• West Africa’s food demand is set to reach $480 billion by 2030, up from $126 billion in 2010.

• Intra-regional agricultural trade is valued at $10 billion annually, six times more than official estimates.

• 60% of West Africa’s agricultural exports, excluding cocoa and cashew, stay within the region.

Food demand in West Africa will reach $480 billion by 2030, compared with $126 billion in 2010, according to Philipp Heinrigs, head of the Food, Urbanization and Cities Division at the Sahel and West Africa Club of the OECD.

Heinrigs told Ecofin Agency that achieving food sovereignty in the region requires governments to recognize the growing role of regional trade.

Heinrigs said the real value of intra-regional agricultural trade is close to $10 billion per year, about six times higher than official figures suggest. He added that cross-border flows play a crucial role in food security by balancing supply and demand between surplus and deficit nations.

Organized trading networks of collectors, wholesalers, and transporters enable meat, oils, vegetables, fruits, and condiments to move across borders despite widespread roadblocks.

“Regional trade is a pillar of food sovereignty in West Africa,” Heinrigs said. “There are huge complementarities between Sahelian and coastal countries in products such as livestock, fruits, and vegetables. These are competitive value chains that require investment to diversify food baskets beyond cereals, which account for only 22% of household spending but dominate policy attention because they are largely imported.”

Heinrigs noted that intra-regional agricultural trade is already booming and must be integrated into national food sovereignty strategies. “Today, if we exclude cocoa and cashew, 60% of West African agricultural exports remain within the region. Looking at total agricultural trade, the region accounts for 35%, which is 2.5 to 4 times higher than commonly reported,” he said.

The OECD estimates that 95% of root and tuber trade, 72% of vegetables, 62% of fruits, and more than half of animal protein transactions in West Africa are not captured in official statistics.

This article was initially published in French by Espoir Olodo

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum