West Africa: Promising Prospects for Cereal Production in 2023

Thanks to generally favorable weather conditions, cereal production (wheat, secondary grains, and paddy rice) in West Africa is anticipated to reach 77.8 million tons in 2023, marking an increase of 0.8% compared to the 2022 season, according to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

These figures represent a 6% improvement over the average of the past 5 years.

However, localized production deficits are expected in areas affected by conflict, such as the Liptako-Gourma region, the Lake Chad Basin, and northern Nigeria, due to limited access to cultivated land, insecurity, and agricultural inputs.

Specifically, in the Liptako-Gourma region, the escalation of violence linked to the presence of terrorist groups in 2023 has caused new waves of displacement, leading to a reduction in planted area.

Yann ETERNEL