According to the March 2024 food and nutrition situation analysis of the Cadre Harmonisé, about 50 million people in West Africa and the Sahel, including more than 1 million people in Ghana, are food insecure and need assistance to cover their basic food needs. Against this backdrop, the ECOWAS Commission decided to donate 500 Metric Tons of cereals to Ghana as an expression of regional solidarity.
The handover ceremony took place on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, in Accra at the premises of Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the presence of the Honourable Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong. ECOWAS donated 500 tons of cereals made up of maize, sorghum, millet, and rice from the Regional Food Security Reserve (RFSR) under the auspices of Mrs. Massandjé Toure-Litse, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture. The event was also attended by Mr. Charles Ndiaye representing the Resident-Representative of ECOWAS in Ghana; Mr. Mohamed Zongo, Acting Executive Director of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF); and Mr. Malick Lompo, Head of the RFSR Division.
This support results from the decision of the ECOWAS Commission to mobilize 5,370 tonnes of cereals for six affected countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. The Republic of Ghana received 500 metric tons in response to its difficult food situation. For Charles Ndiaye at the ceremony: “this donation is for ECOWAS an expression of its solidarity to the brothers and sisters of Ghana suffering from a difficult food situation. ECOWAS remains committed to stand alongside Ghana and other member states in facing these difficult situations.”
Minister Bryan Acheampong stated that this contribution will help strengthen resilience among populations affected by food insecurity: “It is truly an honour for the Government of Ghana to receive these cereals through this important ceremony which symbolizes solidarity between the ECOWAS Commission, Member States and especially the People of Ghana. Considering the preoccupying food and nutritional situation in Ghana, we have made a new request to the ECOWAS Commission for more cereals to meet urgent needs,” he said.
In December 2018, as part of a technical rotation program, Ghana received 2,750 tonnes of food grains from ECOWAS to support its national School Canteen Programme.
The Regional Reserve intervened 20 times between 2017 and July 2024 to support six countries in total with approximately 59,977 tonnes of cereals.
The Regional Food Security Reserve is considered a third line defense within ECOWAS's regional food security storage strategy adopted by all 15 Member States via a Supplementary Act on February 28th, 2013.
ECOWAS believes that developing food security storage at three complementary levels—local stocks; national security stocks; regional stocks—strengthens risk management capacity and enhances food sovereignty within West Africa.
ECOWAS expressed gratitude towards various technical and financial partners supporting operationalization since 2016: primarily European Union; French Development Agency (AFD); Spanish Cooperation (AECID); USAID; World Bank.
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