Projected demand and supply for various foods in West Africa: Implications for investments and food policy

Publication date: May 2016 Source:Food Policy, Volume 61 Author(s): Yuan Zhou, John Staatz This paper (a) summarizes recent evidence of changes in dietary patterns in the 15 ECOWAS countries of West Africa over the past 30years and the forces driving those changes (In this paper, the term “West Africa” refers to the 15 countries that are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo); (b) uses expenditure-elasticity estimates derived from budget-consumption studies in 8 of these countries (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo) and hypotheses about alternative income growth trajectories to develop scenarios about the evolution of demand for various foods over the period 2010–2040; (c) compares the projected demand growth with projection of production growth in key commodities to identify potential or increasing demand–supply gaps; and (d) derives implications for needed investments and policies regarding different commodities and components of the West African agrifood system, including identifying gaps in the current African Union-led Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development (CAADP) programs. The analysis shows that in absolute terms, production shortfalls relative to demand for starchy staples (particularly rice and wheat) will continue to ...
Source: Food Policy - Category: Food Science Source Type: research