Nigeria, Dr. Abdul Kamara, signed on behalf of the Bank’s President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. The programme, which is valued at $650m, aims to enhance rice sovereignty across all ECOWAS member states.
During the ceremony, Touray expressed the Commission’s appreciation to the Bank for the grant and emphasised ECOWAS’s commitment to swift project implementation.Kamara reaffirmed the Bank’s dedication to supporting ECOWAS in achieving food security and resilience in the region, in line with the ECOWAS Vision 2020.
The statement read in part, “The ECOWAS Commission and the African Development Bank signed a $12m grant agreement on March 10, 2025, to implement the Rice Resilient Value Chains Development Project in West Africa.“The REWARD project aims to promote public and private investments in rice value chains. The Programme will be based on relevant successful business models and is part of a regional rice development program financed by the AfDB across 15 West African countries.“This multinational, multiphase programme is valued at US $650m and aims to promote rice sovereignty in all the ECOWAS Member States.”
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