Abidjan – The African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a grant of $9.44 million to the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) to strengthen the climate resilience of rice value chains across West Africa.
The ADF Board of Directors (link), the concessional funding arm of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), gave the green light for this funding on 17 July 2025.
This grant, part of ADF’s Climate Action Window (link), will support rice producers and processors in 13 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
The project is a component of the Regional Resilient Rice Value Chains Development Project in West Africa (REWARD), specifically its adaptation segment (REWARD-Adaptation), which aims to promote climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies in rice production and processing.
“The strategy for this project seeks to reduce vulnerability and enhance the resilience of rice value chains—from production through processing to marketing—while cutting greenhouse gas emissions through the dissemination and adoption of climate-smart methods and technologies,” stated Marwan Ladki, Senior Irrigation Engineer at the African Development Bank.
Ladki, who oversees the project, highlighted that key interventions will include providing climate-resilient rice seeds to 11,000 farmers, comprising 4,950 women and 6,600 young farmers.
Additionally, the initiative will train 12,600 farmers and processors and support 65 small and medium-sized enterprises with essential equipment and improved access to business networks.
The project will also deliver climate services and early warning systems through digital platforms and radio broadcasts, benefiting up to two million individuals.
Furthermore, it will establish four automatic weather stations in each country to enhance spatial coverage and climate monitoring.
Ultimately, the project is set to create 47,000 job opportunities, including 8,000 permanent positions and 39,000 seasonal jobs.
