AfricaRice Strengthens Strategic Partnerships in Nigeria at a Critical Moment for Regional Rice Self-Sufficiency
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Abuja & Dutse, Nigeria | 29 June – 1 July 2026
In a week of high-level engagements across Nigeria, the Director General of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Dr. Baboucarr Manneh, reinforced the Center's commitment to accelerating rice self-sufficiency in West Africa — through renewed institutional partnerships, a bold call for investment, and a clear vision for transforming rice from a food security challenge into an economic opportunity.
The engagements — spanning a courtesy visit to the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), a strategic meeting with the ECOWAS Commission, and a keynote address at the Jigawa Economic & Investment Summit 2026 — underscored AfricaRice's central role as a bridge between science, policy, and private investment in the pursuit of a rice-sufficient Africa.
Deepening Collaboration with Nigeria's Agricultural Research Council
On 29 June 2026, Dr. Manneh paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of ARCN, in a meeting aimed at strengthening collaboration and advancing opportunities for agricultural research and innovation in Nigeria.
Both leaders exchanged views on enhancing partnerships across rice research, technology development, and capacity building to support Nigeria's national food security objectives. The Executive Secretary welcomed the AfricaRice delegation and reaffirmed ARCN's commitment to fostering strategic partnerships that promote sustainable agricultural development.
Dr. Manneh highlighted AfricaRice's ongoing initiatives in Nigeria and expressed the organization's readiness to work closely with ARCN to accelerate the development and dissemination of improved rice technologies and innovations that will benefit farmers and the broader agricultural sector. The visit concluded with a shared commitment to deepen collaboration through joint research, knowledge sharing, and coordinated efforts aimed at improving rice productivity, strengthening food systems, and contributing to Nigeria's agricultural transformation agenda.
Reinforcing the ECOWAS Rice Agenda
On 30 June 2026, following the successful West Africa Regional Rice Investment Roundtable held in Accra, Ghana, Dr. Manneh and his team met with Dr. Kalilou Sylla, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, to reinforce regional collaboration under the ECOWAS Rice Agenda.
The discussions reaffirmed both institutions' commitment to accelerating regional rice self-sufficiency through stronger coordination and strategic partnerships. Key areas identified for collaboration included capacity building with a strong focus on youth, innovative financing mechanisms, and backward integration to strengthen the rice value chain. Commissioner Sylla emphasized that addressing productivity, market access, and policy implementation — including the operationalization of the ECOWAS common market for rice — will be critical to driving sustainable growth in the sector.
The meeting produced a set of concrete next actions, including the development of a joint ECOWAS–AfricaRice strategic partnership framework, the renewal of the ECOWAS–AfricaRice MoU with clear priority areas, the establishment of a joint technical working committee with designated focal points, and the advancement of mechanisms to implement regional rice trade policies beyond the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS).
A Keynote for Transformation: The Jigawa Economic & Investment Summit 2026
On 1 July 2026, Dr. Manneh delivered the keynote address at the Jigawa Economic & Investment Summit 2026 in Dutse — one of the most significant investment gatherings in northern Nigeria this year, attended by His Excellency Vice President of Nigeria Senator Kashim Shettima, the Executive Governor of Jigawa State Mallam Umar Namadi, and a broad range of investors, development partners, and stakeholders.
Noting that the Jigawa Summit followed closely on the heels of the Regional Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, Dr. Manneh laid out the scale of ambition required: West Africa needs an investment of USD 25 billion to attain rice self-sufficiency by 2035. He highlighted the encouraging response already seen at the Accra Roundtable, where donors pledged funding for rice value chain projects in West Africa to the tune of USD 1.54 billion.
At the heart of his address was a vision for Jigawa State as a center of excellence for rice production, processing, storage, value addition, and export competitiveness. "The journey toward rice self-sufficiency is not simply about producing more rice," Dr. Manneh stated. "It is about creating jobs especially for our youths, attracting investment, strengthening food security, improving livelihoods, empowering rural communities, and building a more prosperous future for our people."
Comments