Chapter 1. West Africa staple food systems: An overview of trends and indicators of demand, supply, and trade 5
much faster growth of the urban conglomerations than the average population growth would indicate. This
also changed the balance of the labour force available between urban and rural areas, creating a massive
pressure on food demand as the population of consumers grew more than rural populations (consisting of
both producers and consumers). Equally significant for agricultural and food systems are changing consumer
preferences, which are creating powerful drivers in the demand for some food products.
Figure 2. Rate of urbanization (in %) in West Africa from 1950-2010
Source: OECD-CSAO (2013)
2.2 Food demand trends: utilisation and food consumption
A. Staple food consumption in West Africa: dietary systems and recent trends
West Africa covers a wide range of agro-ecological systems, from arid to semi-arid, sub-humid and humid
climates. These climates dictate what is typically grown and consumed. Consumption patterns vary
according to countries, regions or even localities within the same country that feature diverse climates.
We can identify two large groups of countries on the basis of dominant food consumption (ACI, 2011):
- Countries relying predominantly on cereals. This covers largely the Permanent Insterstate Committee
for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) countries including: Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea-
Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Sierra. This group divides into countries relying mostly on
sorghum and millet (Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Mali and Niger), countries eating mostly wheat
(Mauritania), and rice-eating countries (Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Sierra Leone) - Countries from coastal West Africa relying equally on roots and tubers and on cereals for their basic
diets. These include: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo. In all these countries,
consumption of cassava dominates, followed by yam (except for Côte d’Ivoire where yam is preferred
over cassava). Banana plantain is also consumed in significant quantities in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire,
Ghana and Guinea. Rice and maize consumption are also high in these countries, reaching at least 85
kg/person/year.
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Benin
Burkina Faso
Cape Verde
Chad
Côte d'Ivoire
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Liberia
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Togo
West Africa
1950 1980 2010