By Michael Adaji, Communication Specialist Utilizing a combined market-driven approach and blended finance solutions to tackle a variety of locally unique challenges, the USAID Trade Hub (Trade Hub) has been positively impacting the region’s economic clime. A notable example of this comes from the collaboration with WACOT Rice Ltd. (WRL) in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Confronted […]

La Laiterie du Berger Expands the Milk Industry, Improving the Lives of Farmers and Reducing Senegal’s Reliance on Imports Senegal’s dairy sector holds significant socio-economic importance for rural communities. While the consumption of dairy products in the country is steadily increasing, the local milk collection rate remains relatively low. Remarkably, nearly 90 percent of the […]

The Challenge Although Ghana has achieved a remarkable level of poverty reduction and economic growth, that growth has been unequal, with most of the country’s poor concentrated in rural areas. The Upper West Region has made the least progress in poverty reduction due to its geography and ecological characteristics. The Region is challenged by poor […]

The Challenge In West Africa, multiple factors make communities more vulnerable to food insecurity. Rural communities have limited means of coping with sudden rises in food prices, a precarious situation heightened by the sub-regions continued dependence on food imports. Companies in the agricultural sector are trying to reduce that dependence and strengthen food security, but […]

The Challenge Maize and rice remain the most sought-after staple foods in Nigeria, with the maize farming sector accounting for 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Although the quantity of milled rice produced in Nigeria increased steadily over the past decade, reaching 5.4 million metric tons in 2022, nevertheless production of maize and […]

Les petits agriculteurs nigérians produisent environ 90 pour cent de la nourriture du pays. Bien qu’ils constituent l’épine dorsale nutritionnelle d’une population de plus de 200 millions d’habitants, nombre d’entre eux sont confrontés à un cycle continu de pauvreté et d’insécurité alimentaire. Vivants dans des communautés rurales et parfois isolées, ils n'ont pas souvent accès aux transports, aux moyens de stockage ainsi qu’aux informations sur les marchés, ce qui les oblige à vendre leurs produits à des prix défavorables dans l'espoir de minimiser les pertes après récolte.

Floods. Erratic Rainfall. A global pandemic. A war in Europe. West Africa has faced increasing food insecurity for the last decade, and the devastating health, climate, and political events of the 2020s have only exacerbated this condition. Nearly 24 million people in West Africa needed food assistance in 2021, and the number of people expected […]

By Aor Ikyaabo, Communication Specialist Smallholder farmers in Africa experience high post-harvest food losses as a result of poor handling, poor packaging, and the lack of suitable storage facilities for their produce before it reaches the market. Low market prices and high labor costs often make it uneconomical for farmers to harvest all they produced, […]

Entreprise Aïssatou Gaye supports a woman’s paddy rice season in Ross Bethio  By Fatima Datt, Communication Specialist Rice is a strategic product for food security and nutrition in Senegal, occupying a prominent place for the population. In recent years the rice sector has undergone a clear consolidation, with a considerable increase in production volumes. Posing […]

L’Entreprise Aïssatou Gaye soutient la campagne de riz paddy d’une femme à Ross Bethio Par Fatima Datt, Communication Specialist Le riz est un produit stratégique pour la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition au Sénégal, occupant une place de choix pour la population. Ces dernières années, le secteur du riz a connu une nette consolidation, avec […]

USAID’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub partners with high-performing private-sector companies to improve food insecurity in West Africa By Robin Wheeler Abuja, Nigeria – Many people around the world might find it difficult to pinpoint the specific ways the conflict thousands of miles away between Ukraine and Russia is impacting the global economy. The […]

Written by: Aja Beckham The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity among the Nigerian population, particularly those in rural farming communities, who are among the most vulnerable and adversely affected by this ongoing health and economic crisis. Kola Masha, Managing Director of Babban Gona, a Nigerian-based agri-tech social enterprise, says that since the Trade Hub awarded […]