Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

26 Rebuilding West Africa’s food potential

to use other methods of managing this endogenous fertility. Given the low levels of fertilizer use in West

Africa (as shown by Figure 17 below), there is still more scope to improve fertility through use of a judicious

management system.

Figure 17. Fertilizer consumption in West Africa, 2007-2009

Source: World Bank; World Development Indicators

B. Staple crop yields

i) Cereals

Cereal yields in the region can easily double if soil fertility is improved. This necessarily requires improving access to

inputs, and thus to credits. Such a yield boost also requires finding ways to minimize climate risks to production in

dry areas, such as improving individual and collective storage, as well as stabilizing prices, given that price variability

is the main economic risk confronting the small farmers of the region.

020406080100 120140 160180 200

Upper middle income

Lower middle income

Low income

South Asia

Middle East & N.Africa

Lan America & Carib.

World

Sub-Saharan Africa

Togo

Senegal

Nigeria

Niger

Guinea

Ghana

Gambia

Côte d'Ivoire

Cameroon

Burkina Faso

Kilograms per Hectare of arable land^

Countries/Regions

2007-0 9