Abidjan – The African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a $9.44 million grant for the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) to strengthen the climate resilience of rice value chains across West Africa.
The Board of Directors of the ADF (http://apo-opa.co/4nUpfmv), the concessional funding window of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org), approved the grant on 17 July 2025.
Funded through ADF’s Climate Action Window (http://apo-opa.co/4nVdlsD), the project 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 initiative, part of the Regional Resilient Rice Value Chains Development Project in West Africa (REWARD), and specifically its adaptation component (REWARD-Adaptation), aims to scale up the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies throughout the rice production and processing sectors.
“The strategy for this project is to reduce the vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of rice value chains, from production to processing and marketing, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions through the dissemination and adoption of climate-smart practices and technologies,” explained Marwan Ladki, Senior Irrigation Engineer at the African Development Bank.
Ladki, who is responsible for the project, said key project interventions include the distribution of climate-resilient rice seeds to 11 000 farmers, including 4 950 women and 6 600 young farmers.
The project will train 12 600 farmers and processors, support 65 small and medium-sized enterprises with equipment and improved access to business networks.
In addition, the project will facilitate the provision of climate services and early warning systems through digital platforms and radio broadcasts, reaching up to two million beneficiaries.
The project will also deploy four automatic weather stations per country to improve spatial coverage and climate monitoring.
It is projected to create 47 000 employment opportunities, including 8 000 permanent and 39 000 seasonal jobs.
