The Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA) announced that cereal production in the 2022/23 agropastoral season stood at 77.231 million tons (Mt), up 7.7% compared to 2021/22 and 6.2% compared to the average of the last five years in Africa.

Rice increased by 4.2% to 22,300 Mt and maize by 1.8% to 27.8 Mt, millet posted the largest increase, nearly 27%, to 10,861 Mt, followed by wheat and barley by 22.4% (144,739 tons), while sorghum with 13.1% to 15,482 Mt. The most significant increases by country except Cape Verde are Niger (+69%), Mali (+15%), Liberia (+13%) and Burkina Faso (+11%). On the other hand Sierra Leone was the only country to register a decrease (-7%). Cereal production rose to 31.967 million, up by 17%, for the ECOWAS zone to 73.853 Mt (+8%) and for the CILSS countries to 39,568 million (+14%) for the UEMOA

For its part, root and tuber production reached 211.717 Mt in 2022/23, up 3% compared to 2021/22 and 10% compared to the average of the last five years. Food and nutrition insecurity has been increasing in the region for 4 years and the number of people affected has increased from 10.7 million in June 2019 to 42.5 million in June 2023