ECOWAS Warns Of Impending Food Crisis Affecting Millions In West Africa

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has issued a stark warning, projecting that a staggering 47 million people in the region could face a severe food crisis between June and August 2025.

This alarming forecast comes as the region grapples with a deteriorating food security situation, currently leaving 34.7 million individuals in need of immediate food and nutrition assistance.

The dire prediction was unveiled at the opening of the third meeting of the Management Committee of the Regional Food Security Reserve (RFSR) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture of ECOWAS, Mrs. Massandjé Toure-Litse, represented by Mr. Mohammed Zongo, Acting Executive Director of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food, emphasized the urgent need to strengthen response mechanisms and build sustainable resilience to avert the impending crisis.

“Analyses carried out in December 2024, based on the Harmonized Framework, revealed that nearly 34.7 million people require immediate food and nutrition assistance. If appropriate measures are not taken, this figure could reach 47 million by the lean season from June to August 2025,” Toure-Litse stated, highlighting the persistent nutritional crisis with global acute malnutrition rates ranging between 10 and 14% in several areas.

The commissioner attributed the worsening situation to a confluence of factors, including geopolitical instability, persistent conflicts, economic crises, climate change, and chronic food insecurity.

She stressed the critical role of food security stocks as essential social protection tools at local, national, and regional levels to effectively address food crises.

The RFSR meeting aimed to review operations since March 2023, focusing on purchases, interventions, stock replenishment, technical rotations, and the identification of new storage spaces. Plans for 2025 operations were also discussed, with a focus on supporting member states in assisting populations most affected by food, nutritional, and pastoral crises.

Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, represented by Permanent Secretary Mr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, echoed the urgency of the situation.

He emphasized the need to strengthen strategies and response instruments to effectively deal with the food and nutrition crisis plaguing the region.

“These major challenges remind us of the urgent need to strengthen our strategies and response instruments to effectively deal with food and nutrition crisis affecting our region,” Ogunbiyi stated.

He also called for increased sovereign financing of agriculture and a re-strategizing of the regional body, particularly in the administration and management of the regional food security reserve.

The Regional Food Security Reserve, established in 2013, is intended to support member states, Chad, and Mauritania in managing food crises.

It aims to provide rapid, diversified, and adapted food assistance, express regional solidarity, and strengthen food sovereignty and regional integration.

Currently, the Reserve boasts a projected capital of over 74,000 tons of food stored in various locations, ready for swift deployment if needed.

Participants

The ECOWAS alert serves as a crucial call to action for regional and international stakeholders to implement immediate and long-term measures to mitigate the looming food crisis and safeguard the lives and livelihoods of millions across West Africa.