ICIEC and the IsDB Group are well placed to promote food security in Côte d’Ivoire – mainly via financial packages and credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) solutions to bolster international trade for food, seeds, and fertilizers.
Côte d’Ivoire is far from an economic minnow. As the world’s top exporter of cocoa and raw cashew nuts, a net exporter of oil, and with a significant manufacturing sector, the country is the largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. And despite the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, which has amplified food and energy prices and security, Côte d’Ivoire is experiencing one of the fastest sustained economic growth rates in Sub- Saharan Africa in over a decade.
With real GDP growth averaging 8.2% between 2012 and 2019 amid political stability, Côte d’Ivoire successfully contained the pandemic and maintained a growth rate in 2020 (2%). In 2022, growth was driven by private consumption, supported by public investment and wage increases in the civil service. Inflation averaged 5.2% in 2022, its highest level in a decade, linked to rising food, transport, and energy prices. “With soaring inflation, many people in West Africa are struggling to access basics such as food products,” says Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa.
However, medium-term projections are optimistic, provided structural reforms targeting macroeconomic stability are stepped up. The West African country remains on a positive economic trajectory, which will need to be strengthened to accelerate the structural transformation of its economy as envisaged in the new 2030 strategy. But malnutrition and food insecurity remain a challenge with significant regional disparities. Rural communities, notably in western and northern Côte d’Ivoire, are disproportionally more affected and vulnerable.
IsDB Group-ICIEC food security initiatives
The IsDB Group endorsed a US$10.54 billion comprehensive Food Security Response Programme (FSRP) package aimed at supporting member states in addressing the ongoing food crisis and scaling up the group’s continued efforts to contribute to strengthening its members’ resilience to food security shocks in the future.
The IsDB will contribute up to $5.7 billion in total financing to member countries, comprising new approvals worth $4.0 billion and fast-tracking of disbursements for existing projects worth $1.7 billion.
ICIEC has contributed to the IsDB Group’s FSRP by making a pledge of $500 million in insurance capacity over the three and half years (H2- 2022/ YE-2025), knowing that the FSRP is aligned with ICIEC Developmental Objectives and SDG 2 (zero hunger).
ICIEC’s contributions are being realized via the extension of Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) solutions to facilitate international trade transactions of food, seeds, fertilizers, and equipment related to agriculture projects, in addition to foreign investment in the agriculture sector aiming to increase the production and improving the storage capacity and resilience in member countries under the Building Food and Input Supply Value Chain initiative.
UN and World Bank frameworks
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has also provided a strategic framework – the 2019-2023 Country Strategic Plan for WFP in the West African country – to mitigate Côte d’Ivoire’s pervasive food insecurity, malnutrition, and gender inequalities, which severely affect smallholder farmers as they struggle with issues of land access and frequent climate-related shocks.
The limited support for food crop production compared with the cash crop sector also continues to have a negative impact on the productivity of smallholder farmers who cultivate 84% of the arable land. Other underlying causes of these challenges include poverty, low education and literacy rates, poor dietary diversity, lack of awareness of good nutrition, health and hygiene practices, the prevalence of highly infectious diseases, and gender inequalities.
The World Bank is deploying short and long-term responses to boost food and nutrition security, reduce risks, and strengthen food systems. The actions form part of the institution’s global response to the ongoing food security crisis, with up to $30 billion in existing and new projects in areas spanning agriculture, nutrition, social protection, water, and irrigation. This financing will include efforts to encourage good and fertilizer production, enhance food systems, facilitate more significant trade, and support vulnerable households and producers.
The WFP’s $715 million Food System Resilience Programme is another approach. It aims to benefit more than four million people in West Africa by increasing agricultural productivity through climate-smart agriculture, promoting intraregional value chains, and building regional capacity to manage agricultural risks.
ECAs can play a significant role in backing the food and water sectors in this West African country. For instance, in August 2020, Swedish ECA, SEC supported a loan to finance the construction of 1,000 drinking water boreholes with solar pumps and the construction of drinking water supply plants and water pipelines to supply 189 Ivorian villages.
Green Future
As global food security challenges mount, tapping the potential of these ambitious climate-smart investments is essential for making Côte d’Ivoire’s economy more resilient, achieving inclusive growth, and combating food insecurity. ICIEC has already supported a raft of ESG-related projects in Côte d’Ivoire, which will positively impact climate mitigation.
“When these elements are put together, not only does it transform the economy, but jobs are created too. That allows young Africans to stay in Africa and make a living from their work by being in Africa,” says the World Bank’s Diagana.
The 2019-2023 Country Strategic Plan for WFP in Côte d’Ivoire, based on the 2018 Zero Hunger Strategic Review, aligns with national priorities. It also seeks to harness the comparative advantages of the various United Nations agencies operating in Côte d’Ivoire to provide a holistic response to food security and nutrition needs. Furthermore, ICIEC can play a more integral role in bolstering agency finance in the West African country, from supporting agriculture and water projects to solar schemes linked to farming.
