Nigeria to join next phase of $650m ECOWAS rice programme

Nigeria is expected to join the next phase of the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Regional Rice Resilient Value Chains Development Programme (REWARD), following the launch of the regional initiative in Abuja.The Coordinator of the ECOWAS Rice Agenda and REWARD Project, Boladale Adebowale, disclosed this at the programme’s launch on Wednesday, identifying Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Mali and Senegal as the five countries participating in the first phase.