Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, has called for stronger collaboration among governments, the private sector, farmers and other stakeholders across West Africa to build a self-sufficient and competitive regional rice industry.Speaking at a high-level ministerial dialogue at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali, Rwanda, Mr Dumelo said greater regional cooperation was critical to addressing the challenges facing rice production and reducing West Africa’s reliance on imports. “It’s important that West Africa collaborates on the rice value chain because no country is an island,” he said.Despite its significant potential to produce rice locally, West Africa spends more than US$3.5 billion each year importing the staple. Mr Dumelo said countries across the region had already begun working together to strengthen rice production, but argued that these efforts needed to be deepened and better coordinated to achieve meaningful self-sufficiency. “In the last few years, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Sierra Leone, all these countries have been working together. 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.”The Deputy Minister said achieving that objective would require a collective effort involving governments and farmers, as well as greater participation from businesses operating across the rice value chain. “It has to be a collaborative effort between government and farmers,” he said. Mr. Dumelo stressed that regional cooperation should extend beyond production to the wider rice value chain, including access to inputs, technology, financing, processing, storage, transportation and markets.The Deputy Minister’s call comes amid growing efforts across Africa to strengthen domestic food production and reduce dependence on imported staples. Rice remains a major component of diets across West Africa, making the development of a stronger regional rice value chain important not only for food security but also for employment, rural incomes and economic resilience.Sierra Leone’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Henry Musa Kpaka, said West Africa can overcome its dependence on rice imports if countries treat the crop as a regional business opportunity rather than a collection of individual national challenges. Dr Kpaka said rice was too important a staple and too large an economic opportunity for countries in the region to continue approaching production in isolation. He said the regional approach was already gaining momentum through the ECOWAS Rice Offensive, under which efforts are underway to mobilise an initial $500 million for rice development across West Africa.But Dr. Kpaka said finance must be accompanied by supportive and consistent policies, particularly in relation to food production and trade. “How do we stay consistent with policies around food and trade policies?” he asked, pointing to the competitive disadvantage faced by African producers against imported rice from countries where farmers benefit from substantial government support.He said foreign producers in some major exporting countries have benefited from subsidies and long-term investments that allow them to produce, transport and export rice at prices that can undercut locally produced rice in West African markets. “They are able to grow their crop, pay transportation costs, bring it to our country, and it’s cheaper than our own,” Dr Kpaka said. “So how do we level that playing field?”The Minister said West Africa’s market of more than 400 million people provides sufficient demand to support a thriving regional rice industry, particularly given the volume of rice currently imported from outside the continent. He expressed optimism that countries including Ghana and Sierra Leone could benefit from a stronger regional rice strategy, but stressed that success would require political commitment and active participation from the private sector.AGRA President Ms Alice Ruhweza called for a holistic approach to improving rice systems on the continent. “The farmers always had the innovation and the courage. They just needed a system to carry them forward,” she said.The high-level ministerial dialogue is one of the key highlights of the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF), bringing together leaders to explore more coordinated approaches to addressing the continent’s food systems challenges. AFSF is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture and food systems, bringing together stakeholders to take practical action and share lessons that will move African food systems forward.The 20th edition of the Forum from September 1–4, 2026, at the Kigali Convention Centre, is being held under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience.” Organisers say more than 5,000 stakeholders from over 50 countries are expected to participate.Supported by AGRA, a delegation from Ghana, including the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture and a group of young agripreneurs, is participating in the Forum to explore investment opportunities, forge strategic partnerships and identify innovative approaches to strengthening Ghana’s food systems.