Following a 2024 food security vulnerability analysis, the ECOWAS Commission committed to assisting its Member States, including Sierra Leone, through the deployment of food stocks from its Regional Food Security Reserve. Although the support was initially scheduled earlier, the intervention in Sierra Leone was delayed and carried out on July 14, 2025.
In a formal ceremony, ECOWAS handed over 500 metric tons of white rice to the Government of Sierra Leone. The donation was made on behalf of ECOWAS leadership, including President Dr. Alieu Omar Touray and Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture Mrs. Massandjé Touré-Litsé. The rice was received by the Deputy Minister 1 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Therisa Tenneh Dick, underscoring ECOWAS’s support for national efforts to address ongoing food insecurity.
The rice donation aims to improve the resilience of vulnerable communities affected by food insecurity. It comes at a critical time, as data from the “Cadre Harmonisé” indicate that approximately 49.4 million people across the ECOWAS region—including Sierra Leone—may require food assistance between June and August 2025. Distribution of the rice to the targeted populations is expected to commence shortly.
This intervention reflects ECOWAS’s broader strategy of building food security resilience through a multi-tiered storage system consisting of local, national, and regional reserves. Such an approach is considered essential for strengthening risk management and advancing food sovereignty in the region.
Established on 28 February 2013 by a Supplementary Act to the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, the Regional Food Security Reserve functions as a core instrument for implementing regional agricultural policies. It plays a central role in ECOWAS’s efforts to support food security across its Member States.
ECOWAS acknowledged the ongoing support from its technical and financial partners, which include the European Union, French Development Agency (AFD), Spanish Cooperation (AECID), USAID, and the World Bank. These partners have contributed to the operationalization and sustainability of the Reserve since 2016.
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