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Sierra Leone has called for stronger regional cooperation within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as West Africa faces increasing pressure on food systems due to volatile global markets.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Henry Musa Kpaka, made the call during a recent meeting of ECOWAS Agriculture Ministers, where he emphasized the need for coordinated regional action to stabilize markets and protect food supply chains.
According to the Minister, global disruptions, including tensions involving the United States and Iran, continue to affect supply chains and increase the cost of agricultural inputs.
“Through ECOWAS, we are advancing a more practical and collective response: pooled procurement to strengthen our bargaining power; regional reserves and investment in local blending capacity to buffer future shocks; and joint financing instruments to crowd in private capital rather than rely on unsustainable subsidies,” Kpaka stated.
He added that international instability has significantly affected food systems, particularly fertilizer supplies. He noted that nitrogen-based fertilizer markets have been impacted, leading to rising prices for products such as urea.
Kpaka further stated that the Government of Sierra Leone has continued to strengthen domestic food resilience through the Feed Salone programme.
“Back home, the Sierra Leone Government has not waited. Food system resilience is the backbone of the Feed Salone programme. The country has gone through crises like COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, which tested the resilience of our food systems in the past,” he said.
The Minister said the Government is working on several fronts, including expanding agricultural finance and insurance, deploying mechanization services across key production zones, and accelerating irrigation projects in major rice-growing clusters to enable year-round farming.
He added that efforts are also underway to strengthen import-dependent value chains such as rice, poultry, onions, and other strategic export crops.
The Minister noted that by combining domestic agricultural reforms with regional cooperation, West Africa can reduce import dependence and build a more resilient food system.
