John Dumelo calls for regional unity to slash West Africa’s $3.5 billion rice import bill

Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, has issued a rallying call for stronger regional cooperation among West African nations, arguing that collective action is the only path to ending the region’s crippling dependence on imported rice.

Speaking at a high-level ministerial dialogue during the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali on September 4, 2026, Mr. Dumelo urged fellow agriculture ministers and former African presidents to align their strategies to tackle persistent challenges in rice production. The forum, the 20th edition of the continent’s premier agricultural gathering, was held under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience.”

Mr. Dumelo’s appeal comes against the backdrop of staggering figures: West Africa currently spends over $3.5 billion annually on rice imports—a figure that some estimates place as high as $5 billion when including informal cross-border trade . This outflow represents a significant drain on foreign exchange reserves and a strategic vulnerability for the region, leaving it exposed to global market shocks and supply chain disruptions .

“It’s important that West Africa collaborates on the rice value chain because no country is an island,” Mr. Dumelo stated. He acknowledged that countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Sierra Leone have already initiated joint efforts to boost local production. However, he emphasized that these partnerships must be deepened and better coordinated to achieve meaningful self-sufficiency .

The Deputy Minister outlined a comprehensive vision for regional cooperation that extends far beyond mere production. He stressed that collaboration is needed across the entire value chain, including access to quality inputs, technology, financing, processing, storage, transportation, and markets . This holistic approach, he argued, is critical to building a competitive regional rice industry that can create jobs and safeguard food security.

“The main aim is that we should be able to be self-sufficient in rice production so that we stop the imports and create more jobs,” Mr. Dumelo told delegates. He was emphatic that this goal requires a collective effort between governments, farmers, and the private sector. “It has to be a collaborative effort between government and farmers,” he added .

Background: A Region at a Crossroads

The call for self-sufficiency comes as West African nations grapple with the economic consequences of relying on foreign rice. Despite possessing vast arable land and water resources, the region produces only about 60% of the rice it consumes. The need for urgent transformation is underscored by recent challenges: in early 2026, Ghana faced a crisis with approximately one million metric tons of paddy rice going unsold due to a market flooded with cheaper imports, forcing the government to allocate $18 million to purchase surplus grain from struggling farmers .

Furthermore, the push for integration is gaining institutional momentum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has set a target to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2035 . Complementing this, the African Development Bank and AfricaRice recently launched the $8.5 million REWARD programme to strengthen climate-resilient rice production across 14 West African nations, aiming to boost yields from two to seven tons per hectare and create up to 78,000 jobs .

Mr. Dumelo’s message at the AFSF reinforces the growing consensus that fragmented, national approaches are insufficient to overcome the structural challenges—such as high production costs and quality gaps—that make local rice less competitive than imports .

“We all need to be aligned to make this work,” Mr. Dumelo concluded, echoing the forum’s overarching theme of building resilient agri-food systems through partnership and strategic investment .