World Bank Podcasts

Food insecurity caused by fragility, lack of agricultural progress and trade barriers in West Africa is a well-documented concern. A 2012 World Bank report, Africa Can Help Feed Africa showed that increasing the supply of food staples could be improved by better connecting African markets to each other. That report called for a stronger focus on removing trade barriers and building on the forces of regional integration. Now, World Bank Analysts have taken those concepts further. A new report, Connecting Food Staples and Input Markets in West Africa: A Regional Trade Agenda for ECOWAS Countries explores how West African governments can build an integrated, regional trade market for food staples. World Bank Senior economist, and author of the Report, Jean Christophe Maur: “There is actually very active trade in most products, whereas people often tend to focus only on a subset of products. Trade along borders is particularly important for instance. West Africa’s 2011 population of 342 million is expect