Rebuilding West Africa’s Food Potential:
Policies and private initiatives to promote smallholder-
inclusive food value chains

The food crisis of 2007-2008 was a major milestone in world agriculture. For West Africa in particular, this episode triggered a more determined commitment by the region’s governments towards a food policy aimed at rebuilding their productive potential, especially for staple food commodities, long neglected in favor of a few export commodities. A new paradigm shift was required, one based on based redefined roles for the public sector, private industry and producer organizations in the promotion of competitive and inclusive food value chains.

The book contains a large number of in-depth case studies of food value chains, including traditional export commodities (cocoa, cotton), high value exports (mangoes, horticulture) and the most important staple food value chains (oil palm, rice, maize, sorghum and millet and cassava) in the region. It contains a private and public initiatives, and thematic analyses relating to the role of the private agro-industry and producer organisations, and their role as market agents.